I think Oregon hates us. The first time we were in the Beaver State together was in Sunriver at a generously-gifted stay in TBG's folks' timeshare in 1997. While the accommodations were very nice, they did not come with air conditioning, and we sweltered on the second floor in a heatwave. In September of 2014, a longer RV trip included a stay at Wallowa Lake, where we'd hoped to enjoy some late-summer swimming and kayaking. The day after our arrival, it became much too cold for those activities. Then there was a wildfire at the north end of the lake, which skunked at least one of our planned hikes. Upon returning from our first RV trip to the SW in February of 2016, we had to rush through Siskiyou Pass in a torrential downpour with 60mph winds to beat an impending blizzard. I know that was February, but still. When we visited in March of 2018 to see family near Bend, we got snowed on -- a lot -- more than once. We thought April might be better. We thought wrong.
Malheur NWR
This was supposed to be one of our "signature stops," and we had even inquired about volunteering at Malheur Field Station before we knew our lives were going in a different direction. It is a very well-known refuge among birders, and though April is a bit ahead of the biggest migratory push, it is usually still a good time to intersect a large number of feathery delights. That is, of course, provided an arctic blast doesn't blow in. Perhaps the literal translation of malheur = misfortune should have been a clue.
It wasn't the intermittent bouts of snow, although that's not our favorite sort of weather. And it wasn't even really the below-freezing temps, for which I'd prepared by making sure all our warmest clothing was moved to the top of the stacks prior to our arrival. It was the em-effing WIND. We pulled in both driver's-side slides to minimize the area we needed to heat. I stuffed most of the towels we owned under the lip of the largest slide because that side was taking the brunt of the relentless wind, creating a draft. We put our foil in all the windows nightly and fortunately had full hook-ups so that we could supplement the propane furnace heat with our small electric heaters. We stayed pretty toasty inside. But it was dark, it was cramped, there was crappy cell reception and no Internet, and going outside was like crossing the frozen tundra.
If you can't walk around and look for birds, there really isn't anything to do at Malheur. We tried, though. Right outside our window was a Black-billed Magpie nest, and it was fun to watch them coming and going. When they would land on the ground, the bunnies would chase them off.
The Meadowlarks sang every evening, a Great-horned Owl was nesting in the arborvitae on site, two pairs of Kestrels sailed over several times, California Quail tootled around everywhere, and there was no shortage of grackles, crows, jays, and sparrows. We braved the elements to drive over to the VC area that was said to be quite nice. It certainly looked nice, but though the signs said it was open, most of it was not. There were nice walkways and short trails leading to bird blinds near the water, but despite the sun, the wind was howling, and it was simply too cold to hold still for birdwatching.
One building was open, however, and, though small, the Nature Center was impressively jam-packed with every bird specimen from the area. The drawers under the diorama displays were filled with more taxidermied specimens as well as every egg sample. The hard work of dedicated employees and volunteers was wonderfully evident.
One such volunteer, Dave, who was manning the Field Station office, alerted us to the location of some Burrowing Owls. Since finding them ourselves involved a drive and not a walk, we were excited to try a search. We motored up the road to the proper mileage marker, but at first we weren't seeing anything. Fortunately, the highway there is almost always nearly empty, so we had the luxury of staying warm in the car and going slowly while we looked. TBG spotted a burrow that had fresher dirt kicked up, and training my binoculars on it yielded an adorable reward!
As we watched, it flew, providing a great view of the whole diminutive owl.
We showed our photos to Dave, who hadn't even actually seen the owls, and the Field Station director, who asked if we'd share for their literature. Of course we said yes, and that probably went a long way to securing a refund for the rest of our stay for which we called an audible. It was definitely a disappointment, but neither of us had the will to keep fighting through the misery. On our drive out, there was again no traffic on the highway, and we were able to roll slowly past the owl burrows.
The Greater Bend Area
We couldn't completely escape the wintery weather since much of the western U.S. was experiencing it, but we moved to the Jefferson County Fairgrounds in Madras, which was a bit milder and much closer to some amenities for more overall comfort. Feeling the need to stretch our legs, TBG found us a pretty walking trail in downtown Redmond, Dry Canyon Trail.
We were sprinkled on a bit, and it was still pretty breezy, but the sun was out for most of our walk, and though within an urban setting, there was no shortage of cute critters (yellow-bellied marmots!) and many well-maintained activity areas -- dog park, disc golf, skate park, ball fields, picnic areas, etc.
One of the other reasons for stopping in this area of the state was to be able to connect again with TBG's brother and our SIL, who have a home nearby. We weren't originally scheduled to meet up until after Malheur, but since we'd moved closer and they arrived our first evening at the FG, we were able to see each other sooner. We quickly scheduled a hike for the following day, wisely following SIL's recommendation to meet at Shevlin Park.
As is evident, we didn't escape the snow, but it was a beautiful day and a beautiful park and good company, so complaints were unwarranted.
I can't recall exactly which morning it was because I stayed snuggled, but TBG went out for another moonset photo, this time over Mt. Jefferson.
Though our digs at the FG were much more comfortable than at Malheur, they could not come close to the comfort offered by family's beautiful home, and we accepted the invitation to spend a few nights there with them. It is a funny thing, though, and those of you, Faithful Readers, who are "of an age" will understand, spending time away from your normal is never completely comfortable no matter how luxurious the accommodations -- and those at Brasada Ranch are about as luxurious as they come. Again, any complaints were unwarranted and certainly no fault of our hosts, as they provided great food, Snow Monkey hot-tubbin', fun dice and card games while listening to the entire Bee Gees repertoire, and walks around the pretty neighborhood. The weather continued to be psychotic.
On our full-day there, they took us to Reynolds Pond for some bird-watching. Even though -- and I hate to keep harping on this -- it was quite chilly, the birds were plentiful. My favorite sighting was a Common Yellowthroat Warbler, that while not new for me nor rare for the area, it was a fun early-Spring visitor. We all enjoyed watching a couple pairs of Osprey fishing, and SIL got some phone photos of the action. As you can see, she thought the three of us were equally captivating, LOL!!
We really liked this park with direct access to its sweet quarter-mile nature trail, one-mile bluff trail, very well-kept grounds, and really nice showers with fabulous water pressure and super-hot water. The grape holly bushes right outside our rig were full of Golden-crowned Sparrows and Orange-crowned Warblers. The sparrows would crack me up by gobbling beak-fulls of the little yellow flowers. One day, I saw a hummie pause by our door, then sit on a branch right outside the window where I normally hang the feeder, but I hadn't hung the feeder. I waffled a bit on whether to get out all the paraphernalia, but of course I did! There was a hungry hummie come looking for juice!
To get to some of the park's longer trails, it required a short drive south and across the bridge. The campground in that area was still closed for the season making for some uncrowded conditions as in we saw only four other people on the Tam-a-lau Trail.
The rain caught us a bit midway around the plateau loop and again at the tail-end of our hike, but that didn't dampen our overall enjoyment of it.
The day after that outing, we met BIL/SIL at Smith Rock State Park for another trek. We had hiked with them there in 2018 (see above Mean Oregon reference) so this time we did a different route.
It wasn't a freezing day, but the wind as we ascended Burma Road was a little brutal, though the steady climb helped keep us warm.
Despite Spring taking her time, many wildflowers were defiantly blooming.
The sun broke through as we neared the last mile or so, along a section of trail we'd done the first time but that is my favorite. It's a very popular park, and I am far from alone in thinking the river valley is the most scenic area.
After our hike, we bid adieu until we're all back in Washington in May. For our last two days at CPSP, we mostly hung around camp, taking frequent walks on the nature trail and another up the bluff trail.
Though Oregon seems to harbor hostility towards us, we refuse buckle, and we have more exploring business to do before we cross the OR/WA border for the last time (for awhile.) Get over yourself, Oregon, we're delightful!
On the House
Meanwhile in Sequim...
Groundbreaking news!
Burrowing owls! They are very near the top of my list of birds I want to see!
I know where you can find some! But, if you can’t get there, I sure hope you can see them someday. I know in Tucson, along the big loop trail that runs around the town, there are some man-made burrows for them. We were never lucky enough to see one there, but I know plenty of folks do. Good luck!
I can vouch for the fact that you two are indeed, delightful. I’m so sorry that Oregon has been such a butt to you. But we know from living there for many, many years that the weather is fickle, whether you’re in the mountains, desert, or on the coast. And Malhuer…I have been SO COLD there! Nonetheless, you saw Burrowing Owls, and got great photos! You definitely made the most of your time in western Oregon with the great hikes, wildflowers, and all of the beautiful birds. So many cute and happy photos of you two hiking with family and friends! One would never guess that you were enduring psychotic weather, LOL.
Oops, I mean Malheur. Why do I always notice my mistakes right after I post something?? 😆
What is wrong with me?? I mean EASTERN Oregon. I obviously needed another cup of coffee before reading your blog, LOL LOL LOL. Jeez!!! I guess at this point I think of anything west of Florida as west.
Because we were just talking about that!
Even the locals were a little chafed at the late blast of winter. I really wish we hadn’t gotten quite so skunked at Malheur, there were some interesting things there left unexplored. Those owls definitely made a couple of bone-chilling days worth it. I guess we’ll have to re-acclimate to the topsy-turvy PNW weather patterns!
Yeah on broken ground!!!
Love the moon set pic. TBG has really mastered those night time photos.
Maybe Oregon is just there to remind you why you picked Sequim to plant yourselves. We’ve had the same snow, cold and winds here for weeks and we are equally tired of it and eager to get started on our ground breaking, garden that is. Hope your last stops in OR are more pleasant. Love the ground owls, we had in CO but haven’t seen any here. Have more than our share of marmots though. Grrrr
The groundbreaking was both a exciting and nerve-wracking. I mean, we knew they were going to do it and most likely before we got there, but the pics were taken by our new acquaintance and town-neighbor who just happened to drive by that day. I think you’re right about Oregon; it’s just showing us we made a good choice! I hope winter goes away for you soon; it’s hard when it pushes so far into what we feel should be springtime. Exciting to have garden plans. I wish we were there to eat all the delicious things you’ll grow!!!
Wind and wild weather seem to be the overarching theme in everyone’s blogs this spring! You made the best of it, as we must, and got to see a few interesting birds and people….. I LOVE Burrowing Owls, who wouldn’t with those oh so serious faces on their cute little bodies! Safe travels north…
Too true! All of us trying to get through and out of the West are having a rough go of it. The Burrowing Owls are a crack-up, aren’t they? “Serious faces” is the perfect description for them!
It’s really hard to like a place that seems to have permanently uncooperative weather. It’s particularly rough when you can’t even escape the bad weather inside your rig. And when conditions are so challenging even with modern amenities, I question how native people and early European settlers managed to live there at all. I guess I am not as tough as our ancestors! Glad you managed to get some enjoyment out of the stops even with the difficult weather. Pulling up stakes early at Malheur definitely sounds like the right move.
At least this time we had all the clothes we own with us. Packing for such a place is a nightmare! I often think, just as you do, how did anyone survive this and when they did, why did they STAY? I think you could be as tough as them, don’t sell yourself short!
I think your Oregon is our Colorado. We want to love it so much, but it just seems to have it in for us.
Spring out west can just be tough. I keep reading blogs of people talking about the crazy winds and weather out there. You’re definitely not alone. It’s nice that you were able to pull up stakes and not get stuck double paying for campsites. Absolutely the right move.
Looks like big things are happening on the home front! Now you’re cookin!
Oh, yeah, Colorado! We’ve had some troubles there, too, but not every time. It’s one of those states that I feel like I should love but just don’t. It vexes me. The whole West, as you noticed, is a bit unsettled lately. We’re very glad deciding to move went smoothly. We were prepared for it not to, and at least if it hadn’t, our money was with a NWR that could really use some.
Yeah, the house-hole is being dug, can you dig? 😀
You certainly do have bad luck in Oregon. It’s one of those states that I have decided is tough to find the right time to visit. The weather is unpredictable and then the wildfires and smoke…oh, dear! But you did a great job of finding the silver lining:) Wahoo!! You have equipment and digging at the new house!!
It’s a good thing we have lots of other places to explore! Oregon certainly has some very appealing places to see, and our stop after this one will prove it, but it is a booger. Yes, wahoo! The house is really happening! 😀
Someday when we met up Joodie it won’t be snowing I promise! At any rate we always seem to have fun regardless of the weather. We will get you back to Oregon some time in August when you can complain about the 90+ degree heat and relentless sunshine ☀️
Your favorite SIL (I have to be 🤭)
I don’t know if I believe you! It’s true, though, we do always manage to find the fun. I don’t want the dreaded heat there, either! I think we’ve had enough of the heat and relentless sunshine for awhile. Give us a couple years, and we’ll be ready for a heat break again.
You and Haley will have to duke it out over favorite status 😉
We’ve been places that have burrowing owls but, have never seen any. Too cute. Exciting news about the ground breaking.
We have as well, and they have always eluded us, too. This was such a fun surprise!
It is very exciting (and stressful!) with the ground breaking, but, as you know, time flies and we’ll have an actual house before you know it!