Salmon River Secret

 

 

My son went on a hike this week. So did I, but his photos are way cooler than mine. Beautiful fall weekend with the temperatures long gone from those 100 degree days of summer.

He had heard about these falls up the Salmon River and went to great lengths to find out how to find them.
They are gorgeous.
They definitely fall under the "Great Secrets of Oregon" file.

Outdoor activities seem to be mandatory here as we live in one of the most beautiful states in the union. Oregon has the Pacific Ocean on one side with high desert on the other. And a big space in-between filled with waterfalls, lakes and rivers.

While in Redmond this weekend, we went to see Bill Bryson's "A Walk In The Woods".  The movie was so-so, the music was outstanding. Walking the Appalachian Trail is very appealing, and might have gone down on my Things to Do Before I Die list.

Lookout Mountain Hike

My friend and I hiked up Lookout Mountain, again.
Such a nice, easy hike.
This is the Mother Lode  Mine.

A stunning 360-degree panaramic view awaits you at the top.
Notice those july dogtail widlflowers at the bottom of the photo.

There are several ways to get to the summit.
We circled up from the east of the mine buildings around to the west.
More info on the Mother Lode Mine is here.

Horses earlier in the spring.
Very dry this year. 
Parts of the western trail were very dusty.


Favorite Columbine.
More Wildflowers.

Trail meandering towards the summit amidst stunning sage.

We still don't know what these pods are.
They seem to be attached to the sedum (stonecrop).

Mama & Puppies were bouncing up & around, back & forth, & off-trail all the way up.
By the time we reached the summit, they were knackered.
Bella (mama) in front. Osso (brown) in middle and
Daisydoodle collapsed in the tiny bit of shade.

Scarlett Gilia (Skyrocket)


Puppies, Daisy & Osso

Lilies near the bottom of the trail - near mine buildings on west side.
Summit looking north.



A lovely jumble of widlflowers.

Auger near west trail.

Mushrooms growing from log.

Lovely woodland vista.


Mother Lode Mine Building near west trailhead.

South of the mine buildings, still heading down.

Western Monkshood.



Perry's Larkspur


Towards the summit - all sage and balsam.

Looking west. Three Sisters directly ahead and to the south. Mt. Jefferson to the right (north), Mt. Hood to the far north & Mt. Adams (washington state) even further north. Those dratted blues & greys. Can't make out the snowy mtns. from the camera.

No wildfires.
Yet.
Although while we were eating lunch, one sprang up near the Warm Springs reservation.

Indian Paintbrush

links:
Wildflowers:
Mother Lode Mine.
Lookout Mountain - East of Prineville - ochocos.

Falcons

My first post about the thrilling falcons was here.

We saw three  different  types of falcons at the Anchor Heart Ranch.
First up was "Ginger Rogers", an Aplomodo.





She is called Ginger Rogers because she likes to dance. These three birds were raised in captivity. For more reading, try the Birds of North America web page.
Here's another link.

Gyrfalcon. The one the kings want.

There are about 3000 falcons like these, here in the US.
In the Middle East , there are about 50,000. Falconry is a bigger sport over there.

They eat a carnivorous diet. Jim cuts up starlings amongst other meats for them.
They can obviously see much farther than we can. Into the ultraviolet spectrum.
Jim has done presentations for the High Desert Museum in Bend, Oregon.


I forget what type this third one is but he is very tame and flew some wedding rings to the groom at a recent wedding event at the ranch. The guests were thrilled.

There is speculation about how fast they can fly. There is a skydiver on Whidbey Island (or was that Orcas Island) who skydives with his falcon. Since humans are heavier, it makes sense that humans will travel faster to the ground. His bird not only keeps up but can surge ahead. Incredibly aerodynamic.

Just two weeks ago, my local paper, The Canby Herald, published a story about a local blueberry farmer utilizing falcons (sorry - link died when Pamplin took over Eagle Newspapers) for small bird (starlings) control. They had tried numerous other methods to keep starlings from maiming their crop with little or no success.

"Methods included visual deterrents, such as images of large eyes, auditory deterrents, like distressed bird calls and propane cannons, and even people with shotguns. "

The falcons have proven the most effective and the lest expensive deterrent. Plus they are popular with the neighbors.

Maybe when I grow up I'll become an ornithologist..

Great Weekend

Saturday, we flew falcons at the Anchor Heart ranch. Amazing and thrilling.

Sunday, we were going to go canoeing. What with the forest fire smoke and the girls sleeping in, we changed plans for a reconnaissance hike around Lake Walton.

This lake is a few miles past Prineville on hwy 126 - the same road that goes near Lookout Mtn.

 



Just past Prineville were signs for a garage sale. Not just any garage sale but a 'Destination Garage Sale'.


We drove past thinking we would stop on the way back.



Walton Lake turned out to be small and nearly ambulatory.
A little "On Waldon Pond".
The well-maintained path around the lake was only 1 1/4 miles on flat compacted gravel or 1 1/2 miles on asphalt.
Definitely something older folks could hike --plenty of benches.

Circling above us was an osprey which suddenly plunged into the lake, emerging with a fish in it's talons. A perfect sight following Saturdays falcon fest.

By the time we drove past the destination garage sale - I had to make the driver pull a U-ey - it was half-past 2 pm and everything was freefreefree.

Amazing timing.

All four of us stuffed many boxes of fabulous finds into the car.

A perfect end to our time in central Oregon.

Anchor Heart

Over in Redmond this weekend.
As a special treat, we went to a ranch where my friend's friend is staying with his hawks.

Thrilling.