BONNY BUTTE RAPTOR MIGRATION PROJECT
Last Tuesday I set out early for a long day trip to the Bonny Butte International Raptor Migration Project site on the south eastern flank of MT. Hood, in Oregon.
According to the Hawk Watch International web site I would be able to easily spot several species of Raptors that are difficult to see here in the Klamath Basin. I was especially interested in the Sharp Shinned, Cooper's, and Peregrine numbers they were quoting as viewable in a days watching.
My best friend Melvyn was my companion for this trip, and we were traveling in his vehicle for its higher ground clearance; as the last few miles of the trip was to be over deeply rutted dirt roads.
Well, we never made it to our destination. We had a flat tire just a few miles from our turn off onto the unimproved road. That was the good news! The bad news was that Mel’s spare tire was one of those little “toy” tires that are intended just to get one a few miles to a tire repair station. We were afraid to trust the “toy” tire on up into the wilderness and then back out to civilization for tire repair, so we turned around and started home.
As it turned out the trip was not a total bust. On the way up we had passed a couple of interesting locations we thought might be interesting to investigate, so we decided to check them out on the way back.
One of the spots was a roadside park and boat launching ramp along side the Deschutes River, in the small community of Warm Springs. Warm Springs is in the middle of a deep river gorge of some 1,000 feet deep, a mile or so wide and about 10 miles long. We had our picnic lunch there and found it almost worth the trip in its self.
The other spot was another deep river gorge crossing Hwy. 97 just a couple of miles north of the little town of Terrebonne; the name of this town just cracks me up for some reason. Terrebonne is about 20 or so miles north of Bend OR. Anyway this river gorge is the, Crooked River Gorge. The gorge is about 300 feet wide and 300 feet deep. There is an older, abandoned, bridge one can walk over and view the gorge below. It is quite impressive and exciting to be on it looking down.
We finally safely made it home on the “toy” tire, after what seemed a very long return trip, what with our 50 MPH speed limit on the toy tire, and all the friendly gestures directed our way by passing fellow travelers.
I’m thinking I might rent an SUV, from Enterprise rent a car, and try it again in a week or so; If so, I will post another report; hopefully bragging about all the raptor spotting I bagged. Until then, happy trails!
Last Tuesday I set out early for a long day trip to the Bonny Butte International Raptor Migration Project site on the south eastern flank of MT. Hood, in Oregon.
According to the Hawk Watch International web site I would be able to easily spot several species of Raptors that are difficult to see here in the Klamath Basin. I was especially interested in the Sharp Shinned, Cooper's, and Peregrine numbers they were quoting as viewable in a days watching.
My best friend Melvyn was my companion for this trip, and we were traveling in his vehicle for its higher ground clearance; as the last few miles of the trip was to be over deeply rutted dirt roads.
Well, we never made it to our destination. We had a flat tire just a few miles from our turn off onto the unimproved road. That was the good news! The bad news was that Mel’s spare tire was one of those little “toy” tires that are intended just to get one a few miles to a tire repair station. We were afraid to trust the “toy” tire on up into the wilderness and then back out to civilization for tire repair, so we turned around and started home.
As it turned out the trip was not a total bust. On the way up we had passed a couple of interesting locations we thought might be interesting to investigate, so we decided to check them out on the way back.
One of the spots was a roadside park and boat launching ramp along side the Deschutes River, in the small community of Warm Springs. Warm Springs is in the middle of a deep river gorge of some 1,000 feet deep, a mile or so wide and about 10 miles long. We had our picnic lunch there and found it almost worth the trip in its self.
The other spot was another deep river gorge crossing Hwy. 97 just a couple of miles north of the little town of Terrebonne; the name of this town just cracks me up for some reason. Terrebonne is about 20 or so miles north of Bend OR. Anyway this river gorge is the, Crooked River Gorge. The gorge is about 300 feet wide and 300 feet deep. There is an older, abandoned, bridge one can walk over and view the gorge below. It is quite impressive and exciting to be on it looking down.
We finally safely made it home on the “toy” tire, after what seemed a very long return trip, what with our 50 MPH speed limit on the toy tire, and all the friendly gestures directed our way by passing fellow travelers.
I’m thinking I might rent an SUV, from Enterprise rent a car, and try it again in a week or so; If so, I will post another report; hopefully bragging about all the raptor spotting I bagged. Until then, happy trails!
posted by Rex at 3:52 AM
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