Category: nature

Turns out that our earlier June visit only got us to the very tip of Rinehart Canyon.  We learned this from a discussion at Farmers Market with an old neighbor, an employee of the Forest Service.  So we hit the road at 7am this morning and turned off the highway at Philberg Road.  Soon the road became overgrown with brush and weeds, so we parked and hiked as far as the old bridge that crosses the Grande Ronde River.  This required nearly three hours of traversing a path that was really the old highway but varied in width from about two to ten feet.  In places the brush was dense and higher than our heads, barely allowing clearance to slip through one at a time.  In a couple of spots we had to scramble over rock slides and piles.  And of course: an abundance of birds.

As I walked home this morning from a 103 visit, I noticed a slightly unusual number of crows in the air, seeming to come from all directions toward a common destination. By the time, I passed the EOU sports stadium, I could see that its south end grounds were covered by the creatures, and more were flying in. The distance and angle of view didn’t afford a good photo vantage point. I could quickly estimate that there were a few hundred on the ground. The main entrance gates were locked, so I had to run around the north end and down the street to get onto the premises, hoping to shoot from the top of the bleachers. When I approached, most of them took flight, and as I finally gave up and walked away, I could see over my shoulder that they were returning to the stadium field, but I don’t know why.  Never did get the view I wanted, but here is some evidence  of the proceedings …