When I travel, I think about photographing what I see by noticing the lines. Your eye wants to follow where they lead you. Here a few leading lines from northern Oregon.
Noticing the lines in a scene: LAPC
Travel
Pub Art at Silver Moon Brewing
This pub art at Silver Moon Brewing captures many of the iconic landmarks of Bend, Oregon. Artist Natalie Fletcher included Smith Rock in the background flanked by the Painted Hills on the left and Mt Bachelor on the right. The Deschutes River winds through the scene.
Can you see the source of the river? An overflowing glass of beer of course. Little Lava Lake is the “real” source and it’s a great place for kayaking.
Continue readingSunflowers & Stagecoaches at the Steens
Sunflowers & stagecoaches? You may be wondering how those two things go together.
Last August we explored the Steens Mountain area by car. Did you know you can drive all the way around this 50-mile long mountain and to its 9,700-foot peak at certain times of the year? The views from up there are breathtaking!
Common sunflower
The following pictures are from the dirt road on the east side of Steens Mountain. Common sunflowers, Helianthus annus L., were in full bloom along the road.
As their name implies, common sunflowers are common throughout the conterminous United States and in parts of Canada and Mexico. Sunflowers have been introduced in other parts of North America and throughout the world. They occur in a wide variety of habitats including prairies, roadsides, near railroad right-of-ways, savannas, and forest edges.
Peace in the Pueblo Mountains: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Someone needed their coffee fast!: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Stories within the layers of stone: LAPC
Sometimes I look at layered rock formations and imagine stories within the layers.
This formation at Fort Rock looks like the giant prow of a ship bursting through the cliffs.
A closer look shows where the water levels were before the ship drained the basin.
Magnificent Mural: A Photo a Week Challenge – Signs
We recently saw this magnificent mural in the downtown area of The Dalles, Oregon. Isn’t it fantastic! This is The Valley Gorge Hub by Blaine Fontana. Blaine and Jeremy Nichols used hundreds of cans of spray paint to create this mural in 2018. Toma Villa consulted on this project. He is a colleague of Fontana’s and an enrolled member of the Yakama Nation.
This building has murals painted on the north, south, and east sides. You can see a small sign for Kung Fu classes on the left side of the building.
This Valley Gorge project is one of many planned to bring together the communities near the Columbia River Gorge. They plan to “build a more inclusive mecca for creativity, culture, outdoor recreation, and opportunities for new and existing businesses.”
Blaine created another magnificent mural in The Dalles as a part of the Oregon Mural Trail. This project is funding seven large murals in seven small Oregon towns located throughout the state.
The Dalles has an amazing collection of murals. The Dalles Mural Society has more information on them.
Nancy Merrill’s A Photo a Week Challenge – Signs
Furry & Feathered Frame Fillers: LAPC
I decided to feature some furry & feathered frame fillers for this week’s lens-artists photo challenge. The challenge is Filling the Frame. Here are some photos I took at Yellowstone National Park.
This high-flying eagle is in a small museum near Fishing Bridge. It looked so real swooping over our heads.
We saw this pronghorn buck near Mammoth Hot Springs. Most people drove right past him. You have to learn to look for pieces that don’t quite fit into the landscape puzzle to spot wildlife.
Revisiting Steens Mountain: LAPC
On a recent trip revisiting Steens Mountain, I thought back on what this place looked like decades before. When I got home, I browsed my photos and realized several pictures I took on this trip were taken in nearly the exact same spot.
Places seem to me to have some kind of memory, in that they activate memory in those who look at them.
W. G. Sebald
Some places call you back to them. While revisiting Steens Mountain this summer, I realized it is one of those places for me.
Here are a few “then” and “now” pictures I took of the Steens.
In this land…Oregon countryside : LAPC
In this land, Nature weaves colorful tapestries into the earth and sky
And creates havens for its creatures to pause and rest
In this land, pale sandy deserts settle in some basins
Continue readingKiger Gorge Panorama: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Oregon Trail – Baker City: Visiting History
On the Oregon Trail
Tiny Tin Pan Theater
You can find the Tin Pan Theater tucked away in an alley in downtown Bend, Oregon. If you didn’t know it was there, you could walk right past it.
This tiny theater only has 28 seats. You might not see the next Avengers movie there, but you will see some great movies. Indie films like The Nightingale, Linda Ronstadt: The Sound of my Voice, and Maiden. They also feature foreign films.
Get there early because seats fill up fast. You can enjoy some popcorn and drinks while you’re waiting–including some local brews.
This theater received good news recently. BendFilm purchased the property in May 2019. The BendFilm Festival takes place in October and films can be viewed at this theater and several other locations. This festival was recently recognized by MovieMaker Magazine as being one of the 25 coolest film festivals in the world.
Continue readingColumbia Gorge Discovery Center & Museum
We stumbled upon the Columbia Gorge Discovery Center in northern Oregon one autumn day . The Center opened in 1997 but we had never been there.
Wouldn’t you like to have a river winding across your floor like this one in the entry hall?
How about a cedar dugout canoe? Some were up to 50 feet in length.
Continue readingHorse Herd Sculpture: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Birds of the Shore: LAPC
Birds of the shore are common in the spring in parts of eastern Oregon. Why? Because flood irrigation is one of the main methods used to water the crops. As the snow melts off surrounding mountains, it collects in rivers and reaches the lower elevations.
It is released in controlled amounts in the Harney Basin, where 320 bird species congregate. This ancient method of irrigation benefits the rancher and the birdwatcher.
Birds such as sandhill cranes take advantage of all of that water. You can see flocks of them in the photo above and a single bird below.
Continue readingRaptors in Eastern Oregon
Birds of Prey Tour
I saw plenty of raptors on a Birds of Prey tour in the wide-open country of Harney County, Oregon last April. We ventured briefly into the Malheur National Forest in search of eagles. Though we didn’t see any eagles, we did get a nice view of an American kestrel.
We saw immature and mature bald eagles later that day. It’s always exciting to see them.
Immature bald eagle 
Bald eagle in flight 
Adult bald eagle
Some of the wildlife out there was keeping an eye on us. This herd of elk on a distant ridge top watched us for a while.
Continue readingClouds in my sky: LAPC
I can be jubilant one moment and pensive the next, and a cloud could go by and make that happen.
Bob Dylan
Here are few clouds in my sky from the last year’s worth of Lens-Artists Photo Challenges. These pictures were taken in Eastern and Central Oregon, my favorite country. Enjoy their many moods.
Finding serenity in a kayak: LAPC
I always have a way of finding serenity when I’m in a kayak.
Majestic mountains can surround you in a gentle hug.
You can pause and reflect on your life.
Nature Walks with Llamas
This spring I tried something new by going on two nature walks with llamas. The first hike was part of the Harney County Migratory Bird Festival in eastern Oregon. The second hike, just north of Burns, Oregon, was to help a llama get certification for the Pack Llama Trial Association (PLTA).
First Hike
On the first 4-mile hike, my llama was Marty McFly, AKA “The Professor.” He was not the most dominant llama there, but he was considered to be the smartest. He was always on the lookout. Llamas have large eyes, much like pronghorns, so they can spot predators.
Favorite Rocks in Oregon: LAPC
Oregon rocks come in a wide variety of shapes and colors. Here are a few of my favorite rocks.
Craggy cliffs circling wonder
Sculptures shaped by the sea
Wild Oregon-Steens to the Sea: LAPC
There are many wild Oregon places and this post highlights just a few of them. The ever changing skies can make familiar landscapes look completely different. Here are some portraits of Oregon’s wild places.
Oregon is an inspiration. Whether you come to it, or are born to it, you become entranced by our state’s beauty, the opportunity she affords, and the independent spirit of her citizens.
Tom McCall, former governor of Oregon
Kam Wah Chung: A Step Back in Time
Have you ever stepped inside a time capsule and discovered a place frozen in time? You have the opportunity to visit such a place if you stop at the Kam Wah Chung State Heritage Site in John Day, Oregon. The small building, located two blocks north of Highway 26, was, at one time, bustling with activity. Kam Wah Chung, which translates to the “Golden Flower of Prosperity,” served as a dry goods store, herbalist shop, import business, house of worship, and boarding house. It also housed an informal library and post office.
A Steens Scene: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
Yellowstone Elements: LAPC
The Lens-Artists Photo Challenge this week is the five elements of metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. Here are pictures that feature several of the elements that I took at Yellowstone National Park.
Blue Basin Bench: Pull up a Seat
This bench awaits you at the end of the Blue Basin Island in Time Trail at John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in Eastern Oregon. When you sit there, you are surrounded by an amphitheater of greenish blue stone highlighted by hills of red volcanic soil. It’s a dramatic, and impressive, landscape.
Here is a 360-degree view of what I saw at the end of the Island in Time Trail.
Feeling Cheesy? Visit Tillamook Creamery
Last June we happened to be in Tillamook, Oregon the day the new Tillamook Creamery visitor center opened.
They have 1.3 million visitors a year and the new 38,500 square foot facility is a welcome addition. The original visitor center opened in 1949. We visited that much smaller center years ago.
Continue readingBlue Basin Trail – Island in Time
Green scenes on Blue Basin trail
I did this easy hike on the Blue Basin trail in John Day Fossil Beds National Monument last October. I felt like a stranger in a strange land on this trail through blue-green badlands.
East Rim Steens Mountain: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
The Road To… Oregon: LAPC
The curving road
Here are some curving roads to various scenic destinations in Oregon. When you’re driving down the road you never know what sights you’ll see just around the bend.
What is straight? A line can be straight, or a street, but the human heart, oh, no, it’s curved like a road through mountains.
Tennessee Williams
Seaside Scenes-Pacific City: Wordless Wednesday
Wordless Wednesday
National Park Travels: LAPC
These photos are of our National Park travels within 1,000 miles of our home. We are lucky to live so close to so much beauty.
I tried to consider what was in the foreground as well as the background in these shots.
Tin Pan Alley Art in Bend
Seven artists featured in Tin Pan Alley
The Tin Pan Alley Art “gallery” is located in a short alleyway in downtown Bend, Oregon. The alley features large pieces of art created with a variety of media. Some are 2-dimensional while others are more sculptural. Do you have a favorite among these wonderful pieces of art?
This collection is part of a public art initiative that supports local arts and culture. It takes our outdoor lifestyle into consideration. Another example of outdoor art is featured in many of Bend’s roundabouts.
Mixed media
This is The Visitor by artist Carol Sternkopf. This is a mixed media piece that combines photography, vinyl, paint, twigs, wood, metal, and salvaged home decor. Nature and animals were important in Carol’s childhood. She incorporates them into her art. She hopes viewers think about the “larger story within the magnificent blue owl’s eyes” in this piece.
Continue readingBlue Pool Reflections: LAPC
The Artwork of Nature
I visited Blue Pool on a cool September day. Mother Nature was busy there producing colorful works of art. The colors in the pool are unbelievably beautiful and intense. On this day, the warm colors of fall leaves were reflected on the water.
As I mentioned in Blue Pool is a Jewel, the reflections look like Impressionist paintings. I could have stayed there for a long time taking pictures. Can you see why?
Holiday Lights Winter Paddle Parade in Bend
Last night we had a front row seat to watch the paddle parade go by on the Deschutes River in Bend, Oregon. This event has taken place for many years, rain or shine. It was kind of blustery weather last night but there were still a lot of people participating in the parade.
The event is hosted by Tumalo Creek Kayak and Canoe in the Old Mill district. Participants dress up their watercraft and themselves with colorful lights. The parade takes place from about 4:00 to 6:00 pm. After it’s over, everyone gets together for nice warm drinks.
Viewpoints of Oregon: Photo Challenge
The challenge on Travel with Intent today is Viewpoint.
Here a few viewpoints of Oregon from places I’ve visited. Some are from places labeled as a viewpoint; others are taken where people stop to see a special view.
The Painted Hills in eastern Oregon
The view of a great horned owl nest south of Burns
The view of Mt. Hood from Highway 26
Yellowstone Hidden & Revealed: LAPC
In Yellowstone National Park, much of the wildlife is hidden from view. You have to look carefully to find the animals and sometimes they will reveal themselves to you.
Elk in the Lamar Valley are hidden as they blend into the landscape traveling along a ridge top.
However, when they cross a pond they are revealed. The splashing water draws your attention and their pale colored rumps make you take notice of them.
Blue Basin Bridge: Wordless Wednesday
Textures of Arches National Park
Visiting Sunriver Nature Center
Learn about the natural world by visiting Sunriver Nature Center
Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory is a great place to learn more about the natural world. This small interpretive center is on the west side of Sunriver, Oregon. It’s in an area that includes pine forests, meadows, and the meandering Deschutes River. The “edges” between these habitats are good places to see wildlife.
You can observe local wildlife by walking the trails on your own or going out with a guide. The Sam Osgood Nature Trail winds around the property. In the spring and summer keep an eye out for trumpeter swans. Guided bird walks take place every Saturday morning in the spring, summer, and fall. I have been on several of the walks. You’ll see waterfowl in the pond, raptors flying overhead, and songbirds along the walk. Great gray owls have been spotted in the area occasionally. You never know what you might spot on one of these walks.
There are also programs for families and kids. There are Kids Nature Camps for kids 4-10 years of age at certain times of the year. Family programs might include offerings such as Family Birding, Aquatic Explorations, and Eco Bike Tours. During the school year, staff travel to nearby schools to give presentations.