We took a short trip across the Santiam mountain pass to central Oregon earlier this week so that we could play in the snow, enjoy some sunshine, and also the high desert around Bend and the community of Sunriver. Again....another change of scenery! I especially love the early Spring colors that show up in the grasses and shrubs, and the shapes of the snow patches that dot the meadows.
We had a quick trip over the Cascade mountains which divide Oregon's lush Willamette Valley from the high desert of Eastern Oregon. Charred trees from a previous forest fire gave a ghostly look to one section of the pass....
Once settled in, activities over the next two days included: skiing under whiteout, blizzard conditions ( husband Fred), walking with my camera and sketchpad on the many trails around Sunriver (me), and cross-country skiing (our friends) Dining and wine-tasting were also on the agenda!
You can almost feel the icy wind whipping across this flooded meadow! Temperatures on this day were in the 20's and snow was on the way.
I love the texture of the wind and rainwhipped grass that will soon again be weighted down with snow.
After digging our car out the next day....!
Where's the road?
Going back over the pass on our way home took a bit longer than our earlier trip. We heard later that the pass had closed due to a landslide!
Back home again....we arrived just in time to welcome a few snowflakes that seemed to follow us over the pass! By morning of the next day ( March 22nd)we were looking at a very pretty 'Winter scene'....but not what I wanted to see! Daffodils had started to open and my garden was beckoning for me to come rejuvinate it for Springtime visitors. Now it all lay under a blanket of very wet, heavy snow! Lucca loved it though!!
Every twig and branch and even every wire in the vineyard was covered!
I guess we'll have to wait a few more days for 'Spring' to arrive in this fickle month of March!
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