On several previous posts I have mentioned that Bend, Oregon, is located in Central Oregon on the high desert. The above photo, taken this weekend on a hike to the Badlands Wilderness area 17 miles East of Bend, gives a fairly good representation of the countryside lying in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountain range. The trees that flourish in this semi-arid environment are junipers. They are generally short, with tough gnarly bark, rough light green needle-like or scale-like leaves and aromatic inedible blue berries. The soil is composed of pumice, lava and igneous rock and is the remnants of the huge explosion and fiery flow from the remains of Mt. Mazama 90 miles away, which is the site of present day Crater Lake.There are many fascinating rock formations and caves in this location, which I hope to show in a subsequent post. I may be able to share one tomorrow, but if not, I will not be back in town until a week from Wednesday.
6 comments:
I love the desert junipers and sage. Nice photo with the blue, the mountains and the clouds to set off the vegetation. There's nothing else quite like it.
area. I would like to hike there and see it first hand. My eldest daughter lives in Ritzville in the Channelled Scablands. Interesting area also.
Have a safe trip. MB
That's right, you're going tripping about the country...
I shall look forward to seeing your cave photos...
Re: horses - you're problem is not that you don't like horses, it's that you've had to spend too much time working with the south ends of horses heading north!
Have a great journey!
Nice and beautiful shot !!
Interesting and informative as always. It's amazing how nature adapts.
I have read Edith Wharton, a long long time ago and I have fond memories of her prose. I blush though because it's so long ago that I can't remember any details.
I never failed to be amazed by the difference in the landscape around Portland and the coast and landscape around Bend! Beautiful shot, Lee!
Have a great trip!
Sylvia
Post a Comment