A Full-time Life

Category: Exploring Oregon

  • SAUVIE ISLAND (an Oregon flashback).

    This is a FullTime-Life Friday Flashback for  Gemma's SCENIC WEEKENDS.  By this time of year, here on the flatlands, I start to miss elevation a little bit.   So I went searching the archives for some hills and mountains.   I spied them on the horizon in this photo of floathouses moored along the Willamette Slough.  When I took it we were on our way to go camping on Oregon's Sauvie Island.   

     

    Float houses

     Sauvie Island  in the Columbia River near Portland was one of our favorite summer and fall getaway places when we lived in Oregon.  This large island (over 25,000 acres) lies only about 10 miles from downtown Portland, but always seemed like an entirely different world.  (Click on the blue link for more information from Wiki.)

    Portland, Oregon's largest city, is about 100 miles away from where we used to live.

    Sauvie island

     We watched Columbia River barge traffic from our camper window.

    When we used to visit, there was only the one campground and I think there might be some B&B type lodging, but no chain hotels, restaurants, or grocery stores.   It's mostly rural and, especially since it's so close, very popular with outdoor recreation enthusiasts from the City. 

     

    The Island is one of many favorite spots that we haven't  visited for several years.   Maybe next summer.  (So many scenic places…..)

  • CRATER LAKE REVISITED

     

     This is  a Friday Flashback to our 2009 summer Roadtrip.  The post is linked to Gemma's SCENIC WEEKENDS  – because I think Oregon's beautiful Crater Lake   qualifies as spectacular scenery!      

    Lake view snow 30

     We had visited Crater Lake in earlier years because we used to live  in Oregon.

    Phantom ship59

    But this was the first since we retired in 1997 and sold our home.  When we go back to Oregon to visit we usually don't travel on a route that takes us through the southeastern part of the State.  We were glad we did that time!  

     

    Crater lake wiz island 038

    Here's the link to the 2009 post about the Lake.  

     

    Lake cloud cap 45

    I think next summer it will be about time for another visit!

     

    Thank you Gemma.  Scenery junkies love SCENIC WEEKENDS.   (Visit and click — and why not link your own favorite scenery too.)

  • A LITTLE MORE SUMMER

     

    It's still warm and sunny here at the Lake.   And that makes it  hard to get into an Autumn kind of mood.   

    So here are some more  summer blooms from the begonia garden posted earlier here.   

     BEGONIAS and pine tavern

     On the Pine Tavern's patio,  willow trees provide the shade these flowers need out in the high desert sun.  But it is the tree below (inside the dining room ) that explains this landmark restaurant's name.

    BEGONIAS and pine tavern1
    For   MOSAIC MONDAY and NATURE FOOTSTEPS BLO-MA on Tuesday.   Thank you to the hosts.

  • BEAUTIFUL BEGONIAS

     

    Around here,  these flowers are usually grown in hanging baskets, but the patio at the Pine Tavern Restaurant in Bend was landscaped with  beautiful multi-colored begonia beds.

     

    yellow begonia

    For  FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS  (Thank you Nick) and   TODAY'S FLOWERS on Sunday (thanks to Denise and the team).

     

    red begonia

    We couldn't decide if the black bird below was eating the flowers or just enjoying the aroma (we didn't notice one, but maybe it's more apparent to the birds).

    At any rate, the bird was enjoying the beautiful flowers as much as all the diners were.

     


    blackbird in begonia garden

  • FISH REAL AND NOT-SO-REAL

    Shared with the blogging communities at:  GREEN DAY, CAMERA CRITTERS and SHADOW SHOT SUNDAY, with thanks to the hosts!

     

    This sculpture of a leaping salmon looks alive in a pond outside of Bend's High Desert Museum.

     

    P1060937

     

     The fish in the pictures below really are alive in the same pond.  But definitely swimming in a more leisurely way.  These fish are a type of cuthroat trout.

     

    P1060934

     

    P1060935

     

     

  • BLOOMING IN THE DESERT

    This post is linked to FLORAL FRIDAY FOTOS (thanks to Nick) and TODAY'S FLOWERS on Sunday (thanks to Denise and the rest of the team).  


    P1060953-001We were impressed with the lush late summer flowers in the City of Bend.  

    City planners have installed a lot of round-abouts (traffic circles) instead of stop lights.  They all include an outdoor art installation  and are beautifully landscaped.    Kind of like drive by mini-parks.  Real feasts for the eyes as you navigate the traffic (which isn't all that bad — Bend is growing but it's still  a small city).

     

     
    P1060950-003

     As you can see from the picture below it takes a lot of work and planning to maintain landscaping in this high desert climate.  Left alone, it would look like this this picture, taken just a few miles out of town:

     

    P1060944
     

    Below is another view of a traffic circle garden — there was  a parking strip around the edge of this round-about.


    P1060952

     

     It gets cold in the winter up there and I'm curious about what the circles will look like then.    But not curious enough to plan to be there during that time .. when they're probably mostly just covered with snow.  And we don't do snow!

  • HIGH DESERT MUSEUM, BEND

    FOR WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY and SIGNS SIGNS  (because the sign pictured below does such a good job of explaining how the High Desert Museum in Bend cares for these injured raptors).  

     

    P1060949

     

    Magnificent even though they've been injured in some way, these raptors are being cared for at the High Desert Museum in Bend.    We have been fortunate in the past to come upon both great-horned owls and golden eagles when hiking  (pre-digital/pre-blog).  

    And of course it is a way better experience that way.  But now our time in the wild is just about as inhibited as it is for these birds.     


    2012-09-071

    It's too bad the birds were injured, but good that they are being cared for in as natural a setting as possible.   

    P1060948-001
    And rescue facilities are always a good way to introduce more people to wildlife.   

  • NUTHATCHES

    FOR WILD BIRD WEDNESDAY hosted by Stuart.  Thank you!


    Although surrounded by acres and acres of pine trees (their usual habitat) the red-breasted nuthatches we watched in Central Oregon (near Bend) found more to eat in this big chunk of lava rock.     

    red-breasted nuthatch, near Bend

     They were really working it over.

    red-breasted nuthatch, Bend

     Those lava pockets must be home to millions of insects!

     

  • CENTRAL OREGON

    For OUR WORLD TUESDAY  and NATURE FOOTSTEPS-WATERS on Wednesday.

    Last week, we took a spur-of-the-moment mid-week trip to Bend in Central Oregon.  As always, it was "not so much the destination as the voyage itself that mattered."

     

    Salt Creek Falls

    Salt Creek Falls

     

    When we lived in Springfield,*  Bend was a favorite weekend getaway spot.  It is a scenic loop drive from the Willamette Valley and the high desert climate made it a nice change from the sometimes rainy and gray valley.   

    It's still mostly sunny and warm in the Valley (where we're spending the summer), but we haven't really visited Central Oregon since we sold our home and moved from the State, so we thought we'd check out some of our old haunts during this visit.  

    Willamette Pass

    These pictures are all from the Willamette Pass, which on this trip was our return half of the loop drive.  We camped often in this area,  with our kids and after they were grown.  Nearly every campground, view and trail we passed brought back memories.  

     

    Odell Lake

    Odell Lake

     

    We enjoyed revisiting these old memories and the spectacular scenery —  and we were happy to be able to head up to the mountains in the middle of the week without having to worry about getting back for work! 

     __

    *Springfield-Eugene was a great area to live, work and raise our family, and there is a lot to do right in the area.  But sometimes you just want to get away.   One of the neat things about the area was — and is — that there are so many different ways to do that easily (and relatively cheaply).  Within an easy day's drive East there is central Oregon, with great mountain camping spots along the way (and skiing during the Winter);   going West there's  the beautiful Oregon Coast;  heading North is Portland with all its bigger city amenities; and South Ashland, Medford, Jacksonville with the famous  Shakespeare Theater and other cultural activities (and yet another climate).  

     

     

  • DEE WRIGHT OBSERVATORY

    For MOSAIC MONDAY hosted by Mary at her blog "Little Red House." (Thank you!).

     

    2012-09-07

     The Dee Wright Observatory stands in the middle of a huge lava field at the highest point on the scenic Old McKenzie Pass.  The structure, built during the Great Depression,  is made entirely of lava rock gathered from the surrounding fields by the Civilian Conservation Corps members who built it.  It is named for the foreman of the CCC crew.  


    P1060925Each of the observation windows focuses directly on one of the Cascade Mountain Peaks.     However,  the etchings naming the peaks and the distance to them under each slot window are almost obscured with age, as is a plaque commemorating the building crew.   

    Below the structure, there is a short interpretive trail through the lava fields.    

     

    P1060923
    P1060931