Carabiner and Cable Bokeh

Detroit Lake State Park


Folder: Oregon RV Trips

20 Aug 2020

108 visits

Carabiner and Cable Bokeh

20 Aug 2020

46 favorites

31 comments

563 visits

Lovely Columbia Coreopsis and Other Beautiful Sights from Detroit Lake State Park (+10 insets!)

(10 insets!) On to Campground #3! Steve and I began our second RV Covid Trip a few weeks ago with a week at LaPine State Park. We then moved on to Detroit Lake State Park, and have now changed our moveable home's location to our third stop--L.L. Stub Stewart State Park! I'm dreadfully behind in my picture uploads and posts but this is actually something I want to do. I've always been so focused on posting and processing pictures, commenting and writing, that it really made me a nervous wreck. I also didn't make the best companion to be around either. It's very nice to be more relaxed about everything. It means that I don't post as much but it's much better in the long run! Even though I had another set to post from Paulina Lake at Lapine, I really need to move on to Detroit Lake...so here we go! One of the nice changes to the slower pace of our travels now is that I have time to relax and chill out with my macro lens. I like to devote at least one day per campground for close-up photography and wandering around the rock-strewn beach of Detroit Lake was a wonderful adventure! Along with a few pictures I'm sharing from my 100mm lens, I am also including a bunch of pictures I got with my Sony while walking on the campground's marvelous perimeter trail. My main image is one of the lovely Columbia Coreopsis flowers that grew in colorful clumps at the rear of the beach. They were just so beautiful and I spent a lot of time enjoying their lovely details. Insets Include… …a picture of Detroit Lake with a cloud-laced Mount Jefferson in the background. You can also see the boat-accessible bathrooms on the lake which we thought were a very nice feature. Detroit Lake is eleven miles long and there is another boat-accessible bathroom at the other end! …a fun dof-bokeh shot of a cable attached to a string of floats that were on the shore …a kayaker who was trolling for fish one morning …a dried Columbia Coriopsis flower with a bud in bokeh behiind …a plump red berry and a pair of leaves from a flower I cannot remember the name of! …lovely little Bird's Foot Trefoil flowers that I found at the rear of the beach …texture-laden tree trunks on the park's 2.7-mile perimeter trail I walked each morning …one of the spiders I found along the trail. I was pleased that my Sony could manage this macro! …a Beach Strawberry flower opening up …a Beach Strawberry blossom Thank You! Thanks for your visits, favorites, and so very much for the wonderful comments that you leave. I appreciate you all so much! Here's hoping you are having a safe and wonderful week! Explored on 8/26/20; highest placement #6.

23 Aug 2020

2 favorites

1 comment

252 visits

Groundsel Blossoms

20 Aug 2020

28 favorites

12 comments

378 visits

Creeping Sage

20 Aug 2020

46 favorites

33 comments

632 visits

Creeping Sage and a Trip Report from Detroit Lake State Park! (+14 insets!)

(+14 insets!) (Bigger is nice!) (This is another War and Peace doorstop so get a cup of coffee or prepare for a nap! :D) Highlights of Detroit Lake State Park What a wonderful visit we had here! Situated in the Cascade Mountains in central-western Oregon, this conifer and deciduous tree-filled park features over 300 campsites and an 11-mile long lake that caters to all types of water sports. We were there for seven nights and that meant total relaxation and settling into the park and all that it had to offer. Boating and Fishing Adventures Steve assembled our nifty fold-up Porta-Bote and I finally got to go for my first ride, what fun! The six horse-power motor was perfect for taking us out on the lake and around the sizeable Piety Island which sits in front of the campground. We buzzed up to the point where one river enters the lake--the North Santiam--and saw something that piqued our interest…a "scum line"! This is where the river water mixes with the lake water and creates a leafy, stick, detritus and log soup--and it's also a wonderful place for fishing! We were so excited! The next day we came back and tried our luck…Steve was able to anchor us right next to the scum line and away we went! Soon I caught one, but it got away after leaping out of the water! Steve caught one that escaped its hook as he was reeling it in, and we also got a number of promising nibbles and bites that didn't pan out. But then Steve hooked a keeper! A lovely Rainbow Trout that we cooked up for part of our dinner the next night and what a delicious treat! The next day we took the boat down to the south-eastern end, where the Breitenbush River enters the lake and tried our luck in a deeper spot. Sadly we didn't catch anything that day but we thoroughly enjoyed our time on the water and the beauty surrounding us. What amazing peace and tranquility--and how nice it was to have a boat with us! Hiking and Biking Adventures When I first visit a park, my morning walk includes a stroll around every paved loop road to check out everyone's trailers and tent setups. On following days, if there is a perimeter trail, I will often switch to walking on that instead. Happily, the Detroit Lake campground had a marvelous trail extending 3.2 miles around its 300+ campsites! Though half of the trail paralleled the often-loud highway, it was a very beautiful path and worth braving the noisy trucks, motorcycles and semi's that zoomed past. The lower half of the trail skirted the rear of the lake's beach and was the definite highlight. I would watch boats of all sorts buzzing by, jet-skis, kayaks, paddle boarders and canoers, and smiled at the sight of dogs diving in for balls, kids playing on their inflatables and folks soaking up the rays. What a nice way to spend part of my morning walk! Biking was fun too, and we buzzed around the campground loops most days, cruising past everyone's campsites and looking in on all of the interesting family stories we'd see there. As I've said before, one of the best aspects of staying at campgrounds is the opportunity to see snippets of family life--something not possible where we have our rurally-located house. I tried riding my bike on the perimeter trail one day but determined that the turns were sometimes too difficult to ride on, the little hills too abrupt, and the width of the trail too narrow to navigate comfortably. Still, it was great fun to try and I no longer had to wonder if it was the type of trail I'd enjoy on my bike. (There were other bike trails to go on which weren't too far away, but they required us to drive to those trails and we didn't feel like it!) Let's Not Forget Pumpkin's Campground Tours! Steve and I also went on daily walks with Pumpkin, something she absolutely loves! Her joyful whistling songs, hilarious bouts of laughter and silly sound effects are such fun to experience. Looking over at her as she sits perched in her little front-pack cage is a wonderful sight--feathers puffed with smiling eyes and happy expression--we cannot help but join in her jubilation. And of course, she's a total, magnetic ham. Her sing-song attracts onlookers near and far, and they are always delighted and amazed that we have a bird--"she's so beautiful!"--with us! Pumpkin turns up her antics whenever anyone else is around and while she's putting on her show--with plenty of laughing too--we answer questions and gently tell those who are excited about birds, that they are a very big responsibility and not for everyone. We love to educate and entertain Pumpkin's fans and those visitors sure do make her extra happy! Piety Island and a Hike to Piety Knob (Here is a link to a pdf which shows Detroit Lake with Piety Island in the middle) The day before we left Detroit Lake, we decided to pack some snacks, take the boat down to the lake and buzz across to Piety Island. There was a campground there (closed for Covid) and also a hiking trail that led up to the peak of the island. Steve and I were so excited to go because we figured that so few people got the chance to do that hike and that made it extra special! Once we got to the island, Steve attached its handy clamp-on wheels to the boat and towed it to the top of the beach where we locked it to a tree. The chance of any nefarious activity was laughably low but you just never know. We believe in the adage, "keep honest people honest" and on the other side of the coin…what would we do if we were stuck on that island without a boat to get back? We didn't exactly know where the trail was but luckily we found it right away! The first foray into the forest took us the wrong way though, but soon we were on the right path and up we went! It was a lovely forest trek, gradually heading up and up, through acres of ferns and conifers that darkened the understory. Here and there we could see the water through the trees and even the harbors showed themselves at just the right angle. Getting to the very top of the island turned out to be a bit of a challenge! Apparently the majority of hikers stopped just short of Piety Knob but we were bound and determined to stand at the highest point. Following the mostly-non-existent trail, we depended on the plastic trail markers that hung from branches along the way. Pushing our way through ferns and under encroaching branches, around bushes and over wispy plants, we managed the last quarter-mile to the point where no ground was higher and Steve's navigation app showed that we were at Piety Knob! YAY!! What a fun challenge to succeed at! We were delighted! Still, there was no place to sit and we wanted our snacks, so we did an about-face and made our way back down to the main trail. A few moments later and we were sitting with our legs dangling over the edge of the steep hillside, looking into the forested valley below. Our tasty reward for "bagging Piety Knob"? Lovely chunks of blue cheese, slices of pepperoni, gourmet hard sausage and cheddar-garlic curds, draughts of ice-cold water and handfuls of delicious roasted cashews! NOM! :D And guess who came along for the adventure? Why, the Squidgy Gang, of course!* George, Bun and Stormy were safely tucked away in my backpack throughout our trip and Steve took a picture of us at our picnic spot. Alas, I wasn't happy with my expression and the harsh lighting from his phone's camera so my picture to document their visit to Detroit Lake State Park was one I took at a picnic table near the island's beach…and don't they look HAPPY! :D *These are three stuffed animals that were lovingly made for me by my dear ipernity friend, Jenny McIntyre. Today's Pictures My main image is a macro I took with my Canon and I just love the way these flowery stalks turned out. I couldn't place the species at first, even though I know I'd seen this flower many times before. After looking for a bit I remembered! It was in the sage family, and with that clue I figure it out: Creeping Sage! You'll see a close-up among the insets and I've gone crazy and uploaded tons of pictures because they are really piling up! I hope you enjoy the show! Insets Include… Detroit Lake Beach and Perimeter images… …an individual cluster of sage blossoms …a feather caught between rocks on the beach …a fun bokeh shot showing a float on the beach and a line of other floats leading down to the water with people at the shore …a picnic table sitting near the beach with trees overhead, the sun dappling the ground below …groundsel fluff that I thought looked artistic and cool …a square-format macro of Columbia Coreopsis …a darling chipmunk that stopped long enough for a picture …a cluster of snowberries and bokeh Piety Knob Hike images… …a natural bouquet of Groundsel blossoms …a close-up to show the little beetle larvae on one of the flowers …a view through the trees on the way up to Piety Knob which shows one of Detroit Lake's campground docks …a view of the trail to show the amazing fern and conifer forest …another trail picture because one isn't enough! :D …and last but not least, the Squidgy Gang hanging out on a Piety Campground picnic table! Here's hoping you're having a lovely and safe weekend!! Thanks so much for your visits, comments and favorites! You're all the best! :) Explored on 8/30/20; highest placement #7.

20 Aug 2020

51 favorites

26 comments

474 visits

Colombia Coriopsis at Detroit Lake (+5 insets)

(+5 insets) Moving On to Detroit Lake! The day finally arrived when Steve and I said our goodbyes to LaPine State Park and headed to our next campground stop. We were counting our lucky stars every single day on our 2-part Covid Summer Trip! How fortunate that in the middle of a world pandemic, we had a way to travel safely and still have a fabulous time! From LaPine State Park we drove two hours north and pulled into Detroit Lake State Park. This park turned out to be a very popular destination for families, party people and water sport fans and though we had a wonderful time, it was ultimately too boisterous and loud for us. My two trip reports are linked from insets 2 and 3. Today's Picture Detroit Lake Campground's rocky beach was a wonderful surprise for photography. There were lots of flowers and the brightest were the glowing yellow Colombia Coreopsis. I couldn't get enough of them! This beautiful blossom even has a tiny fly on the edge of a petal, complete with iridescent wings. Today's Insets The first inset is a narrow vertical crop that shows these flowers in several stages: drying bloom getting ready to create seeds, a bud preparing to explode into bloom, and in the background, a blossom in bokeh to reflect upon. Such fun scenes to capture. Inset 2 (Colombia Coreopsis) and 3 (Creeping Sage) are clickable and will bring you to individual trip report pages about our stay at Detroit Lake and each is loaded with many insets to enjoy. The last two insets are our trip maps to remind you where we are on our adventure, in case you've been following along. It's the second part of our Covid Summer Trip, so that map is presented first, with the first part map posted for you to see as well. Thank You! How wonderful to get so many visits from folks looking at my pictures! It's all a person could hope for but I get more. You guys are so kind for leaving such nice comments and stars too...THANK YOU SO MUCH! :) I think we all hope that our pictures will be seen by at least a few people, so I'm always so happy that I usually get a bunch of visitors who appreciate my presentations. You're the best. Please stay safe, dry and warm! Explored on 4/03/21; highest placement #3.