Rebecca Sowards-Emmerd

Tucked back in the public lands between Cline Buttes and the small town of Tumalo is the Tumalo Canal Historic District. The terrain of the area is like a lot of the high juniper desert around Central Oregon, with occasional panoramic views of the cascades and an interesting spin on history. Signs at the trailhead give a brief overview: In 1903, lands in this area and the planned Columbia Southern Irrigation Project were advertised throughout the U. S. and abroad, promoting settlement in Central Oregon. Some of these relic canals are near or connect to operating Tumalo Irrigation District Canals.

A short drive to the east of Bend is the Lower Crooked Wild and Scenic River, and this past weekend I thought it would be an interesting place to seek out wildflowers. The Crooked River Highway (27) starts approximately 35 miles from downtown Bend out highway 20. Eventually the road drops to the Crooked River canyon and the beautiful rock formations start appearing. The wildflowers weren’t really out at the river level, but I enjoyed stopping and observing the formations and wildlife as I went around each curve.

During my time in California I would go to Carrizo Plain, or Henry Coe, or one of many Bay Area parks to photograph and document the wildflower bloom. In an effort to educate myself I headed up to Columbia Hills state park in Washington a few weeks ago, but found myself a little ahead of the bloom. After giving it a few weeks, I decided to go back this weekend and explore the Oregon side of the gorge between The Dalles and Hood River. It helps to go with a topo map in hand with land management boundaries if you want to stay out of private land.

This area of the Ochoco National Forest, known as the Crooked River National Grassland, offers dispersed camping, mountain biking, horse riding, and hiking. This is an area frequently used by climbers for overflow camping with the Smith Rock campground is full. Skull Hollow is a small campground, but there are plenty of dispersed camping opportunities up the road (just don’t camp in the closed area, unlike the many people I saw contributing to the overuse). I saw a few wildflowers, no mountain lions, and only one other hiker on the road.