Jump to content

Will We Make It?


Patty

Recommended Posts

offshorebirder

Very cool @Patty.   

 

Wolves, two species of bears, Pronghorn at close range, closeup Dusky Grouse - not to mention getting your foodie on.    I googled MontAsia's menu and the Malaysian chicken rice sounds really good.

 

In terms of mammal locations, I am taking notes for when I visit Yellowstone (one of these years).  

 

Thanks for  the detailed info and travelogue.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We woke up to no accumulation on the ground. We packed and left the cabin at 6am and headed toward Slough Creek. The morning light was beautiful on the Baronettes. It was 37 degrees at Slough Creek but the wind made it feel much colder so we didn't end up staying long. Reports were that there wasn't much activity this morning.
 

IMG_1614.JPG.d957fc954a57b971c442dded1e173c26.JPG


IMG_1630.JPG.e4181c975ea0116a474a5091c124c197.JPG
Using my mask for warmth
 

We continued west on the northern road scanning for a silver Honda CRV with Idaho plates as I had found out that someone from the Tripadvisor Wyoming forum was here in the park. We found her at the Blacktail Ponds turnout and chatted for about an hour while a coyote hunted in the background. It was chilly standing out there and we decided a hot breakfast at Wonderland Cafe was in order only to be told that they also don't serve breakfast on Monday but they were kind enough to let us hangout, warm up and use their wifi. Crater Lake had announced a reopening date and I was trying to change my reservations but there appears to be no way to change it online and the hold time was 38 minutes by phone. I gave up and used their customer service email form.
 

Back in the park we stopped at the Mammoth owl nest again but couldn't see anything today. We were walking back toward our car which was parked directly across the street with Mark slightly ahead of me. As I entered the street I suddenly saw what looked like a young grizzly barreling down the end of the road in our direction. Mark was almost back at the car and couldn't see the bear from his vantage point. I yelled "Get back in the car!" and quickly made my way to the car myself. For a split second I thought about taking a photo. Mark says he can't believe that common sense prevailed. The bear disappeared into the sage where the elk bed down. Two ranger trucks quickly arrived and they were scanning for the bear. Nothing happened for a while so we thought perhaps it had left the area and we just couldn't see from where we were. Then suddenly the bear stood on its hind legs to look over the sage, charged out in our direction, crossed the street and went into the residential area by the visitor center with the rangers in pursuit. We didn't follow as we figured the rangers had enough on their hands without us possibly getting in the way. I'm guessing the bear was about 3 years old, recently on its own and was looking for easy pickings. I'm a little concerned about what might happen if the hazing doesn't work. Prior to this we'd noticed that the elk seemed spooked. You'd think that we'd put two and two together after learning about the grizzly sighting yesterday but we just totally didn't expect something like that in a populated area and neither of us had bear spray since we were only walking about 50 feet away from our car. The lesson we learned was that the answer to the question of whether you should carry bear spray is always yes! Luckily the elk were between the bear and us and not the other way around but it was still quite the adrenaline rush to see a bear running toward me. What an exciting and crazy morning and I'm glad there was no breakfast service again.


IMG_1640.JPG.dad4d8a76fe2237d67c5352b0dac5d7a.JPG
Rangers looking for the bear

IMG_1644.JPG.ffa90e39c524c5713283fc75c4e60f95.JPG
Elk on alert

IMG_1653.JPG.6f5426c5888172a6f5ad08f6858e0e6f.JPG

IMG_1654.JPG.372fbca913d01260b5a37fb35aff8a7e.JPG

IMG_1655.JPG.37933f48021fd157868a82770cc9d527.JPG

IMG_1656.JPG.c25b30b794b0797dc16bfe5692fed565.JPG

IMG_1657.JPG.5d3c7b51359d686cb8c3ffbf1be6ef77.JPG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

offshorebirder

That sight will wake you up, eh?

 

I can't help but wonder if the Elk are hanging out in 'people areas' for safety from Grizzlies  - @Patty did you get any impression they might be?  

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@offshorebirder I do believe they live in populated areas for safety. There's a herd that lives at Mammoth and another that lives in Gardiner. I had not heard of a grizzly coming into Mammoth before though it has probably happened occasionally. I believe this one must have been coming regularly as the rangers seemed like they were ready and waiting. The northern side of the park was closed until June 1st so that may have made the bear bolder.

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We continued south from Mammoth toward Norris, then east to Canyon and south through Hayden Valley. We apparently just missed something in Hayden as there were rangers present but people were starting to pack up and leave. We stopped for a picnic in the snow at Otter Creek hoping that a wolf would join us . We then headed to the falls at Canyon where the sun came out again.


IMG_1706.JPG.22ad2ff05f8527537f701b6c6e8b959b.JPG
Mammoth Terraces

IMG_1707.JPG.ed6ce1176153ff4742add0a227ef5ee0.JPG
The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone
 

We headed back toward Norris and then south toward Old Faithful. The 14 mile stretch between Norris to Madison took us at least an hour as we ran into multiple herds of bison with the last one being the largest. We must have inched behind them for a good half hour before they finally got off of the road.

IMG_1721.JPG.8fdf6c7d3f494ba3e98b9a6233ad8448.JPG
 

We arrived at Old Faithful at 3pm where it was 46 degrees, sunny and dry. Check in was at Old Faithful Lodge as they didn't open the main lodge building of the Snow Lodge. No wifi either as only the Snow Lodge lobby has it. They did give us $5 off per night as there's also no housekeeping. There is an AT&T signal which works better when most people have left for the day. We drove over to our frontier cabin at the Snow Lodge, unloaded the car and went for a walk along the boardwalks of Geyser Hill where we happened upon Lion Geyser erupting.

IMG_1737.JPG.4d5cb8018a77020695590fef1c2289c5.JPG

IMG_1739.JPG.0bc69c7cc112cfa2044d4ee29b072c8b.JPG

IMG_1749.JPG.3fecb1dea85da9c7f0034a05a4cd1f96.JPG
 

IMG_1750.JPG.28a8cc1f7d42a24e0a1d96aa72367c56.JPG
Old Faithful Inn which is not reopening this season
 

Back at the cabin it started to snow again so we decided to eat an early dinner of microwaved pot pie and green beans. Our microwave is coming in handy. There are also no coffeemakers but we always travel with our own electric kettle and press anyway. The sun came back out and we headed to see the 6:30pm eruption of Old Faithful. It wasn't busy by then so it was easy to space apart. As we walked back to the cabin, most of the parking lots were now fairly empty as many day trippers had left. With less than 100 cabins between the two lodges open, there aren't many of us here overnight.


IMG_1755.JPG.08d23a2866e477b928b77a00c9bef42f.JPG

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning began with an aborted attempt to hike up to Observation Point due to some bison on the trail.

IMG_1758.JPG.d254471f3ce68d5ca782c409c0f54b0a.JPG

IMG_1777.JPG.caa9bbc451a6cf6abbd09e2226971a5e.JPG

IMG_1768.JPG.cbbe28eacec502a3e5b966ce41e2d69b.JPG
 

We decided to set out for Hayden Valley at 7am stopping at Virginia Cascade along the way. There was a little snow accumulation on the ground between Norris and Canyon.

IMG_1782.JPG.3706a7e31489c6fd4cee96060ddffaf2.JPG
 

We climbed to the top of a hill in Hayden with 360 degree views.

IMG_1783.JPG.c85272ec753f20e0eccb4ffa59ea2085.JPG

IMG_1786.JPG.e81d72b6b75de63507505c1bfc76c128.JPG
 

Around another bend there were 5 members of the Wapiti Lake pack. Several had crossed the road and were heading up the hill but one black wolf was still on the opposite side of the road. It bounded across the valley and road to join the others. This was our second closest wolf sighting ever next to last October's sighting of 4 members of the same pack near Yellowstone Lake.

IMG_1826.JPG.3c6e2fb5fdea74f6141c89e374ddd57e.JPG
 


Our next stop was at LeHardy Rapids for the harlequin ducks. More snow accumulation here.

IMG_1830.JPG.c7dc2d225f03b6426feca8777df58a7e.JPG

IMG_1840.JPG.804a53471f56770b58bfc975ae6132a9.JPG
 

We decided to head to Sylvan Pass. The bridge at Fishing Bridge is undergoing reconstruction with one way traffic control but we didn't have to wait long. I imagine later in summer with more traffic the waits will increase. As we headed east there was a grizzly on the hill side.

IMG_1860.JPG.f89d9a132c19caf3e446ab30819dd9de.JPG
 

There was still quite a bit of snow at the top of the pass and Eleanor Lake was partially frozen. We looked for a picnic spot but it had clouded over and the wind was fierce off of Yellowstone Lake. We ended up stopping at the General Store at Fishing Bridge for hot dogs. They had removed all of the seats from the diner counter stools so we ate them in our car.
 

IMG_1891.JPG.5f914b56a7d2d61c24d866dc6cf10602.JPG

IMG_1893.JPG.00595379beaa2d596a68ee801869bae9.JPG
 

We then continued south around West Thumb and back up to Old Faithful stopping at Kepler Cascades along the way.

IMG_1896.JPG.89dfa3db0569b3468f12c70e75de00e6.JPG
 

We had planned to hike to the Grand Prismatic Overlook in the afternoon to take advantage of sunlight over the pool but for a day that was predicted to be 56 and sunny, it turned out to be 44 and overcast. Yesterday's prediction of 2-4 inches of snow also didn't materialize. Instead we walked the geyser basin around Old Faithful.

IMG_1899.JPG.cc7689b8b715c80ec3abc87d14fa2009.JPG

IMG_1901.JPG.9f6bfd3bfb1a8e1819bd88aab0eba46f.JPG

IMG_1903.JPG.a3121c8c191d32feae2c60b9f993340b.JPG

 

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

offshorebirder

Wow - what a nice Gray Wolf encounter.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Our last morning in Yellowstone. We left Old Faithful Snow Lodge a little after 6am and decided to hike up to Grand Prismatic Overlook anyway as it's an easy short hike. It was very pretty in the early morning light even though all we could see was steam since it was still 32 degrees.


IMG_1910.JPG.b0465b6f956a4e76118b7edd8c5a0c72.JPG
 

Then we took Firehole Lake Drive and arrived at White Dome Geyser just as it was going off.
 

IMG_1915.JPG.e1d61f84b0933e7c105dd124924c380d.JPG
 

We exited the West Yellowstone gate at 8am where there was no queue to enter. Our drive to Ketchum ID took us through Idaho Falls and then west along 20 which passes Craters of the Moon National Monument. We didn't visit the monument this time as we have done that on previous trips but the volcanic landscape is very interesting. Aramark never replied to my email so I spent an hour and a half on hold to cancel my Crater Lake reservation. I had wanted to change dates but didn't want to go through that again if we needed to make further changes. I'll figure something else out.

In the afternoon we walked up to Knob Hill for an elevated view of town. It's 70 and sunny. Dinner was on the patio of Rickshaw where everything was placed on a separate tray for us to place on our table. Their interior dining room was still closed.

IMG_20200610_1747106-panorama.jpg.c40733d532843aa94f25d4d1d00bc2a5.jpg

IMG_20200610_1643565.jpg.15fab456aada727d7b34b3eb91714ad8.jpg

IMG_20200610_1646043.jpg.29464021f76f218fdb59cc9412a54e1a.jpg

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning we decided we would go for a hike around Pettit Lake. We drove north over Galena Summit.
 

IMG_20200611_0733597-panorama.jpg.d7cdaf691cbf5811400c5d3b153d0c7e.jpg

At the turn off for the lake, we saw a pronghorn with two babies. I've never seen pronghorn babies before. They're so cute!

rsz_img_1925.jpg.1deb307a75ab7a985e44244ac03e92fc.jpg

We didn't see anyone on our hike until we returned to the trail head.

IMG_1919.JPG.a25e6ade79abcb381fd9b23e3c76fe8a.JPG

IMG_1946.JPG.a0b83174711876b3e5a2d571dd7334d7.JPG

IMG_1947.JPG.31d9d0aeb742d9458c33807e5d43de44.JPG

IMG_1969.JPG.8b340880b3ee4de859b232014f02c648.JPG

IMG_1970.JPG.d3ce7fbe7c77163fa396134b740093e9.JPG

IMG_1973.JPG.d2dc45f360596f65731051ca38302f7d.JPG
 

Today was almost 80 degrees so we took the afternoon off to catch up on my trip report, do more trip research and just have an afternoon of doing nothing. Dinner was on the roof top of Warfield Distillery. Their downstairs dining room was also still closed but they had the most lax protocols of any place we've gone so far with only one staff member wearing a mask. It felt almost like normal dining except that normal felt strange. Their portions were huge so we ended up taking half of it back to our condo. Tomorrow we leave for McCall, then the Wallowa Mountains and Painted Hills, none of which we have been to before. The weather looks like it's changing again by Saturday so I don't know how much we'll be able to do outdoors.

IMG_20200611_1714019.jpg.7a9e6930a188c2f7fe81ef70e1a4514f.jpg

 

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We got an early start from our condo in Sun Valley and stopped at Redfish Lake Lodge for breakfast since it was on our route. Not much has changed since we stayed there in May except that it's busier. All campgrounds we drove past were full. From Stanley we headed west on 21. Between Stanley and Lowman we had a marmot cross the road and then had to come to a complete stop for 3 adult mountain goats and a kid licking the road. From a distance it almost looked like some boulders had fallen on the road. We also had both deer and pronghorn crossing. There seems to be more wildlife on roads.
 


When we got to McCall we headed straight for Ponderosa State Park since the weather doesn't look good for tomorrow. We drove out to the furthest point, went on a short hike and had a picnic of leftovers by Payette Lake. Since we got to the park around noon we thought it would be busy but we only ran into one other person on the hiking trail. There were quite a few more cyclists so we stayed off of the multi use trails.
 

IMG_2007.JPG.0ca82d7395d876c004f6b102acbbb019.JPG
Social distancing deer

IMG_20200612_1148546-panorama.jpg.ac649d937fc52b0d3d5b110a580abf96.jpg
 

We're staying at a Holiday Inn Express as I had two expiring free night certificates which got extended due to covid. Since the place is practically empty we got upgraded to a jacuzzi suite which is really helping with the low back pain I developed yesterday from too much sitting in the car. After a soak and shower we headed to the lake front in town and walked around. It seems fairly quiet for a Friday in June. Dinner was on the lakeside patio of Jasmine + Ginger where we again ended up with too much food.

IMG_20200612_1643425.jpg.38f3c1a8e3d9509d4eee485325fdfd15.jpg

IMG_20200612_1655067.jpg.37d719d92b9f6888820dbbc1dee1872b.jpg

IMG_20200612_1701152.jpg.e9ef6c7ed4fe2bd443ef17c6f5bf0275.jpg

And now I'm caught up. It's supposed to thunderstorm most of today so I think we're going to do laundry, provision for the next stop and take another soak in the jacuzzi.

 

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Wow Patty, close encounters of the bear kind, a wolf pack and Harlequin ducks - what an adventurous time you had in Yellowstone. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As others have said, some great sightings in Yellowstone, I'm especially jealous of the close wolf. Your report has me thinking to plan a trip to the area for next year, at least as a backup in case our international travel plans aren't possible. Looking forward to more, you're heading to areas I'm not very familiar with. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

offshorebirder

You are really spoiling us with this near-realtime trip report @Patty.   I liked the video of the Nanny (Mountain) Goat and her kids.  Were the smaller ones from last year do you think?

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@offshorebirder I don't know much about mountain goats but you may be right. All 3 are likely her offspring from the previous year(s).

 

@Treepol @Zubbie15 we've certainly been spoiled on this trip!

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We woke up to gray skies but no rain yet and went to the breakfast area when they opened at 6:30am. There was a masked and glove attendant at the breakfast bar who retrieved and plated everything for you. We decided to take advantage of the still dry morning to see a few things nearby. Our first stop was at the Roseberry Townsite near Donnelly. The museum and general store have reopened on weekend afternoons with masks required and a limit of 6 people inside. We walked around and peeked in the windows.

 

IMG_20200613_0716288.jpg.397cce9c5619d4951cc9fa321a3245ff.jpg


IMG_2034.JPG.8a8b1caad535fe0bbbf9819de3dfce4f.JPG

IMG_2036.JPG.b2b72874dca576449387e856f0ae50d3.JPG

rsz_img_2031.jpg.45a1c2c8ad282817e9841795f62c3363.jpg
 

Then we headed to the McCall Smokejumpers Training Base. This facility normally gives tours in summer but is currently closed to the public.

IMG_20200613_0811525.jpg.e1e9654d86fed9071af044ff40c1e100.jpg

IMG_20200613_0814088.jpg.4cd9c2c9b54f761c93771d7b66edec49.jpg

IMG_20200613_0807187.jpg.f738c8d6c6da23b31cdc4e1f891a36bb.jpg

IMG_2038.JPG.04f04df9fdcc09555846ba04c027c307.JPG
 

There's not much to do in a lakeside town in the rain especially with covid closures. The museum in town is still closed as is the ice rink. No ice bumper cars for us. The rain stopped around 5pm so we went for a walk and then dinner at Frenchies on Third sharing their chowder and blue plate special of the day.

IMG_20200613_1657429.jpg.916bb6c6dff027d4581135eb704c3944.jpg

IMG_20200613_1712044.jpg.2fc4e5f58de4bf93077313ac15ccdb27.jpg

I'm not sure about the internet status at the next two locations so you may not hear from me until Bend.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We set off at 7am for the circuitous drive to Joseph OR. We went up and down and round and round most of it through national forest lands.

 

image.png.69701ab5040342441a2496d16537bb65.png

 

IMG_2040.JPG.c1fb7b8b8d95353e9f89593822d812ca.JPG

 

We dodged or drove over fallen rocks on the road and managed to miss or clear all but one. Oops, misjudged that one by a quarter inch. The morning started out promising but began to rain when we got to the Hells Canyon area. Rain turned into sleet which turned into snow by the time we got to Hells Canyon Overlook. And it wasn't nice fluffy snow. It was hard pelting snow. I got out of the car to take a short walk and a few photos with my phone. Ouch that stung. Mark knew better and didn't get out of the car.

IMG_20200614_1001487.jpg.ff06acf5b0f3eb582e6415e4a60ebf2e.jpg
 

IMG_20200614_1005238.jpg.ae1212d3b89bfe480561654277b20ea8.jpg

IMG_20200614_1003194.jpg.66061130cc9c7cc19e44bae7ecb5abb9.jpg

 

On the way up we also dodged free range cattle on 39.

IMG_2048.JPG.f68b808ef01ea3de0ca41f4e8b7959e9.JPG
 

After that glorious detour to the overlook we continued on 39 toward Joseph and were waved down by someone with a parked Sprinter van. He wanted to know how the route was and we told him it was much the same as what he already drove. We were down to 15-20 mph until we got over the 6000 ft Salt Creek Summit. It was slick even with AWD since we had the factory installed tires. When we travel earlier or later in the season we switch to snow tires which have much better traction.
 

 

We descended down to Joseph where it was 44 and sunny. We could see that it was still snowing where we came from.

IMG_2054.JPG.285b2be04717ffa4bc258ef94a0d71d3.JPG

We parked in downtown Joseph, walked around and had lunch at Old Town Cafe.

IMG_20200614_1121598.jpg.a55dfac6a4f0574681708f4413050906.jpg
 

We continued south around Wallowa Lake.
 

IMG_20200614_1214375.jpg.43b85a7690e1521a4f7dfdcf5936d65c.jpg
 

And parked at the Wallowa Lake trailhead and hiked a short distance on the West Fork trail (the whole trail is 24 miles out and back). It started to cloud over and rain so we decided to check in at Wallowa Lake Lodge where we have a cabin with a fireplace that seems to be next to a deer thoroughfare.

IMG_2068.JPG.786ff9d765e2c22f362f34239910175a.JPG

IMG_2109.JPG.8feff94b09432c097a77a9d59d967e26.JPG

IMG_2093.JPG.9be86c80d83c095acb70b42d1ac2f80f.JPG
 

The rain stopped and the sun came out again so we took a walk to Wallowa Lake State Park which is just across the bridge from the lodge and has a beach, marina and campground.
 

IMG_2128.JPG.87229237ffc704723042674c6a0df6e2.JPG

IMG_2156.JPG.430b86955a787d894c8f0166ae00786d.JPG


IMG_2158.JPG.299ef8a249cbbe265d5085df3faf911f.JPG
 

Dinner was takeout from Gold Room Pizza next to a fire.
 

IMG_20200614_1515496.jpg.13800f8b6dffc67b4e36b73cd952da1a.jpg

IMG_20200614_1809323.jpg.dfa8d4f90e4a5114a24dc1f92ac14af3.jpg

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We slept in until 5am today which is like 6am with the time change. It started raining at 6am so our plans for hiking the East Fork trail were abandoned as that one is steeper, it was already muddy yesterday and neither of us wanted to slide down the mountain. We had a very leisurely breakfast in the cabin next to the fire which was really nice. We've haven't done that since we left Carmel three weeks ago.
 

IMG_20200615_0901147.jpg.8084783ae5e23f06d944ce1e49845fa4.jpg


Mid-morning the rain let up a bit so we took the nature trail at the state park. I think the trail system links up with the trail we took yesterday.


IMG_20200615_0924018.jpg.aad5b041f140291ca40daec5b4b8b681.jpg

 

We decided to head into town for the Wallowa County Museum. This small museum is in an old bank building. A local named Dave Butler helped to rob the bank in 1896 and then became the bank's vice president in 1928. We were the only visitors and no photos were allowed inside. Lunch was at The Dog Spot which was a combo pet supply store and restaurant. Mark had the banh mi and I had a Thai noodle salad followed by coconut cream pie.
 

IMG_2056.JPG.091b8131c87d75e1fb5d399d6636d8cf.JPG

IMG_20200615_1158597.jpg.aad7b60c2ef49a827164dfa9b5778d15.jpg

IMG_20200615_1215390.jpg.5d720d4ba6cc933e72ed8f18070f13ee.jpg
 

Next we stopped at Iwetemlaykin for another short hike in the rain. We realized at this point that if we didn't do anything in the rain we weren't doing anything today. From the parking area you don't realize the views you get from the top of the hill.

IMG_20200615_1335092.jpg.2ef038a94c814405c94a1370777b1601.jpg

IMG_20200615_1320034.jpg.3de1643dca837d697e89d57cf1a0d7b5.jpg
 

Back at the cabin the fawns were around again. I went outside to take a few photos. One fawn completely froze (OK it moved its ear and blinked once) while the other one ran around like crazy. I was worried about the second one being hit by a car but it seemed to always stop short of the road. I felt bad for the frozen one so went back inside.

IMG_2171.JPG.71adbeac6d72b50c70375ac5fa20566a.JPG
 


I did a little more trip research and am still undecided where to go after Bend. Heading southeast to Malheur, the Steens Mountains and the Alvord Desert sound interesting as we've never been there nor do we know anyone who has but the temps will be in the 90's and every other comment I read online mentions how bad the mosquitoes are in the spring and early summer. I guess that's why all the birds are there! I feel like I should've packed a head net. I'm also considering the CA redwoods as we travel south but so far Humboldt County has not started allowing tourists to stay in hotels, the Yurok Tribe has a closure through the end of the month and the park website is still recommending local travel only. I had thought about going to the Columbia River Gorge early on but nixed it due to its proximity to Portland. It turns out Multnomah County was denied moving into phase 1 last Friday while the counties we're traveling through are in phase 2. Oregon is reopening county by county which makes sense unlike CA where LA with half of the state's cases is reopening at the same time as the rest of the state.
 

I'm sitting in the cabin now, the rain has stopped and I'm wondering if I should hold off on my shower in case the sun peeks out so I can get some photos of the mountains. Mark said "Go ahead and take your shower. If the sun comes out, I'll come grab you out of the shower and hand you your camera." Good thing the sun never came out.

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We left our cabin at Wallowa Lake Lodge at 7am for the drive to John Day Fossil Beds National Monument which has 3 units located somewhat far apart from each other. We planned to visit the Sheep Rock and Painted Hills units. The Clarno unit offers the least amount of visitor access (not because of covid, it just only has one small publicly accessible area) and was an hour and a half away from the other two so we decided to skip that one. We arrived at the Sheep Rock unit around noon and had a picnic of leftover pizza by Cant Ranch. The morning's drive had been a mix of rain and sun but we had mostly good weather for our visit.

IMG_2245.JPG.8763d5754f4fd0daa3a83c04b96c84ce.JPG

 

The paleontology center is still closed so we continued to Blue Basin for a hike on the Island in Time trail. It was here that we ran into the guy who flagged us down two days ago. Tom and Virginia from Eugene OR and their schnauzer Kiwi had spent two nights in Hells Canyon. We had wondered how they made it down the mountain and were glad to see them. There are fossil replicas along this trail that ends 360 degree views of canyon walls covered with green volcanic ash.

IMG_20200616_1303005.jpg.0cac3fd9ee3e892c52eba825d4143f74.jpg

IMG_2224.JPG.5f873012f13c8fc3ff540e314a00ee19.JPG

IMG_2209.JPG.600011477169bc515604e11fdd469975.JPG

IMG_2215.JPG.092b1c448da4334570fbdb1fc4d50719.JPG
 

IMG_2227.JPG.607ef45a2d38acfa3b26430cbfdce6a9.JPG
 

Next we drove to the Foree trail head and went on the two short trails there.
 

IMG_2243.JPG.2b60e90c752c37d3754045efc9a11ab0.JPG
 

We continued to Mitchell OR and arrived at the Oregon Hotel only to be told they didn't have a reservation for us. I had reserved an apartment with kitchen over the phone with the husband who admitted he didn't normally handle reservations but his wife had just recently had shoulder surgery. He seemed to be diligently writing down the details of our reservation. Where that information went I don't know. We were offered a ground floor room on the main house with a queen bed instead. We decided to drive over to the Skyhook Motel, the only other accommodation in town, to check if they had a kitchen unit available but they only had a room with a double bed left so back we went to the Oregon Hotel where they ended up comping our room.

IMG_20200616_1708394.jpg.baec2e4609ac2f265b4acb2572842bcc.jpg
 

We walked around this quirky town (it looks like 20 people may live here) and went into the little, er, museum.

IMG_20200616_1557551.jpg.be2b3c894b65ceef3b0b3eee517fdcbb.jpg

IMG_20200616_1558148.jpg.fa7dd3c31767208459b47c94649088f2.jpg

IMG_20200616_1559454.jpg.5ddf849556d5f1664f5161df1301376c.jpg

IMG_20200616_1603170.jpg.84ef044a42c9669152981501432aa2b3.jpg
 

The sun came out so we had early dinner on the patio of Tiger Town Brewery, the only place to eat dinner in town. There is a small market and gas station in town as well.

IMG_20200617_0924167.jpg.6ad2b8ebc301c8a02eec602dd5e4991c.jpg
The gas station in Mitchell. Yes, it's full service!

IMG_20200616_1615110.jpg.fb40d181fc85a91a26939f81b780f4e5.jpg

IMG_20200616_1627373.jpg.e4424ae208e0efa0978b7f652482f236.jpg
 

It looked like the rain might hold off for a bit so we took a chance and drove to the Painted Hills unit 20 minutes away. Unfortunately it became more and more ominous as we drove. We only made a quick stop at Painted Hills Overlook and took the short trail there. By the time we started walking back to the car it was pouring. We decided to return and see the rest tomorrow morning.

IMG_2257.JPG.0ba84110055019f6cb67c6f870b67b7f.JPG

IMG_20200616_1804560.jpg.b2357de8f621532b6a4468ffb50149d4.jpg

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We returned to Painted Hills at 6:30am and hiked up the Carroll Rim trail.

IMG_20200616_1758270.jpg.af8e989f794819804c355e1b2c24c7c8.jpg

IMG_2261.JPG.9b752c25607e6cababce8be76e3c9377.JPG

IMG_2264.JPG.c4cfaf0c931cda555b7c3217ec88e650.JPG

IMG_2268.JPG.39a8b73abb171d98f08d2a6a7ccbb30d.JPG

IMG_2270.JPG.561f2148f67359e029b7e3202bdac2a3.JPG
 

Followed by a walk around Painted Cove.

IMG_2279.JPG.1eda7a2728b09147512e25b24329925c.JPG

IMG_2285.JPG.9a229408af3504990c9bae031cd94d6c.JPG
 

Then we checked out the fossils at Leaf Hill trail.

IMG_2289.JPG.416394bec8c31ed4cce6ce29defe1bc2.JPG

And finally the Red Hill trail. Despite signs everywhere there is still evidence of people trying to climb the formations.

IMG_2302.JPG.ef2e0c70f633e0698196b16180de607f.JPG
 

We drove back to Mitchell in search of breakfast only to find the only place that serves breakfast is closed on Wednesday and Thursday so it's muffins (provided by the hotel), cheese and salumi for us. We received another apology at check out and headed for Bend. We stopped at Target to restock on toiletries and some groceries before checking in to the Townplace Suites. This is the busiest place we've stayed and they said they're almost sold out on weekends. There's a form for breakfast that you complete with your room number and pickup time. Since we only wanted muffins, fruit, yogurt and no cooked food, I asked if we could just get it now and it was promptly delivered. We had plenty of food we could cook ourselves and it seemed like the process might get backed up in the morning. The pool is open on a reservation basis. The slots are on the hour for 45 minutes so they can clean between each party. I booked for the next two afternoons. The guy at the front desk keeps very busy as he's also filling breakfast orders and cleaning the pool area. We had an early dinner at Wild Rose Thai in downtown Bend. They don't take reservations but we were easily able to get a table at 5pm even with every other table blocked off and there were only 4 parties total while we were there. The northern Thai cuisine was delicious and we have enough left over for another meal.

IMG_20200617_1705214.jpg.b8c8fdb76ef2cf025a37d255a9d911ed.jpg
Dungeness crab fried rice

IMG_20200617_1705553.jpg.7aa0b2fdbae7e4252404e0812a5d85f6.jpg
Curry glass noodles with braised pork and chicken and sticky rice

Edited by Patty
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We set off at 7am for the McKenzie Pass-Santiam Pass loop driving it clockwise so we would hit the spots we were most interested in early. The loop starts in the town of Sisters named for the three peaks.

 

IMG_2305.JPG.94637ba1a1e656275bcb3119c5134b8f.JPG
 

Our first stop was at the Dee Wright Observatory built out of lava rock by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1935. This is the largest field of aa I've ever seen. There are 360 degree views of the Sisters, Mt Washington and Mt Jefferson.

IMG_2327.JPG.8c74d00a4996f5bb33cffda251282a89.JPG


IMG_2329.JPG.0f6a0b01b75fea34b4b1f444bab13fe0.JPG

IMG_2307.JPG.b37e0db9cf60757b29ba88d930600c31.JPG

IMG_20200618_0805586.jpg.9a3b90054edb4a2849796e6c1a122c9e.jpg

IMG_2325.JPG.0dcf34f29d5e100321f1ea7c4a4cd2c8.JPG

IMG_2314.JPG.a279aca4cdea4de16eed11904e634f3c.JPG

IMG_20200618_0814331.jpg.e3deb3b16a9bf78758c16ce4cdc7daaa.jpg

IMG_2318.JPG.40d25eea0027453a0d102866f3f0c3aa.JPG
 

After McKenzie Pass the road drops 3000 ft into the forest where we did the short hike to Proxy Falls. There's no fee or pass required due to covid and the loop is temporarily one way. There were 4 cars parked when we arrived and 9 when we left but we only ran into one other party on the trail because they went the wrong direction.

IMG_2340.JPG.f3fd9a16d90be0b2969ce4aeb3d55371.JPG

IMG_2343.JPG.feb0918910744e9f581994552849c69b.JPG

IMG_2346.JPG.704ce95a837bc8c70d4025a603128867.JPG

IMG_2347.JPG.f9766dd4dbc090f385d69a76bf49f56b.JPG
 

Our third stop was at Sahalie Falls. This area was busier as it was later in the morning and also the waterfall is very close to the trail head. We walked to the viewing area and decided not to continue as it was a bit crowded for our liking.

IMG_2351.JPG.931b5d28147daf01b7d6e9b38b9848d7.JPG
 

We drove back to Sisters for pizza at Boone Dog Pizza.

IMG_20200618_1128179.jpg.8c20a4e3bc716c5018690e8feedad7af.jpg

IMG_20200618_1134227.jpg.50a54783146bfdecb4cf33dbe8b6a857.jpg
 

Then it was back to Bend for beer sampling at the Deschutes Brewery tasting room. It's located at the brewery itself where we took a tour 4 years ago (no tours currently). There was only one other couple in the tasting room. We sampled 5 and got a 6 pack of Black Butte Porter to go.

IMG_20200618_1241249.jpg.ba9a5110872eada2ce1e80362eb5659b.jpg
 

Back at the hotel while waiting for our 3pm pool reservation, I made the rest of our bookings for the trip. We decided to continue to Crater Lake on Saturday after all but both the lodge at the rim and cabins at Mazama Village were full so I booked a motel room in the town of Fort Klamath 30 minutes south. I was hoping there would be more access by now but only the West Rim Drive has reopened which isn't unusual for this time of year given the amount of snow the park receives. It's still more than we saw 4 years ago when we arrived to 3 ft of snow and could only access the lodge. After Crater Lake we'll spend 3 nights in the town of Mineral CA for Lassen National Park which we also saw very little of 4 years ago due to snow. All roads there have reopened for the season. This is turning out to be a tour of the volcanic lands of the northwest.

We spent 45 decadent minutes swimming and lounging. Forget the bears and wolves, this has been the best part of the trip!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very enjoyable. Great wildlife, beautiful scenery - and very large meals!

It is interesting to hear about your visits to places that are just opening up again.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

offshorebirder

I am so jealous @Patty - Deschutes  is one of my favorite breweries!    My friend Roger and I bought a ton of their Obsidian Stout when we were in Arizona last May - it is one of my favorite beers in North America and sadly not available here in SC.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

@offshorebirder The Obsidian Stout was a good one too!

 

@TonyQ This is what we ordered for takeout today but only managed to eat one between the two of us! The next town has no restaurants so that was our excuse.


IMG_20200619_1654219.jpg.784ab638f35b7256d3c471582d423009.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

This morning we headed to Newberry National Volcanic Monument. The road up to Paulina Peak was still closed due to snow and neither of us had the ambition to hike up so we proceeded to the Little Crater trail head. This trail was surprisingly nice with views of the lake, peak and obsidian flow, the youngest in Oregon at 1300 years old.

 

IMG_20200619_0756467-panorama.jpg.26c1f5041b36fb9bade7a2e5669f5149.jpg

IMG_2376.JPG.ed43d964509ee554d469fc7b6e2c57d8.JPG

IMG_2370.JPG.18f4ee58af7277e7c07eae76ae8fa896.JPG

IMG_2356.JPG.126754600f79aba0341a0a40757aeefc.JPG
 

Then we went to Paulina Falls and took the short trail to the base. This area is quieter than where we went yesterday and even though all of the campgrounds here are full, we only saw a few people at the waterfall and no one on the Little Crater trail.

IMG_20200619_0858349.jpg.fdd27d04d50801a06609242c99b9039f.jpg

IMG_20200619_0908427.jpg.cafcd9e9de903f385c57415ddfe3027f.jpg

After that it was back to Bend for a walk along the Deschutes River. There were surfers at the whitewater spot.
 

 

We re-provisioned for the rest of the trip and got lots of takeout from Spork since it was Friday and we thought dine-in would be busy, Spork was one of our favorite restaurants from last time and only doing takeout and the next town has no restaurants.

This was followed by another luxurious 3pm swim.

Tomorrow we'll head to Crater Lake taking a detour through the Cascade Lakes Scenic Byway. This may be the only useable internet until I get home.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Hi Patty and Mark.  Karen and I have really enjoyed reading your report.  It has been a nice escape for us.

 

The Teton/Yellowstone part of your trip brings back great memories.  Our go to lodging was always a cabin in Silver Gate so we know that part of the park very well.  It's good to see that the wildlife is still abundant there.  We stopped making our annual trip to the park a few years back due to the crowds.

 

The rest of your report has been great too.  We likely have many road trips in our future since we don't think we will do air travel for quite a while so it's nice to get the low down on possible places to visit in the West.

 

And, for some reason I get very hungry after looking at pictures from your report...:D

 

Alan

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Safaritalk uses cookies to ensure you get the best experience on our website. By using Safaritalk you agree to our use of cookies. If you wish to refuse the setting of cookies you can change settings on your browser to clear and block cookies. However, by doing so, Safaritalk may not work properly and you may not be able to access all areas. If you are happy to accept cookies and haven't adjusted browser settings to refuse cookies, Safaritalk will issue cookies when you log on to our site. Please also take a moment to read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy: Terms of Use l Privacy Policy