Thanksgiving

As has been the custom of late, I took the week of Thanksgiving off for a little adventure.  I drive up to Salem, Oregon every year and I like to take the long way around.  My plan was the good old stand by route, Salem via Redwood and Olympic National Parks.

Mount Shasta, CA

It was not to be.

My dad had a mild heart attack the weekend before Thanksgiving and had a triple bypass on Monday.  Instead of a leisurely drive up the coast I bombed up I-5 on Sunday.

Yet another family emergency.  That seems to be all I blog about these days.

American Kestrel -- Nestucca Bay National Wildlife Refuge, OR

On top of all the time spent in the hospital, it rained most of the time I was up there.  It wasn't the kind of rain you can just button up your jacket and go out for a hike in, either.  It dumped buckets for a good part of the time I was up there.  Pongo and I drove out to the coast anyway, but it was too wet to do anything outside.  We got some smoked salmon at Barnacle Bill's and some cheese and fudge at the Tillamook Cheese factory but stayed in the car for the rest of that afternoon trip.

Bald Eagle -- Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

The Willamette Queen -- Salem, OR

Salem, OR

Actually, we had one good day for getting outside.  It was Black Friday.  Based on the crowd at Silver Falls State Park, the stores probably weren't as crowded as they have been in the past.  Dogs aren't allowed on the Canyon Trail where most of the waterfalls can be experienced, but they are allowed almost everywhere else.  I wore Pongo out hiking on some of those other trails.  Poor guy.

South Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

South Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

South Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

There is a quarter mile trail to the Upper North Fall that dogs are allowed on, so we were able to see one of the waterfalls up close.  I took some pictures there that all turned out blurry because I couldn't keep the lens dry from the mist and the rain.

Lower North Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

Lower North Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

Upper North Fall -- Silver Falls State Park, OR

For the record, by dad is doing well.  He was on his feet the very next day after surgery and was at home watching John Wayne movies and football on Thanksgiving day.  He's grouchy from being bossed around, but he's just going to have to deal with that for a little while.

Silver Falls State Park, OR

Soundtrack:

• The Decemberists - The Crane Wife
• The Police - Message in a Box [1]
• Pearl Jam - Ten
• Pond - Pond
• Pavement - Crooked Rain, Crooked Rain
• Wilco - The Whole Love
• Fleet Foxes - Helplessness Blues

2BP: Squirrels 'n' Stuff

February 29 - March 4, 2016

With the weekend behind us, we all settled into a regular routine for the week.  Pongo.  Work.  Hospital.  Dinner.  For the next four days, that was basically my life.

Canada Goose -- Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Bald Eagle

We woke up early enough one morning to get to Baskett Slough.  The light wasn't very good.  Still, I took some photos and Pongo enjoyed the short drive through the refuge.  It was his only real adventure for the rest of the trip.

We saw a bald eagle.  It was high on the hill, though, and Baskett Slough doesn't allow dogs out of cars even on leashes.  So, I had to settle for long shots from the parking lot.

Aside from this short trip to Baskett Slough, Pongo had to settle for walks around the neighborhood.  We spent a lot of time taking walks, though.  They were good for both of us.

Western Gray Squirrel -- Salem, OR

We saw a lot of squirrels on those walks around the neighborhood.  I suspect these sightings were Pongo's favorite aspect of the entire trip.  He seems sworn to rid this country of every squirrel he sees.  It's an obsession with him.  Sometimes it's entertaining to watch him get so focused on something, but it's not so fun when he just about yanks my arm off trying to catch the damned thing.

Western Gray Squirrel -- Salem, OR

By Friday, my mother was settled in and recovering at home.  Dad had things pretty well under control.  It was time for us to head home.  We made a brief stop at Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge on our way out of town then bombed our way home.  That was pretty much it.  Mom continues to do well in her recovery.

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

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 2013: Birds, Birds, Birds . . . and a Nutria

Birds, Birds, Birds . . . and a Nutria

November 30, 2013

Soundtrack:

• Wire Train -- Between Two Words

Saturday was the day for the long drive home.  Not before taking in some of the local wildlife, though.

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Great Blue Heron

I've driven by Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge countless times.  It's on the way to the coast and the casino from my parents house.  There are few trips I make to Oregon where I don't end up going to one of those two places.  I'd never stopped at the refuge before this visit.  I had no idea there was so much wildlife so close to my childhood home.

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

I visited Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge a couple of times in November.  There are some interesting similarities and differences.  Sacramento has a lot more ducks.  The selection was exactly the same, though.  In both places I saw mallards, northern pintails and northern shovelers.  Both places have a lot of coots.  I didn't notice any grebes at Baskett Slough, there are plenty in Sacramento.

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

The goose populations were very different.  In Sacramento, there are snow geese, ross' geese and white-fronted geese.  It was all canada geese and cackling geese at Baskett Slough.  I read that the Willamette Valley is the exclusive wintering home for certain types of canada geese.  The goose populations were a lot closer in size between the two refuges than the duck populations.  

Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Red-tailed Hawk

Both refuges attract a large number of northern harriers and hawks.  I guess they hang around to eat the ducks and coots?  I saw a harrier buzz over the ducks and geese a couple of times and the waterfowl scattered when they saw the harrier.  The northern harriers I saw in Sacramento all seemed to be interested in the critters in the fields, mice and snakes I assumed.  I saw a  couple of american kestrels at Baskett Slough.

Northern Harrier Buzzing the Geese -- Baskett Slough National Wildlife Refuge, OR

After visiting Baskett Slough, I went back to Salem to have breakfast with the family before heading South for the winter.  Before I left the Salem area, though, I stopped at Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge.  It was a different experience.  There were still a lot of canada/cackling geese (they sure are hard for me to tell apart unless they're right next to each other), but there was a wider variety of other waterfowl and there were bald eagles.

Canada Geese (or Are They Cackling Geese?) -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Nutria

 Like Baskett Slough, Ankeny didn't have a lot of ducks.  It had a wide variety, though.  It had mallards, pintails and shovelers, but it also had canvasbacks, buffleheads, hooded mergansers and scaups.  I saw a couple of tundra swans at Baskett Slough, but at Ankeny I saw at least a dozen.  I also saw a nutria.  It's basically a giant South American water rat.

Why do I find this picture to be so funny?  Tundra Swan -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

Canvasback

I always think of swans as being graceful, elegant birds.  These swans?  Not so much.  These swans spent a lot of time with their asses in the air feeding on something beneath the water.  Awkward.  They were always surround by small fleets of ducks.  I suspect the ducks were hoping to grow up to be big and beautiful like the swans some day.  Isn't there a story about that?

Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

I saw a juvenile bald eagle in a tree as I was leaving the refuge.  He posed for a while, and then he was joined by another bald eagle.  They flew off together, wrestling in the air as they flew.  It reminded me of our dogs.  So silly.

Bald Eagle -- Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge, OR

After that I headed home.  I took the back way through Oregon, cutting over to Highway 97 at Eugene.  It was an uneventful drive.  Pretty, though.  As always, it was good to get back into California.  For the first time, I think I had an appreciation for the beauty of California's Central Valley.  It's so different from the forested land I'd been driving through for the last week.

Mount Shasta, Highway 97, CA