Crap Winter.

Winter 2018 - 2019… and finally out into the Wilds at the end of March.

C1680

“Grazing through a Soft Rain

& Last of the Winter Snows Melting Away”

Oil Study on Centurion Oil Primed Panel

4” x 6”

Click here to make this Your Own

This past Winter was so annoying as I was stuck hanging around civilization for five (COUNT 'EM!) … five months, waiting on things that were out of my control to happen.  After the first four months I was ready to head out by mid-February, but then every few days the weather reports were of heavy snowfalls in the Cascades and Eastern Oregon.  So what, I thought you were a Winter guy?  I hear you enquire.  There is a difference between already being out in the Wilds, before the snows come, and gauging whether you should retreat or stay put, and coming into an already snowy High Desert, without knowing the state of the roads or the dispersed campsites.  And then I came down with the first cold/flu since I don’t know when … certainly before 2010 … it was bugger, as they say in Jolly Old …!

End of the Day from the western rim
of Hole in the Ground.

Evening light … Ponderosa Pines.

Anyway I finally got out to the Hole in the Ground area at the end of March, camping at the actual rim of the Hole, for a couple of days, and a mile back down the road for a few more.  I believe I have talked about Hole in the Ground before, so to just refresh your memory, it is a crater in the ground about half a mile across.  It is a volcanic maar, which is formed when basaltic magma rising close to the surface comes into contact with groundwater resulting in a steam or gas explosion.  They are shallow circular craters, that usually fill with water, but not these maars out here in the Fort Rock Valley, where there are to be found upwards of forty of them, so I am informed.  These may have had water once, but no more, although a small, shallow waterhole is to be found in Hole in the Ground. Big Hole and Fort Rock are two others.

The road to Hole in the Ground was icy in spots and the smaller roads were snow covered and probably impassible in many spots, so it was probably good that I hadn’t come out earlier.  Many of these roads were also closed for deer regeneration, until March 31^st as well.  My second camp was a bit rainy for several days, so I did the small work above while there.  Deer came grazing through every couple of days, so there was nothing for it but to dab them into the painting; look closely … there are seven of them.  The rains were soft and quiet, for the most part, only blustery for a couple of stretches, and after three or four days of this the icy patches on the roads were reduced to almost nothing.

Storm crossing Fort Rock.

Largest Western Juniper in Oregon …

… da Bark of da tree.

Wary on his stump.

I moved a few miles after this a few miles to past Cabin Lake (no lake … no more), and had views forty miles across the desert towards Winter Ridge, above Summer Lake, the Connley Hills (separating Christmas Valley and Silver Lake), and Hager Mountain, south beyond them, and subsequently thus beyond Silver Lake. Here I watched snow showers ripping across the desert for a couple of days, rarely getting hit myself, and then settled into another more secluded camp about a mile from that camp.  Here I remained for a goodly period, as some camper had constructed a solid picnic table out of split logs, and there was a convenient stump upon which to place my camp stove!  The Forest Service would not have built this table, especially in a dispersed campsite.  On a nearby tree was a memorial wreath … I am guessing those responsible for the wreath were also responsible for said table.

Nine years ago, at Easter-time, my alternator went out as I arrived at Derrick Cave, about 20 miles northeast of Fort Rock.  Lucky for me it was Easter Saturday, so there were a couple of cars there.  One of them gave me a jump and on the way back to Fort Rock, jump-started me three more times!  I had cell connection there and rang up AAA, and long story short, I was back out at Derrick Cave by the next afternoon with a new alternator.  This time was less eventful, and I had my headlamp and so made it down into the depths of the lava tube, that is the cave, to where there is ice; sometimes all Summer long.

The lava tube known as Derrick Cave.

Sand dunes on the way
to the Lost Forest.

I had toyed with the idea of making it out to the Lost Forest, another 30 miles east from there, back in 2010, but it was not until this trek that I made it.  Not so difficult to get there, but rocky rough roads once you’re in there. The Lost Forest is a Ponderosa Pine forest separated from any other Pondies by 40 miles, and endures the driest conditions of any Pondies in Oregon.  They are also genetically different from the normal Pondies and the young trees grow more rapidly than others, according to an inter-agency biologist I ran into while leaving the forest.  I had all 9000 acres to myself for two nights.

Last light on the Junipers.

Ponderosas in the Lost Forest.

Morning on the edge of the Lost Forest.

Sand dunes upon leaving the Lost Forest …
a different day.

Mt. Washington beyond Suttle Lake
... in the Cascades.

The painting at the beginning is the only one I did on the spot, as I needed to prepare several for a Marine Art Show.  I also needed to return on the 1^st of May to civilization, but I am headed back out to the Wild tomorrow … Yaaaaaaaay!!!

Pigments used in the painting:

Imprimatura: Rublev Italian Burnt Sienna;

Drawing: Rublev Italian Burnt Sienna;

Pigments: W&N Cobalt and Ultramarine Deep Blues, Cadmiums Orange;

Rublev: Red Ochre, Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Italian Burnt Sienna, Lead White #1;

Gamblin: Titanium Buff;

Michael Harding: Stack Lead White.

The Final Stretch to Yamhill County, Part 2.

Take Note that some friends and family, who have signed up to receive email notifications, whenever this blog has a new posting, have not received these notifications for about a month, so I suggest that to receive further notifications that you re-sign to do so.  This is to those of you who have come manually to this site, wondering where I am, so please do sign up again.  I don’t have any idea why this would happen … perhaps hackers from you know where(!) … or Gremlins.

Saturday, 2^nd of June to Monday, 25^th of June – On to McMinnville, Oregon (with an excursion to Seattle, WA, and then the Forest Roads back to and through the Washington & Oregon Cascades).

Fort Rock … a volcanic maar.

The imaginatively named Hole in the Ground …
another volcanic maar.

From snow in the morning on Winter Ridge, it was north to Fort Rock and the Hole in the Ground, and then 30 miles on forest roads to just off County Road 22, 20 miles east of La Pine, where I spent the night of 9^th June.  The next day it was on into Bend, Oregon, for supplies on Sunday the 10^th, and then into the Cascades southwest of Sisters, between that town and the Three Sisters trio & Broken Top Volcanoes.  The next four nights were spent on these forest roads, which I had never been on before.  There was a lot of old forest fire remnants, but this allowed me a certain  number of photo recon opportunities of the Sisters, that would have been obscured by living trees, so not picturesque photos, but there will be the possibility of future paintings with new forests of live trees … hey, I’m an Artist … that’s what we do … make art out of chaos.   After that it was up onto the Santiam Pass near Big Lake, and finally high up on a ridge above the Blue Pool on the McKenzie River, before finally pulling into McMinnville on June 14^th, two weeks short of a year after leaving the Twin Cities … back at my Oregon base of operations.  The next day, on the Friday, I went to my post office box to collect 15 months of mail … not as much as I feared.  I have covered these last days briefly in writing, and will let the photos say more, on this home stretch to Yamhill County.

North Sister veiled in cloud.

North Sister with cloud burning off.

Butterflies no doubt gathering minerals.

Close up of one of the "miners."

Formerly known as Squaw Creek, this
water is now named Whychus Creek,
which was its Indian name originally. 
This can be confusing for those of us
with older maps.

Middle Sister, I believe, with the slopes of North Sister on the right ...
I could be wrong since I am still coming to terms with this area.

Mount Jefferson far to the North
in the glow of evening.

Mount Jefferson and Black Butte in the light of morning.

Ya, Middle Sister and North Sister …
South Sister off screen to the left.

Mount Washington from Big Lake …
those of you familiar with my well known Christmas card
will recognize this scene sans snow.

A further view of Big Lake.

Sahalie Falls on the McKenzie.

On the McKenzie …

… the opalescent McKenzie.

Koosah Falls on the McKenzie,
about a half a mile down
from Sahalie Falls.

Old Growth Forest on the way to the
Blue Pool at the base of Tamolitch Falls,
a couple miles downstream
from the previous two falls.

The Blue Pool … Tamolitch Falls.

The Blue Pool … Tamolitch Falls; I’m told that the main falls on the left is normally dry as an upstream hydro-electric reservoir has by-passed this falls with a tunnel.  The ingress of water on the right occurs to a lesser extent from the original stream going underground, but many times the Blue Pool is partially dry.  I guess I was lucky, as there is work going on at the reservoir at present.  It’s a two mile hike through mostly old growth forest to see this beauty.

Resident.

The Blue Pool.

Looking upstream from the top of the falls.

Late afternoon in the forest.

Goodpasture Covered Bridge, on the lower McKenzie.

Winter Dawn amongst the Ponderosas

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C1593

"Winter Dawn amongst the Ponderosas"

(near Hole-in-the-Ground, Oregon High Desert)

Oil Sketch on Ampersand Gesso Panel

with additional coat of Rublev Lead Oil Ground

4" x 6"

Click here to make this your Own

The stars were out most of the night, and I watched the Dawn-light on the Ponderosas while having breakfast, and imprinting the light conditions in my mind.  I then painted the scene while that lighting was fresh in my mind.  The radio weather reported Winter storm warning until Noon the next day for the North Cascades … just what do they mean by the North Cascades?  I’m assuming that means at least as far south as the Willamette Pass.  The high point of the Willamette Pass is not much higher than my present altitude, so I reckon I will go that way back to the Valley.  It is interesting to realize that the Santiam Pass over the Cascade Range, north of Bend, Oregon, is also about the same altitude as I am now, but that I would be descending about 1500’ or more before I got there and have to regain that altitude to climb over the Pass, whereas going via the Willamette Pass there is no real change in altitude from here to there.  But that was yet to come.  Snow flurries now and again throughout the day, but not amounting to much, although flurries fell while preparing supper, but that seems to be de rigueur on this journey.  

I awoke the next morning to an inch of beautiful powdery snow on the SUV, and light snow falling throughout breakfast.  As I drove west towards La Pine the snow fell more heavily, continuing to fall as I visited an old friend where lives my other old friend, Tweetie, the finest, friendliest Lovebird in the whole wide world.  It’s been two years since I last had seen Tweetie, and by the way he kept looking at me, I knew enough time had passed that he wasn’t quite sure who I was anymore, even though he had been my bosom buddy for seven years … well, he is a bird, and his brain isn’t that large … either that or he was just being standoff-ish (I know … I don’t write, I don’t phone, and years pass between visits!). 

Upon leaving La Pine I drove south on Hwy 97 to Crescent, Oregon, where I cut over to Hwy 58 via 15 miles or so on Forest Road 1351, the snow increasing all the way; but it was beautiful; pine and fir limbs drooping towards the ground with the weight of the snow.  Once over the Willamette Pass and on the downward slope, I kept a football field’s length between me and the next vehicle and kept a weather eye on the big semi-trailer behind me, who seemed to be keeping a decent distance between us as well; I always worry about the guy behind me on snowy or icy roads.  A couple miles on the descent the traffic ahead came to an halt, and it did take me much of the distance I had left to safely and slowly come to a halt behind the car in front, and then I watched the truck behind slowly do the same …phew!  We were all halted for about 40 minutes or so, and I never did find out what caused the delay.  I turned the engine off and just sat back, ate lunch, and enjoyed the soft snowfall.  We were at the Salt Creek Falls turnoff, and I should have gone over there and parked, and seen the falls in Winter, and had I known we were to be halted for that long I would have done, but I knew I had to back to town with plenty of time to unload a lot of gear into my storage unit, before it closed.  It had taken roughly twice as long to come thus far through the snowfall than it would have under normal conditions, and … would there be snow in the valley?  That question was soon answered to the negative, for by 2000’ in altitude the snow had turned to drizzly rain, and by 1000’ it had all but disappeared from the ground.  Another 30 miles or so brought me out of the mountains and onto dry roads and bright late afternoon sunshine, with no clue that 50 miles east was a different snow covered world … until you looked that direction; miles away and high on the forested slopes you could discern the Winter Wonderland up there bathed in the brilliant sunshine and with the tops lost in the snowy cloud.  I enjoyed that view as I drove up the center of the wide Willamette Valley until it widened further and the Cascades receded further away.  And so I the Winter’s sojourn in the wild was over and the New Year soon to begin.  I have a lengthy double commission on which to continue painting.

Imprimatura: Venetian Red.

The Pigments used were:  Rublev Blue Ridge Yellow Ochre, Italian Burnt Sienna, with Winsor & Newton Cobalt & French Ultramarine Blues, Venetian Red, and Cremnitz White.