Smith Rock

[SadieKate]

Just thought I share a view we saw from Smith Rock today which is in central Oregon but out in the high desert. It was very dry and loose, similar to southern Utah, unlike the trials closer to Mt Bachelor which are gummy and have lovely flow.

Central Oregon has experienced a heat wave the last few days and my newly set-up Polar registered an avg temp of 99. There was no shade up there but after the death march up Burma Road there were some spectucular views today. We could see Mt. Bachelor, Mt. Hood, the Three Sisters and on and on.

Somehow Bubba managed to snare a stick in his rear derailleur (on a ride almost completely devoid of timber). Check out how many guys it takes to convert FS to a singlespeed. And, you can only see Bubba's arm in this pic.

We rode all the way around Smith Rock and judged from the trail we may have been the first this year. At one point we were riding through the grass down by the Crooked River. Definitely an expedition ride today with lots of hike-a-bike in high heat but loads of flowers and a great group. Therapeutic day as we were awakened by the security company. Our house was broken into at 3:30 this morning but the alarm scared them off before any loss. Great neighbors and friends who took care of all and we're able to stay up here.

Yellow or Irulan - do you know what the flower is? Is it an anenome? The young'ns were very pink and faded to white with age.

[spazzdog]

Very pretty SK!

[Veronica]

Bummer about the house! Where's your dog?

Nice pics. I like Petunia's - just watching them all. :p

V.

[Irulan]

A clear day in central ore.... sigh...

I can't identify your flower for you. I did check anemone in my rocky mtn guide ( don't have pnw) and it's different.

enjoy your weekend.

~irulan

[SadieKate]

We'll see if Yellow knows the flower as she seems to be the botanist of the bunch.

Izaak the Wonder Poodle appears to be fine. The puppysitter said he was very quiet and spooked at first but then once she was able to take him into the kitchen and feed him marchmallows he perked up to his usual self. She probably took it the hardest but her BF was with her and helped.

We're off the McKenzie in an hour. Cloud cover today on the dry side; we'll see what the wet side has to offer.

SK

[SadieKate]

Irulan, I figured it out! It's the Bitterroot of the Lewis and Clark expedition fame. I did a little manipulation of the photo so I could see it better. The darn eastern Oregon sun is hard on photos. Thanks for trying even though I sent you on a goose chase. I've always wanted to see it but never been in the right place at the right time.

http://www.lewis-clark.org/content/content-article.asp?ArticleID=1324

[yellow]

We'll see if Yellow knows the flower as she seems to be the botanist of the bunch.

Before I saw your later post I looked at the picture and said to myself "Some kind of Lewisia."

Lo and behold, bitterroot is Lewisia rediviva.

We have the dwarf Lewisia here in the high country...looks similar (Lewisia pygmaea).

[CorsairMac]

I'm late to the post SK but what an awesome pix of the mountains there. and I LOVED the pix of the guys doing what they do best.....standing there looking at the bike but not really DOING anything. I'm betting if that had been near a house, they'd all gone and got some beers and then sat around trying to decide what to do! ;)