Raptors!
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| A Harris Hawk during the raptor show at the High Desert Museum. |
Old Mill District
The morning of the third day in Oregon provided our first opportunity to explore the Old Mill District around our hotel. Originally sited as a fordable portion of the Deschutes River, Bend is now a small thriving city with significant activity centered around the twisting course of the river. What was once an industrial center for timber production is now mixed use entertainment, recreation, and dining. In many ways, Bend reminded me of a western version of Kalamazoo.
After hearing a lecture about the general structure of the universe, we sampled sixteen different telescopes, each already trained on a celestial object. Volunteers at each telescope answered questions and helped people understand what they were seeing. In addition to the biggest telescope under the observatory's dome, most of the other telescopes were mounted in indoor bays with roofs that slid aside to allow interrogation of the heavens. We saw everything from the Andromeda Galaxy to various distant nebulae (including one that looked like a blue Froot Loop) and globular clusters. Some of the optics were trained on places closer to home, allowing us to see crisp detail of lunar craters with the same clarity that we beheld the rim of Crater Lake's caldera the day before. It was an amazing experience and another fine example of how journeying to Oregon enhanced our understanding of how wonderous nature can be.
A bridge over the Deschutes River was part of a morning exploratory walk. Despite the early hour, paddleboarders were already plying the river.
Interestingly, US-20 that runs through Bend is the same US-20 that serves as Main Street in Le Roy, NY. It is the longest highway in the US. We also discovered, by the happy accident of passing by, that Bend is home to the last operational Blockbuster Video store.
The REI in Bend is readily identified by the three surviving smokestacks of what was once the powerhouse for the Brooks-Scanlon Mill. REI is where we purchased the park pass that we would use the next day to see Tumalo Falls and the lava field at the Newberry Volcanic Monument.
This colorful tunnel seemed like an unlikely place to encounter a troll...
...and yet...
After our stroll, we packed the car to transition from our original hotel in the Old Mill District to different lodging just outside of town. When we arrived, we discovered that the severe thunderstorms that rolled through Bend while we were at Crater Lake the previous day had knocked out the power. Because the place was on a well, this also meant no water. While this also caused issues with the electronic door locks meaning that an employee had to let us into our room, power would not be a critical need until later that night.
What's Your Wingspan?
Diverting to the High Desert Museum represented the flexible nature of our itinerary. We arrived in Oregon unaware of its existence, but drove past it while leaving Bend for Crater Lake. Internet sleuthing revealed that it is highly regarded and we flexed our itinerary to accommodate it.
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| Voyager, Laurel Porcari, 2017 |
I was really taken by this mosaic of tiny ceramic tiles on a 1941 Ford panel truck meant to invoke the high desert. The level of detail was astounding. Inside, the mosaic reflected a lunar surface with the Earth in the distance.
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In addition to teaching about the flora, fauna, and geology of the region, the High Desert Museum also incorporated thematically appropriate artwork as well. Neat place. They even had a specimen of the unique Mazama newt that we learned about at Crater Lake.
While I thought The Bear's wingspan was reasonably impressive, mine is 35 feet. So what if my wings happen to be aluminum?
Raptor Show
(Not affiliated with the F-22 or the United States Air Force)
The highlight of our visit to the High Desert Museum was the raptor show, claimed by those running it to be unlike any other in the country. Indeed, five different birds of prey were featured, all of them swooping low over -- and even among -- the audience. All that I had with me that morning was an iPhone, which was not the best equipment for the job, but I captured what I could.
The first featured raptor was a barn owl.
As the barn owl settled into place, the whooshing of its wings was very audible.
Next up was a falcon (I forget the specific type) that sped through the air on silent wings. "These are the fighter planes of the raptor world," explained the commentator. It seemed apt, then, that the F-16 was a Falcon.
Next up was a turkey vulture. These massive carrion birds have an impressive wingspan.
Former "UberCo" employees from Kalamazoo will recognize the turkey vulture profile from the examples that circled over Building 298 on July 21, 2005 while we were informed that the company was shutting our site down.
A study in contrasts. Photographer #1 is so busy reviewing the last shot he got that he's oblivious to the vulture about to soar right over his head. Photographer #2 is ready and waiting as the scavenger glides directly toward him. Photographer #3 would be the guy with the crummy camera phone that somehow managed to capture the scene. (Photographer #3 is me.)
I took a couple of hundred photos during the raptor show. Some of the best moments are the reactions from the crowd. Photographer #1 still appears to be putting his attention in the wrong place.
Whap! This photo was taken moments before I was thwapped on the noggin by the vulture's wing as it flew overhead.
The Harris Hawk was one of the most photogenic of the raptor performers.
It was also quite happy to fly low through the crowd.
"Coming around, weapons hot!"
Whoa! That was close.
Photographer #1...you're killing me, dude!
The Harris Hawk shows off its impressive wingspan for the puppet master pulling all the strings.
I do not know if the High Desert Museum's raptor show is unlike any other in the country, but it was 100% worthwhile and amazing viewing!
Exploring the Back Yard
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| The Bear samples the hammock in our room. Photo by Kristy. |
For the latter half of our stay in Bend, we were at LOGE Bend. LOGE is an outfit that caters to outdoor enthusiasts and makes bikes, paddleboards, and other gear available to guests. The Bear and I spent time on the Deschutes River with LOGE-provided paddleboards. The facility was a renovated old motel / motor lodge, the kind familiar to kids of the 1970s and anyone who's watched a crime noir film involving sketchy lodging. The accommodations were not lavish and borderline rustic, but the beds were comfortable and The Bear found the hammock compelling even if she was not brave enough to attempt sleeping in it.
LOGE had access to a "nature trail" behind the property, which I assumed to be something on the order of a flat, half-mile loop, perhaps with some native wildflowers. The Bear and I decided to explore it anyway and wound up taking a three mile hike through varied terrain.
We departed on a flat trail only to find some unexpected terrain along the way.
Obviously, the area covered by the trails was more expansive than what was implied by the "nature trail" sign departing LOGE property.
Eventually, we reached a portion of the Deschutes River.
My favorite photographer hard at work.
In the end, it was an unexpectedly interesting hike and one that was very different in character from our usual hikes around Rochester, NY. Dinner that night was at an outfit called Crave and was interrupted by yet another severe thunderstorm that all the locals assured us was completely out of the norm for the region. (It felt pretty normal to us.) As we prepared to depart LOGE for the Oregon Observatory at Sunriver, the power was restored.
And there was much rejoicing.
Galactic Froot Loops
We arrived in Sunriver just after sunset. The observatory is part of the Sunriver Nature Center and surrounded by the Sunriver Resort and golf course. It is across the street from the Sunriver Airport (S21). Fortunately, clouds from the dinnertime thunderstorm dissipated enough to grant an unfettered view of the stars after nightfall.
Though it does not look like much from the outside, the observatory possesses the largest collection of telescopes available for public viewing in the United States. Specifically because of the leadership of this facility, Sunriver was the first location in Oregon to be certified as an International Dark Sky Place.
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| Photo by Kristy. |
The Bear and I took note of the observatory logo. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.
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