Detroit Lake, Oregon

A mini vacation

I never thought that I would say anyplace was drier than the desert of Arizona. But Oregon's high desert would be that place. It didn't matter how much moisturizer I put on, I was still dry. The dirt puffs up like talcum powder being tossed in the wind as we walked. During a Jr Ranger hike to see beaver activity, we were soon coughing from the dust being stirred up by the person's foot steps in front of us. It was time to move on once again.

A bee keeper biologist at Sun River Botanical Gardens gave a lively and interesting look at bee behavior. We had no idea how little we knew about bees.

 La Pine State Park was run very differently than previous parks. We just did our duties, helped out campers and texted the ranger on duty if there were any problems and there were plenty of those. 

We were surprised at the number of people from Holland and Switzerland that found their way to our little park in their rental RVs. We enjoyed a potluck, a pie day and potato day on Sunday afternoons with the other hosts and rangers.

Detroit Lake

Detroit Lake has a ghost town that could be seen during the drought of 2016. Often when the reservoirs are drawn down for winter storms the foundations of Old Detroit are revealed.  In 1938, Congress authorized the Detroit Dam to provide flood control, hydroelectricity, irrigation and recreation. This put the stamp of death on Old Detroit. The 200 person town was moved to higher ground.

We stayed at Detroit Lake for a mini vacation on the way to Stub Stewart. Arriving 10 minutes before the host potluck started, we were invited to join them when they heard we were hosts in transit. We timed that just right! The interpretive ranger gave us a tour of their interpretive resources and asked us to consider leading kayak classes at some point. Detroit Lake is a bit remote for us and Salem and the grocery stores are 47 miles away. The campground is on Highway 20 and has lots of traffic noise. Two days was more than enough listening to down shifting semis even though the lake is beautiful.

One reason for the visit to Detroit Lake was cycling the Cascading Rivers Scenic Bikeway but passed once we drove the route we had planned. The winding road was narrow with shade trees that made strobing light making it difficult to see a cyclist even with safety gear. The day was safer walking and enjoying the lake.

Driving through the farms, we could see marijuana farms taking over where once were growing watermelon and other fruits and vegetables. I guess you have to go with the most profitable crop.

A hike along the North Santiam River

We had committed to volunteer for 2 months when we started hosting and are now starting our 5th month, finding it to be a good addition to our nomadic life. We planned to try different parks and different positions (we don't clean bathrooms). When LL Stub Stewart offered the interpretivee

position, we jumped at the chance even though we had been here in May. Washington State Parks made a few offers for last minute openings but nothing fit the bill for us.

Back to Stub Stewart...