The Cove, The Cougars, And The Coast

6-20-08
We spent the day swimming in the Deschutes arm of Lake Billy Chinook. We found a nice little beach and took turns swimming and trying to get our dog to swim with us (with no luck.) The water was FREEZING (I'm guessing from the late start of summer this year.)

After feeding a group of geese, we made our way up to the Crooked River Campground located near the eastern approach to the lake. The campsite was wonderful and catered mostly to RVers and other folks with large motorized toys. Even though the Deschutes Campground was full, this turned out to be a better place to camp (it was warmer and felt a little more mellow.)

In the middle of the night, Nicole woke me up to tell me she had heard two cougar screams in the distance. At first I thought she may have dreamed it, but based on the activity and rumbling from surrounding campers I could tell it had woken others as well. Having not heard exactly how far off it was or in which direction, I stayed wide eyed for a long time (long after Nicole drifted back to sleep) trying to decide if a cougar would dare cross into the site.

6-21-08
The next morning (at very first light) I was eager to get up and start a morning fire. I suspect it was just before 6am before I was able to entice Nicole to get up too. Annie was ready for her walk and to do her business so I took her for a quiet jaunt around the campground. I didn't mention that no one out of the nearly 100 campsites seemed to be awake yet.

The dog and I only got about a 100 ft before the dog in the campsite next to ours barked and howled (louder than any cougar) as we went by. Shortly there after it's safe to say that the rest of the campsite was awake...against their will.

After an early start (7:30) we drove from Lake Billy Chinook to Sisters (Highway 20) via back roads. In my years growing up in Central Oregon, I have never had the time to take this beautiful back country route. Most of the area was devastated by fire years ago. The elevation gain from Lake Billy Chinook to Black Butte was actually pretty dramatic.

Next stop was the Headwaters of the Metolius. I had remembered it to be a very dramatic site, but when we got there it was just a river flowing out of the ground. It was still very beautiful and I think I may have had it mixed up with another river that flows out of the ground; Jack Creek.

The rest of the day consisted of driving from Black Butte to Florence with a stop at Sahalie Falls. We recommend this as a perfect rest stop between Eugene and Bend. The temperature difference between the parking lot (near 80) and near the falls (near 50) made it a refreshing stop.

We finally arrived in Florence tired from all the driving and stayed in a very nice (for the price) motel called "The Old Town Motel" just North of the bridge crossing of the Siuslaw river.

6-22-08
We're heading north today, maybe to Tillamook and hopefully to a yurt by the sea! I'm typing this entry from a very cool coffee shop with a view of the bridge (see picture below.) Nicole is off shopping in the "Old Town" of Florence just a walk a way from here.

The sun is coming out...off to our next adventure!