Camp Sherman, Oregon

We came down to the Sisters area in Oregon at the end of June, a week earlier than last year, with hopes that we’d be here so Doug could fish during the “green drake” hatch on the Metolius River. It worked out well for Wendy, because she could visit the quilt shop in Sisters when it wasn’t as busy as it gets during the Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show, the second Saturday in July.

We stayed in the same place as last year: The Cold Springs Resort and RV Park. They have done some restoration work along the shore, with plantings of native shrubs. Old photos show they had used to have lawn right down to the waters’ edge. There is a foot-bridge just to the left of the photo below, which allows easy access to “Downtown Camp Sherman” (the general store and fly shop) and to the trails along the river banks.

The birding was excellent this year. Wendy had five sightings of the White-headed Woodpecker, a woodpecker that has a limited range, although no photos. Doug caught a yellow warbler with his lens as well as a Song Sparrow, both from the river trail. There were also plenty of Western tanagers and Cedar waxwings.

The site for our trailer was at the edge of a lawn, which many Brewer’s blackbirds enjoyed. There was a swallow birdhouse in the tree right behind our trailer, and we witnessed the young swallows fledging. Doug got a good photo of the male and the female Tree swallows, through the back window of the trailer. One day before dinner, we counted eight different species while we sat in our chairs in the shade.

Doug enjoyed the fishing on the Metolius and did catch a fish or two. One evening we headed downstream of Wizard Falls (see photo below) to try and be in place for the green drake hatch, but the hatch didn’t materialize that night.

Another day, he had better luck in a spot beside a Ponderosa pine. Tali enjoyed cooling off in the river in her favourite spot close to our camp.

We also took our mountain bikes out into the pine forest around Camp Sherman. One day we rode to the “Head on the Metolius,” where the water emerges out of the hillside as a fully formed river. It’s hard to capture it in a photo, but here is one of Wendy with a glimpse of the river behind and a view in the background of Mt. Jefferson.

Here’s another view of the Metolius River. We’ve been here three years in a row, yet we never tire of the views around every bend.

(This post is delayed a couple of weeks! We were having too much fun to spend any time on the computer. Stay tuned for the posts from the rest of the trip.)