Thanksgiving 2015: Baskett Slough & Sand Lake

November 25, 2015

I spent Wednesday with Pongo and my Dad.  The plan was to drive down the coast from Tillamook to Newport.  We made it as far South as Pacific City.  If you look on a map, that means we covered around thirty percent of that drive.  Too much cool stuff to see in an afternoon.  It was a pretty awesome day.

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Canada Goose

Pongo and I started our day at Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge.  It's an amazing place for seeing Canada and cackling geese, but you have to get there early.  In California's Central Valley, the snow and ross' geese are present at the refuges throughout the day.  At the Ankeny and Baskett Slough refuges near Salem the geese take off to find food in the morning and return at night.  The early morning take offs at Baskett Slough are loud and exciting.  On this particular morning we caught the tail end of it.

Cackling Goose -- Baskett Slough National Wildife Refuge, OR

I really struggled to get good shots at Baskett Slough.  Now that I think about it, I've always struggled to get good shots there.  The early morning light is dramatic but it's also a little tough for me, at least at the Slough.

Canada & Cackling Geese -- Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Dad, Pongo and I started our coastal adventure at the Tillamook Cheese Factory.  I love that place.  watching the production line is fascinating.  The samples are fun.  The gift shop has an amazing selection of cheese and other goodies.  I bought a pound and a half of fudge.  I didn't think we'd ever be able to eat all of it but it didn't make it past Friday night.  Dad bought some ice cream and it was delicious.  I bought some cheese too but I left it at Mom and Dad's.  I hope they enjoy it!  :-)

Dad & his ice cream -- Tillamook Cheese Factory, Tillamook, OR

After the cheese factory we drove to Netarts and Cape Lookout.  This is Dad's stretch of coastline.  He had a story to tell around every corner.  I enjoyed listening to his memories.

Cape Lookout State Park, OR

Cape Lookout State Park, OR

Cape Lookout State Park, OR

Sand Lake Recreation Area, OR

Dad used to take us four wheeling in the dunes at Sand Lake when we were kids.  My brother and I still talk about that.  I didn't recognize much about this area except for the gas station where we'd turn off the highway to go to the dunes.  I recognized it immediately.  That was cool.

Sand Lake Recreation Area, OR

Pongo spent the day warming up to Dad.  He's always been a little wary of Dad, but by the end of the day he had his head in Dad's lap.  I was happy about that.  Pongo is a special dog but he's very high strung and while not exactly a special needs dog, he's a rescue who was found as a stray puppy and still seems to suffer from the effects of that trauma.  He doesn't warm up to people easily.

Sand Lake, OR

Clay Myers State Natural Area at Whalen Island, OR

Pacific City, OR

Thanksgiving 2015: The Columbia Gorge

November 24, 2015

My brother joined me and Pongo for an adventure in the Columbia Gorge on Tuesday.  It was a rainy, cold day.  We had hoped to go camping but the cold and the rain put an end to that idea.  I can handle cold and I can handle wet and I can even handle cold and wet on a camping trip, but I don't know how to handle a cold, wet dog on a camping trip.

Eagle Creek, OR

Chad took us to the Eagle Creek trailhead.  We hiked up to Metlako Falls, which is about a mile and a half hike along a trail that rises five hundred feet above the creek.  The trail was blasted out of the cliff side over one hundred years ago.  It's a dramatic hike, a bit scary with Pongo in tow.  He had a great time walking right on the cliff edge of the trail.  With the exception of one narrow section, he wasn't the one that was nervous, it was me.

I read about a hike to Scissor/Twister/Crossover/Eagle Creek Falls and I decided this was one hike I wouldn't take Pongo on before making this trip.  I didn't want to deal with Pongo walking along a steep cliff.  Well, this is that hike.  Part of it, anyway.  There's a stretch known as "The Vertigo Mile" between Tunnel Falls and Scissor/Twister/Crossover/Eagle Creek Falls, that's actually the part I didn't want to take Pongo on.  We'd have needed to hike for another five miles or so to get to that stretch.  There's a campground just past that.  Another time, I think.

Eagle Creek, OR

Metlako Falls, Eagle Creek, OR

It felt like we were a thousand feet above the creek.  My brother estimated we were only a couple of hundred feet high.  He was a heck of a lot closer than I was.

Eagle Creek, OR

I took my little pocket camera on this hike.  I certainly missed the power of the big camera, but taking the little camera was the right choice.

I took a number of panoramas on the hike.  I might not have had my nice lens and DSLR but I was able to make up for it with this panorama from one of the steeper sections of the trail.  I sure would have liked it if Pongo had stuck to the wall side of the trail. though.  That dog made me nervous.

Eagle Creek, OR

Pongo didn't know what to do with my brother until he made this move to clean up some garbage on the trail.  I don't know if it was the fact that Chad left the trail or that he hauled out this really cool broken shopping cart with two squeaky wheels from behind the rocks, but from this point on my brother was alright in Pongo's eyes.

Eagle Creek, OR

Coho Salmon

The coolest part of the hike wasn't actually the hike.  As we were leaving we stopped to look at a couple of mergansers in the creek.  Chad noticed a fish and then we realized that the creek was full of salmon.  They weren't going anywhere.  They were spawning.  Holy cow.  I've seen salmon swimming up stream a number of times, but here they were actually laying and fertilizing eggs.  I've had a number of great wildlife sightings this year including grizzlies, a wolf and humpback whales, and this ranks right up there with those.  Spawning salmon.  Holy schnikeys.

Coho Salmon -- Eagle Creek, OR

We had lunch in Hood River then stopped for a few pictures at Multnomah Falls before heading back to Salem.  It's hard to drive through the gorge without making at least a quick stop there.

Multnomah Falls, OR

Thanksgiving 2015: Lava Beds & Crater Lake

November 23, 2015

The night was cold at Lava Beds, but it was nothing compared to the morning.  My fingers were frozen to the bone while packing up the tent, so cold I briefly regretted the decision to camp in the tent.  This would turn out to be the only night we were able to camp and my fingers warmed up quickly enough, so it all worked out.

Lava Beds National Monument, CA

Lava Beds National Monument, CA

Lava Beds is a pretty cool park.  There are a lot of caves that can be explored.  Well, if you don't have a dog along with you, of course.  There are also a number of wildlife refuges nearby.  Tule Lake has plenty of deer and waterfowl.  It would be fun to spend a few days here.  I'd have to leave Pongo at home.

Lava Beds National Monument, CA

American Pika -- Lava Beds National Monument, CA

I spotted a Pika on the lava rocks.  That was a surprise.  I was even more surprised when he/she stuck around long enough to let me switch to my long lens for some nice photos.  What a nice little Pika.  I've never seen one in the wild before, so the day was already a big success and it wasn't even 9:00 yet.

Pongo insists on driving the first leg -- Lava Bed National Monument, CA

Lava Beds National Monument, CA

Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, CA

If you were wondering how cold was cold, check out the frozen ponds just up the road from the campground.  It got down to twenty degrees around Tule Lake which is just a few miles from the Lava Beds.

Crater Lake National Park, OR

Our main stop on the drive up to Salem was at Crater Lake.  It was pretty, but the clear skies made for a boring set of photos.  Pongo enjoyed the snow and we had a nice walk around the South part of the rim.  I got a little confused and didn't realize I could have driven around the rim to the North exit.  Instead I took the West exit and we had an unexpected adventure.

Crater Lake National Park, OR

Crater Lake National Park, OR

While driving around the park and back to 99 I saw a sign for National Creek Falls.  It sounded fun so we took the detour.  The trail head is a few miles off the main highway.  I didn't see a single soul on that road nor at any point during our hike down to the falls.  That was pretty cool.  I saved Pongo's life when he tried to jump into the creek just above the waterfall.  Not the first time.

National Creek Falls, OR

National Creek, OR

Soundtrack:

• Johnny Cash -- Live at San Quentin
• Elvis Costello & the Attractions -- Trust
• Gun & Doll Show -- Working on the Bomb
• Ramones -- Ramones / Rocket to Russia
• The Band -- The Band

Thanksgiving 2015: Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge

November 22, 2015

For me, Thanksgiving means making the annual trek up to Oregon for a get together with with my extended family.  It's a large gathering.  This year there were sixty-five people or so.  That's maybe slightly above average, but only by a few people.  I think the largest we ever had was ninety folks.  It's not held in a house, it's in a church gymnasium.

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Northern Pintail

This year was a little different than usual.  Since Sam moved out a few years ago I've been taking the entire week off and making the drive up a cold-weather road trip.  I spend four or five days by myself camping and seeing the sites.  This year Pongo joined me.  It was the dog's longest trip to date.  Six days.  We had quite a nice adventure together.

Northern Pintail -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Our first stop on the drive up was at Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge.  It's one of our day trip destinations so we are both familiar with it.  There are a couple of trails we can walk on and the auto tour can be spectacular in the winter.  The weather was perfect, cool but not cold with enough clouds in the sky to make wide shots interesting.

Ring-billed Duck -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Snow Goose

This particular refuge can be a decent place for spotting mammals.  We've seen deer and raccoons and a lone coyote.  I'm always hoping to see an otter but have never seen one.  Truthfully, I'm not sure there even are otters at his location.  I've heard mountain lions are occasionally spotted at these Central Valley complexes.  Rarely, actually.  That would be awesome.  I don't know how Pongo would react.  He tried to jump out the window and chase the last raccoons we saw there.  Silly dog.  We didn't see any mammals on this trip.  Lotsa ducks and geese, though.

Snow Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Snow Goose -- Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Red-tailed Hawk

Pongo's ears perk up whenever he hears a flock of geese.  He enjoys watching the big birds.  The auto tours in general are a lot of fun for him, I guess.  He likes to hang out the passenger window as we drive slowly around the gravel roads.  That door has a lot of light scratches on it now from Pongo's sightseeing.  That's OK, we never sell our cars anyway, we just drive them until they die.

Hawks and harriers are common sights at the refuge.  The hawks like to sit in the trees that ring the auto tour which is cool because it creates nice photo opportunities.  Harriers are tougher to photograph.  They land on the ground far from the road when they aren't flying around.  I've seen dozens of harriers here but I've never been able to get a decent photo of one at this location.

Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Pongo

After the refuge we headed up to Lava Beds National Monument where we'd camp for the night.  It was cold!  The campgrounds were almost empty, so that was nice.  Normally Pongo and I sleep in the car.  It was a little extra crowded in there with Pongo's crate and pillow, so we slept in the tent instead.  It was Pongo's first night in a tent.  He did pretty well.  It took him a little while to get used to the sounds of the tent in the breeze but he settled in OK.

Mount Shasta, CA

Lower Klamath National Wildlife Refuge, CA

Soundtrack:

• Bruce Springsteen -- Darkness on the Edge of Town / Born to Run
• The Jimi Hendrix Experience -- Electric Ladyland

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline

November 8, 2015

I kept it local this weekend.  I did a little shopping (gloves) and got out for a few picture at the MLK Shoreline.  Nothing too spectacular.  As you can see from the picture above, a small storm was rolling in.  It gave us our second rain of the year, the first that felt like an actual storm.  In fact, it was the first rain that had a stormy feel to it in over a year.  Nice.  Hopefully it was the first of many.  California sure needs it.

Some Kinda Yellowlegs -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Snowy Egret -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Brown Pelican -- Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Most of the winter birds haven't arrived yet.  I don't think it will be long, though.  I saw a could of surf scoters, a few northern shovelers and a lone bufflelead.  I am ready.

Martin Luther King, Jr. Regional Shoreline, Oakland, CA

Alameda, CA