Time Crunch
I got the idea to venture to eastern Oregon after seeing images of the yellow and white autumn aspen trees that grow on the west side of the Steens Mountains. I was reading a blog and it said that the aspen forest on the Steens is the only aspen forest in Oregon. It also stated that the leaves begin turn around late September and fall off around the first weeks of October. I looked at the calendar and realized that I if I was going to catch the wonderful aspen colors this year, then I need to leave now! That night I began to gather my things, clean my camera gear and pack up.
The next day I loaded up my car and I went off to the high deserts of Eastern Oregon. I didn’t take too many stops on my first day. I stopped at a grocery store in Oakridge and again in Bend. My goal was to make it at least to the Steens Mountains by the first night, and possibly all the way to the Alvord Desert. With this schedule, I didn’t have too much time to stop and relax. I did take photos at one scenic stop, but nothing too noteworthy.
A Bump in the Road
Once the sun began to set, I looked for an area to pull off and take a photo of the sun behind the mountains with the highway in the foreground. the road wasn’t very busy, so I felt comfortable setting up my camera equipment on a hill on the highway where I can see traffic coming both ways. I pulled off on a small gravel pull off utilized as a farm field entrance. I took a few photos then hopped back in my car. as I backed up, my car was making an awful sound. I looked out to see what it was and I had a flat tire! I couldn’t operate on the gravel, but luckily I was not a quarter mile away from Brothers. I didn’t want to change my tire on the highway, so I risked the quarter mile drive on a flat tire over to a small elementary school in Brothers.
Backtracking
This part was rather stressful and doesn’t really pertain to photography so I’ll speed through it. I got the spare tire on my car, but it only had a third the required PSI. It was now about 10:00pm and Brothers is pretty much a ghost town with the only signs of life being a rest stop. I called roadside assistance, and while I was waiting, I saw the most spectacular comet shoot across the sky. Roadside assistance showed up and I had my spare tire inflated. I drove 50 miles back to Bend as it was the only nearby town with an auto-tire shop open on the weekends. I slept in the auto shop parking lot and got a new tire in the morning. I got some sunrise photos in Bend, then left for the Steens Mountains…. again.
Plan ‘B’
Things were not going as planned. I was hoping to wake up in the desert, but by 9:00am the next day, I was still 250 miles away! I was on the road as soon as possible and on my way. I didn’t make any stops and the only thing in my mind was finding and getting to the aspen forest. I had a good idea of where I would find them based on my research, but I was still unsure on how exactly I would get there. I left in such a rush that I didn’t think to do the full amount of research that I wanted. I knew there must be a path or road to the area I wanted, but I didn’t know if I would be on foot or in a car.
Frenchglen and Gravel Roads
As I approached the Steens, I was taken on a back road full of giant cattle ranches. the road was well paved with the occasional cattle guard. As I grew closer, the slatted rock formations began to get bigger and bigger while the roads grew steeper. after some driving I got to the town of Frenchglen. This town is an oasis in the desert. I haven’t seen much civilization in the 250 miles since Bend. there was a small gift shop/gas station there with a few trailers. I parked at the shop and stepped out of my car, and in the distance up the mountain, I could see the aspen trees! The rest of the landscape was gorgeous as well, but what separated me from the beautiful landscape was a gravel road…. I looked at my map and saw the road was gravel for 20 miles until you hit the aspen forest. I was distraught by this and didn’t know if I should press forward and risk losing another tire. I walked inside the shop and asked the store clerk if he had seen a Toyota Prius ever try and make it up the mountain. He said that he’s done it, but he also popped a tire each time. That settled it for me. I wasn’t going to go up the mountain and see the aspen forest. I had a plan ‘b’ though. I was going to make my way south around the Steens to the Alvord desert. My thought was that I would stumble across at least a small group of aspens somewhere in that area.
To the Desert
The road out of Frenchglen splits. One way goes up the Steens, and the other goes around. I was sad, but I had to go around. The road takes you up a very steep road first and flattens out after a mile or so. the Alvord Desert is still about an hour drive away, but it probably took me about 3 hours to get there. I was stopping constantly to take photos. the mountains here were so diverse. So much red and yellow from all the flowers and grasses. The mountains became giant rolling hills and looked so soft and smooth in the shadow of the sun set.
The Aspens…
As I kept going, I began to become discouraged by the lack of aspen trees. Then, about 15 minutes from the desert, if found a patch of them! I pulled over right away and began trying to grab a shot. It was honestly a horrible location. The aspens were part of someones property and were fenced off with barbed-wire, but there was a way in next to the creek on the property. I brought over my equipment and snuck in a few feet to get the fence out of my shot. I lined it up and tried to get a good photo, but the lighting wasn’t great. If I could trespass further and walk up the mountain a ways, I could get a decent shot, but that wouldn’t be wise. As I was walking back to my car, I noticed some horses up the mountain. I shot some photos of them so it wasn’t a total loss and moved on to the desert.
Final Stop
It was getting late by this point and I still didn’t have a decent photo, but I pressed on to try and get a photo overlooking the Alvord Desert at sunset. If I didn’t hurry, the Steens would be blocking the sun by the time I got to the top of the desert. Speeding along, I rounded the corner to an overlook, took a couple shots, then kept moving. By the time I got to the Alvord Desert, it was completely covered by shadow. I was sad, but I kind of expected it. Then, I got out of my car and just soaked in the air for awhile.
After this moment to myself, I got in my car, turned on some tunes, and started driving home. Night fell quickly, but I was lucky enough to make it down the super steep hill into Frenchglen before it go too dark. After this point, I stopped in Bend to grab some coffee and continued to drive through the night to my house in Eugene.
In the End
This trip was almost a total loss in terms of photography, but very fruitful in terms of lesson learning. Once I hit the final destination, I didn’t even take any photos. I felt the best thing I could gain from the finish line wasn’t a photo, but just a peaceful moment to myself overlooking the shaded desert. I learned not to rush things, especially when preparing for a 14 hour round trip. I learned to know my limits and the limits of my tools (car). I have a better understanding on when to go and stay. I’m not saying that I think I should prepare for every little trip, but when I need to travel for more than an hour, I should probably do some research on the roads I’ll want to drive on.