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Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge

Saturday, May 30th, 2009

Traveled 100 miles from Tulelake to the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. I had driven over a 50 mile gravel road to see the east side of the refuge last fall. This time I entered on the west side. You drive up a 6% grade gravel road to get to the top of Hart Mountain and the park headquarters.

I camped at the CCC Campground at the base of Hart Mountain. While I could have towed my rv up the mountain, I didn’t want to. The Hot Springs Campground that is up there, while beautiful, is more suited to truck campers or small rv’s. The CCC Campground can handle about any size rv. There is no water or hookups and generators are not allowed. You also need to pack out your trash.

The refuge initially allowed cattle to graze on it, but after seeing all the damage they did, they were gradually removed. There is an interesting article on GORP about this.

I’m glad they have not paved the gravel road through the refuge. If it were paved, it would provide a shortcut to the town of Burns, Oregon and would get a lot more traffic which could not help but impact the habitat.

My rv against the base of Hart Mountain at the CCC Campground. I had it all to myself and really enjoyed it. Meadowlarks were singing all around me, hidden in the grass. When I returned from one trip up the mountain, a pronghorn was sniffing around my trailer. He ran when he saw me coming.

Hot Springs Campground. You can’t see the campground, it blends in so well. The hot springs is by the clump of trees on the bottom right. The campground is really beautiful, with wildflowers and a stream running through it. A single elk was also rambling around. The only negative, mosquitoes.

The hot springs at the campground. It is free to use, as is the campground.

There were a lot of these caterpillar filled sacks. Lots of butterflies will soon be in the area.

Barn swallow near the hot springs

Going back down Hart Mountain you get a great view of the Warner Valley Wetlands, an area of critical environmental concern (ACEC). This is a dry year, so you see mudflats circled with grass in the lakes. The sandy areas are interconnected dry ponds.

A northern harrier over the wetland area.

Below, a tree swallow nesting in a birdhouse in the wetlands area.

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Posted in Airstream, Northern harrier, Oregon, antelope, swallow, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

More from Tulelake

Friday, May 29th, 2009

Yesterday afternoon, found the eagle at the same spot again. It had been sunny in the morning, but a thunderstorm swept through in the afternoon with rain and some hail. Just lasted around 20 minutes. You could see areas in the valley were sunny and some were getting rain and lightning.

Thunderstorm moves across the refuge road.

Western grebe, one of my favorite birds.

Eared grebe in the rain.

Cinnamon teals, a favorite duck of hunters.

Pelicans, cormorants, and terns resting and grooming after the rain. Have seen some juvenile pelicans, but no real young ones. There is a large group of white pelicans towards the middle of the lake.

Below, my campsite at the Tulelake Fairgrounds. This would be an idyllic  place except for all the chemicals used by the farmers. A crop duster flies over farmland almost every day. Hate to think of all the chemicals in the water at Tule Lake.

Posted in Airstream, Tulelake, cormorants, eagle, grebe, pelican, teal, tern, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

More from the Klamath area

Saturday, May 9th, 2009

A large flock of (Caspian) terns on the sand spit at the mouth of the Klamath River

Love seeing pelicans fly in formation.

A sweathouse on Yurok ceremonial grounds located a mile or so from the rv park at the mouth of the Klamath River.

Newton B. Drury Parkway in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park.

Fern Canyon at Gold Bluffs Beach in Prairie Creek Redwood State Park. Water running down the sides of the cliffs have allowed ferns to grow for thousands of years. Next time I’ll remember to bring water sandals and a tripod.

A varied thrush  seen near Fern Canyon with a worm and insect in its’ beak.

Largest antlers seen at Gold Bluffs Beach.

Lots of goldfinches (below) seen near the coast. Not a great picture, but the only one I could get.

Posted in Airstream, Klamath, State, elk, goldfinch, tern, thrush | No Comments »

Moving On

Tuesday, April 21st, 2009

Finally finished up all my maintenance issues and am ready to move on from Sutherlin, Oregon.

Above, where I’ve been parked for two weeks. Below that, leaves on an alder tree emerging.

Below, deer doing what they tend to do…eat plants. Gave one young one a carrot. Know that’s a no-no.

Posted in Airstream, Sutherlin, deer | No Comments »

Salton Sea State Recreation Area

Monday, March 16th, 2009

Stayed at the Salton Sea State Park one night at their Salt Creek Campground. Enjoyed staying at the no hookup campground next to the water.

The pictures below were taken in the morning light. The protuberances seen on the beaks of the pelicans in the second picture had me concerned. Later found out adult pelicans have these in the breeding season.

Above: Get off my cloud! Some of the pelicans got protective of their fishing areas.

A variety of gulls, along with pelicans and a few herons and terns, roosted on sandbars. Gulls were continuously flying in and out of the roost.

When I went to close the door of my rv after it got dark, saw a lot of pelican activity on the water. Looks like they wanted a bedtime snack.

Posted in Airstream, Salton Sea, State, heron, pelican, tern | 1 Comment »

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument

Sunday, March 8th, 2009

Stayed a couple of days at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. Seemed 10 degrees cooler than the Buenos Aires Refuge area. The rv campground is beautiful. You park on a level concrete surface and are surrounded by native plants. Glad this beautiful area is being protected.

Cactus wren

Gambel’s quail

Teddybear cholla set amoung ocotillo and organ pipe cactus.

Posted in Airstream, Ajo, National, cactus wren, quail | No Comments »

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge is the only refuge I have come across that has campsites where you can boondock (free) for up to 14 days. I stayed there for 4 days and was the only camper I was aware of. It was very quiet. Hunting season just ended, so maybe hunters scared all the wildlife away. The weather was perfect. It was in the 70′s during the day, did not have to use my fans, and at night it was in the 50′s, so the furnace was not needed.

The area is a semi-desert grassland with lots of mesquite trees. The refuge is trying to restore it to the way it was before cattle grazed here. They want to encourage masked bobwhite quail and pronghorns to return.

Airforce jets practice over the area. One day I had my back to the window, something made me turn and look out. Saw a Airforce jet coming right at me, I could see the pilot! By the time I ran to the door, it had done a 90 degree roll and was gone. It happened so fast. There were a lot of jets in the area the next day. Maybe the jet that flew over me was just checking out the area because of this.

This area is called “cocaine alley” because of all the drug smugglers that enter the United States through here. That may be why there is a helicopter landing pad on the refuge and a strong presence of border patrol. Also, I got the best internet connection I’ve had for a long time. A communications tower was nearby, out in the middle of nowhere.

Mule deer in a no hunting area of the refuge.

Saw what I think is a western harrier at Arivaca Cienega on the refuge.

Getting here

After leaving the Benson, Sierra Vista area, stopped at Patagonia State Park. There were a lot of pipevine swallowtails there (above). The park was crowded. You have to get there early in the day to get an electric spot. A lot of people were on a hunt to see an elegant trogon. Unfortunately, I never saw one.

Black phoebe.

While Big Bend and the Buenos Aires Refuge are trying to repair damage caused by cattle grazing, Patagonia State Park allows ranchers to graze cattle at the east end of the lake, near some marsh and the Sonoita Creek (prime birding area). People swim and catch fish in a lake that cattle go into. Along with going into the lake, the cattle eat and trample tree saplings. You would also not want to walk along the trail at night, with cow droppings all over the place.

Sleeping bull, with muddy feet.

Posted in Airstream, Arivica, National, Northern harrier, Patagonia, State, cow, deer, phoebe, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

Back down I-395

Tuesday, October 21st, 2008

Drove down the I-395 to Southern California. Stopped one night at Davis Creek Regional Park just out of Reno and another night in the parking lot at Manzanar Historic Site. Once the sun went down, it was really cold both places. Ran out of propane the second night and got pretty cold.

Top picture is Mono Lake. The picture below it is Conway Summit just before you head down to Mono Lake. Below is Manzanar.

RV’s seem to be back on the road in a big way. When gas was around $5.00 saw a noticeable drop in RV sightings. This trip passed a large number of RV’s heading north as I got close to Los Angeles. Pleased to see diesel at around $3.50 and below here. Hope the trend continues.

This was the first time I’ve taken the I-395 to the I-15 to get to the Riverside area. You avoid a lot of freeway traffic and get to go downhill over the Cajon Pass when going south. After the junction with the 14 near Ridgecrest there is a lot of truck traffic and the two-lane road deteriorates some.

Posted in Airstream, Lee Vining, Lone Pine, Mono Lake, Reno | No Comments »

Malheur National Wildlife Refuge

Tuesday, October 7th, 2008

Finally made it to Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in the high desert (4,000 feet elevation) of southeast Oregon. It’s huge and beautiful. The auto tour route is 41 miles long! The nearest town with reasonable gas is Burns, 35 miles away. Glad I came well supplied with food and propane. In driving the tour route, it surprises me that I haven’t used more fuel than I have. In part this is probably due to my staying in the refuge, so there is no driving 20 miles to get here.

The weather has been in the 50′s and 60′s during the day and the 30′s at night. An early winter storm is coming through that has brought the temps down to the 40′s during the day and 20′s at night. My rv has come through great in the cold, with the furnace coming on intermittently at night. I prefer being here in cold weather rather than the hot and buggy summer.

The refuge has brought in sheep to get rid of some invasive weeds. The sheepherder has 5 or 6 labs, along with Australian shepherds. Guess the labs are to protect the sheep. They chased after my truck after I took this picture.

So far, I’ve seen coots, ducks, magpies, hawks, pheasants, quail, long-eared owl, and western grebe. I’ve heard sandhill cranes, but have not seen them.

Getting here

Took I-395 south from Pendleton, Oregon. Went over a lot of brown rolling hills that gradually turned into forests then back to brown rolling hills. Passed a lot of cattle ranches. Probably took more gas taking this two lane highway, as compared to a truck route, but it was worth it. Glad I filled up near Pendleton. Didn’t pass many gas stations.

Posted in Airstream, Burns, ring-necked pheasant, sheep, wildlife refuge | No Comments »

Mount St. Helens

Monday, September 29th, 2008

Finally made it to Mount St. Helens National Volcanic Mounument. It was just a viewing, I didn’t really explore the area. A lot of the visitor and camping areas were either closed or in the process of closing for the winter. There was a strong, cold and gritty wind blowing at the Johnston Ridge Observatory, while just a few miles down the road it was hot with no wind. Not many people there. Definitely would like to come back again.

View north from the Johnston Ridge Observatory. The land next to the parking lot is recovering, while the next ridge over is still pretty bald after 25 years.

I arrived late Tuesday afternoon and ended up parking for the night in a pull out just outside the blast area. They don’t want dogs in the blast area except in specially marked places. Their scent can scare some animals away.

Posted in Airstream, Mount St. Helens, National | No Comments »

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