Thanksgiving 2015: Shellburg Falls & the Ghosts of Detroit

November 27, 2015

Black Friday.  We used to do the Christmas shopping for my nieces and nephew on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  Now they're all teenagers.  Shopping for them isn't as fun as it used to be and I suspect whatever I get for them will not be very interesting to them.  Amazon gift cards for everyone!  That opens up the day for adventure.

Road to Shellburg Fall, OR

Lower Shellburg Falls

The hike to Shellburg Fall is a nice and easy two mile hike with a moderate elevation gain of three hundred seventy feet.  It's out and in, so four miles or so total.  There are steep stairs if you choose to go up and around Shellburg Fall (we did), but anyone capable of walking four miles can make the hike up to the falls.  There are actually three waterfalls to see on this hike.  The one hundred foot high Shellburg Fall is the main attraction, but Stassel Falls is a two hundred foot beauty of its own and Lower Shellburg Falls is right on the trail as well.

Lower Shellburg Falls, OR

Friday was a bright, sunny day without a cloud in the sky.  That made photography a bit difficult in this forested area.  Inside the thick forest lighting was difficult with bright spots and dark spots existing side by side.  My niece tackled this problem by shooting a lot of small things up close.  She had a wonderful set of photos of her own of ice and leaves and mushrooms.  It was a very different perspective of the same hike, fun to see.

Shellburg Fall, OR

Shellburg Fall, OR

Shellburg Fall

If you've hiked Silver Creek Falls in Oregon you'll notice how similar Shellburg looks to some of the waterfalls there.  It's not surprising considering the trailhead is only a few miles from Silver Falls State Park.  Shellburg Creek has carved this waterfall out of the same landscape as Silver Creek.  Like some of the larger falls at Silver Creek, a cave has been sculpted out behind the waterfall.

Shellburg Fall, OR

Shellburg Fall, OR

Shellburg Fall, OR

The trail goes up and over to the top of the waterfall after going behind it.  This is the only steep section of the trail and it only goes up about fifty feet or so making it not too difficult to traverse.  It's really a nice, easy hike with this one little section that might be a little difficult for people who have problems going up stairs.

Shellburg Falls Trail, OR

Stassel Falls

Stassel Falls is found by taking a short out-and-back trail off of the main Shellburg Falls trail.  The trail leads to the top of the falls where the creek falls two hundred feet into the gorge below.  It's a dramatic perspective.  There are no fences and the trail is rough, not something I'd recommend for small children or off-leash pets (although pets are supposed to be leashed on this trail).  It's definitely worth checking out, although its not really possible to see the entire set of falls from here.

Stassel Falls, OR

The hike back out is on the same road as the hike in.  It winds through a cow pasture and forest.  It's really a nice way to spend a morning.

Shellburg Falls Trail, OR

Shellburg Falls Trail, OR

Shellburg Falls Trail

My sister was hosting a Civil War Game party in the afternoon (the Civil War Game is a football game between the University of Oregon and Oregon State, for those who don't know).  Sam and my brother and his family headed in that direction after the hike.  I didn't fancy spending the afternoon indoors and I didn't want to keep Pongo inside or in the car since we'd be spending the entire day in the car on Saturday driving home, so we headed East.  The goal was just to see whatever we could see until it got too dark then we'd drive back to Salem.

Detroit Lake, OR

Detroit Lake

Detroit Lake was our first stop.  Due to the drought and the time of year, the lake was exceptionally low.  The lake is man made, formed by the damming of the North Santiam River.  The dam was completed in 1953 and the town of Detroit was moved up stream a few miles because its location at the time would put it under the waterline.  While normally submerged, when the water levels are low the streets of the old ghost town of Detroit can be strolled by visitors.

Detroit Lake, OR

We spent a lot of time swimming, skiing and fishing on this lake when I was a kid.  I only remember seeing the lake this low once.  My mother brought up up here to see the old ghost town.  It made enough of an impression on me that I still remember it.

Detroit Lake, OR

After visiting Detroit, Pongo headed up into the mountains.  We drove until we hit snow plows and ice on the roads.  It was starting to get dark as well, so we turned back and headed to Salem.  We stopped a few times to take pictures and walk in the snow.  That was basically the end of our Thanksgiving adventures.  We bombed our way down I-5 to Alameda on Saturday, only stopping for bathroom breaks and a Big Mac (Pongo had Chicken Nuggets).

North Santiam River, OR

Soundtrack:

• Radiohead -- Hail to the Thief
• PJ Harvey -- To Bring You My Love
• The Call -- Reconciled

Thanksgiving 2015: Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge

November 26, 2015

Thursday was Thanksgiving.  Turkey.  Mashed potatoes.  Pumpkin pie.  All that.  Unfortunately for Pongo, that meant he'd have to spend the afternoon in the crate.  It was probably good for him given the excitement of the last few days.  We had a little adventure in the morning at Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge which is a few miles South of Salem.

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Well, when I say little adventure, it was more little than adventure.  We only had an hour or so and there weren't a whole lot of birds to be seen.  A few tundra swans were floating around on one of the ponds.  Other than that, we saw some ducks and geese but nothing up close.

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

OK, there was one BIG sighting . . .

Emu -- Jefferson, OR

An emu!  This big bird was in a pasture across the street from the refuge.  Pongo was intrigued by the bird.  He didn't get too excited about any of the wildlife sightings on this trip.  I'm not sure why.  The emu was the most interesting thing he saw from what I could tell.

Emu -- Jefferson, OR

That's pretty much it.  Well, I'll add a picture of the family members that attended this year's gathering.  It's a pretty big group.

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