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We are looking to know how far swimming & such is from the camping areas. There are 2 campgrounds, Crooked River Campground & Deschutes Campground. Tell us what you know, please :)

OK there’s a Tesla concert in Feb and i want to go and i would like to know if there’s an age limit on that show


Video report of fishing at South Santiam river, Oregon, on May 31st, 2010.


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Bend Oregon is better known for its trout fishing but it also supports a few lakes that have good populations of Largemouth and Smallmouth Bass. The bodies of water within a one hour drive from Bend that hold bass are Crane Prairie Reservoir, Wickiup Reservoir, Davis Lake, Prineville Reservoir, Haystack Reservoir and Lake Billy Chinook (Round Butte Reservoir).
Crane Prairie Reservoir is better known for its large Rainbow and Brook Trout. However it is full of stumps, standing and downed trees. It is a Largemouth Bass heaven. It is a relatively shallow body of water with reeds and lily pads as well as lots of wood cover. The deepest part near the dam is 16 to 20 feet deep depending on how much water is in the reservoir at any given time.
The reservoir sits in the Cascade Mountains southwest of Bend. It is surrounded by pine trees and supports a healthy wild life population. You can always count on seeing countless Ospreys, a few Bald Eagles and numerous water fowl. Osprey and Great Blue Herons both nest at Crane Prairie.
Crane Prairie is not a year round lake and it often freezes over in the winter. Since it is a trout lake the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife closes it to fishing at the end of October and opens it back up on the third Saturday in April. There are years where it is partially ice covered on opening day.
The belief is that Largemouth Bass no not bite until June or July,” when the water warms. ” However, some of the best bass fishing on Crane is in May. The author has caught many bass over five pounds in late April and May. The place to fish is the shallow North side of the reservoir where the water temperatures can be in the low to mid fifties in 2 to 6 feet of water.
Early mornings in April and May are not the time to fish for bass. Early afternoon is the best time to start. The water in Crane is crystal clear this time of year and it is hard to get a bite if the sun is out and the wind is calm. The silt and mud bottom with plentiful amounts of wood cover soak up the heat on these cool spring days.
If it is calm and sunny you are better off to put your rod down, your trolling motor on high and start looking for fish. Often times they will be laying on top of fallen logs sunning.
There are also many root balls from blown over trees that will hold fish. You will not see any small fish this time of year. It will be strictly pre-spawn females.
Once you start seeing fish slow down and start looking more closely. You will find several fish in the same area and don’t want to spook them too much. Once you have found a few areas that hold fish be sure and mark them so you can come back when the wind picks up and puts a little chop on the water.
It is not necessary to mark every fish. Just keep track of the general area where you saw concentrations of fish. Go back to those areas and fish the lay down logs and the root balls. Black weedless jigs with a trailer or 6 inch black worms are the ticket this time of year. The author’s favorite jig trailer is a 5 inch black with blue flake twin tail grub.
Crane Prairie bass are big for Oregon standards. The largest bass caught by the author was 6. 5 pounds. He has seen Largemouth caught and released in excess of 8 pounds in some local bass tournaments. These are not your normal run and gun bass tournaments however because there is a 10 mile an hour speed limit on Crane Prairie Reservoir.
In the early 1990s the average spring time bass was in the 3 to 5 pound range. Now the average is 2 to 4 pounds with a few 5 pounders thrown in. Crane Prairie Largemouth usually spawn around the full moon in late June. Spawn and post spawn is usually when the fish “start to bite” for the general public and anyone can catch several small males that bite aggressively.
After the spawn the large female bass drop back to deeper water around the channels and become harder to catch. Crank baits and spinner baits come into play at this time of year. The water also starts to take on some color and is not as clear. Aquatic weeds and moss also start to grow making it more difficult to fish jigs and worms.
Fall and late fall are difficult time to catch fish as the water is low from irrigation use and it starts to clear up again. Spring is definitely the best time to catch Large Mouth Bass on Crane Prairie Reservoir.


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Recorded on September 2, 2010 using a Flip Video camcorder. This is the first video of 15, outline a very GREAT Labor Day trip at Lake Billy Chinook.

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Camping is one of the most popular sport that is present is almost all over the world. People go for camping with family as well as friends. There are so many wonderful places in the world that you will love to visit them. Some of the places are great for putting up tents and going for camping. There are different kinds of tents available these days. Various brands are well known for manufacturing these camping tents. It is very much important to find out the right place to put up the tents. Do you know that the there are lots of beaches which can provide for a great camping ground. Have you ever thought of going for tent camping in Oregon? This is one of the best places for camping with family. There are certain camping parks which are either maintained by the state or even by the private companies. If you can really spend a vacation in one of those parks then surely you will enjoy yourself to the fullest extent. You can even spend a romantic trip on the beaches of Oregon. Some of the campgrounds are located on the beach itself. So you can just sit inside the tent and enjoy the ocean. But before you choose the ground you need to make sure that the ground is safe and secure for you and your family or friends. There are certain amenities that are very much necessary. Food, water, electricity are essential elements. You must check for these things before you put up the tent camping. The two most popular beaches in Oregon are sunset beach and Beverly beach. The sunset beach is located on the southern coast on the other hand the Beverly beach is located on the central part of Oregon. You will get to enjoy the Pacific Ocean on one of the sides of the camp if you put up the camping tents on the Oregon beach. The beach is quite long so you do not need to worry about the effect of the ocean. You will get shells, agates as well as fossils on the beach. For this you just need to walk to the southern portion of the beach. On the other hand if you are interested in surfing then you can go to the northern portion of the beach. Overall the place is filled with excitement and this is the reason why lots of people choose this place for putting up the camping tents. It is also very important to choose the best quality tents for camping. Coleman tents are one of the popular products available in the market these days. You must be very careful so that you can choose the best.


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Nature, the predominant element around which life in Oregon revolves, results in the state’s topographical diversity and rugged, natural beauty, and dictates the experiences the tourist is likely to have.

The 362 mile long coast, for instance, comprised of rain forests, sand dunes, black sand beaches, and unique rock formations, is splintered by some dozen rivers, which flow into the Pacific.   The spine of the Coast Range and the Klamath Mountains provides a westerly skeleton, while the Columbia River defines the border between Washington and Oregon in the north.   The Cascade Mountains, black basalt formations densely carpeted with thick, green forests and capped with snow covered volcanoes, cradle alpine lakes and a national park, and extend form Mt. Hood in the north to Hayden Mountain in the south, serving to separate the western half of the state with its central high desert plateau.   In the northeast, the 10,000-foot Wallowa Mountains invert themselves into 6,600-foot-deep Hells Canyon, the world’s deepest river carved gorge.

Abundant vineyards produce an array of excellent wines, while locally grown marrionberries figure in Oregon cooking, along with the bounty of the land’s fruits and vegetables and the rivers’ salmon.

Columbia River Gorge

Formed by volcanic activity and both basalt lava and glacial floods, the Columbia River Gorge National Scenic Area, spanning 80 miles from Troutdale in the west to the Dalles in the east, and encompassing 292,000 acres on both the Washington and Oregon sides, had been created by Congress in 1986.   The Columbia River itself, at 1,243 miles in length, is the second largest such artery in the continental United States and the only nearly sea level passage through the mountain range stretching between Canada and Mexico.   Originating in British Columbia, it flows through the mountains, before turning south and finally west where it releases 250,000 cubic feet of water per second into the Pacific.   Topographically featuring Douglas fir, hemlock, and western red cedar in the west, the gorge transforms into drier pine forest and grassland in the east.

Its primary Native American residents, the “Watlala,” who had been more commonly known as the “Cascades,” had lived on both sides of the river between Cascade Locks and Sandy River, using it for sustenance and trade by fishing for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon, and eel.   The land provided berries and roots and the nearby mountains facilitated hunting for deer and elk.   Living in structures made of cedar planks, the Watlala seasonally traveled down the river to fish and gather plant foods, such as “wapato” and “camas,” in cedar carved canoes, while wood and mountain sheep horns had provided the raw materials for tools, bowls, and pots.   Wrap twined baskets sported intricate decorations of nature, people, and animals.

Controlling the portage round Cascade Falls, which had been too treacherous for canoe or boat passage, they collected tolls in the form of traded goods in exchange for access.

The Watlala signed Willamette Valley Treaty ceded their southern bank of the Columbia River to the US in 1855, and they had subsequently been relocated to the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation two years later.

Of the gorge’s numerous waterfalls, Multnomah Falls, plummeting almost 620 feet from its origin on Larch Mountain, constitutes the second-highest year-round waterfall in the US.   “Multnomah,” translating as “those closer to the water,” with “water” referring to the Columbia River itself, cascades down a cliff in which five flows of Yakima basalt are visible, and its spray, freezing in early-winter and melting in late-spring, causes the rock over which it travels to crack and break away.   The falls are accessed by several hiking trails.

The adjacent, Cascadian style, natural stone Multnomah Falls Lodge, designed by architect Albert E. Doyle in 1925 to serve travelers arriving by car, train, or steamboat, sits on land donated by the Oregon and Washington Railroad and Navigation Company to the city of Portland.   The lodge’s east end, which includes the later added Forest Service Visitor’s Center in 1929, had preceded its post war remodeling and 1946 reopening.   On April 22, 1981, the lodge, along with the first 1. 1 miles of its Larch Mountain trail, had been placed on the National Register of Historic Places, and the day facility sports two second floor, fireplace and stone dining rooms overlooking the falls and the Columbia River.   An extensive gift shop is located on the main level.

The Columbia River Interpretive Center, located across the Columbia River spanned, erector set appearing Bridge of the Gods in Stevenson, Washington, provides snapshots of life in the area in a modern, two level museum, with exhibits such as a horse drawn buckboard from 1890, a wooden fish wheel, a 1921 log carrying Mack truck, an 1895 Corliss steam engine used to drive saw carriages and conveyors in a Cascade Locks lumber mill, hand crafted canoes, and a 1917 Curtiss JN-4 Jenny biplane, which had facilitated local transportation.

Further east, and back on the Oregon side, the Columbia Gorge Hotel, built on a scenic cliff overlooking the Columbia River, is a stately, neo-Morish structure listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the US Department of Interior unofficially dubbed the “Waldorff of the West. ”  Constructed in 1921 by timber tycoon Simon Benson as a tribute to America’s post-war prosperity, it had hosted social and political dignitaries, presidents such as Coolidge and Roosevelt, movie stars like Clara Bow and Rudolph Valentino, and musicians from the Big Bands, having played an integral role during the Roaring Twenties when Model T Fords had traveled the roads and steamers had plied the rivers.   Voted one of the world’s top 500 hotels by Conde Nast magazine, the hotel, sitting on meticulously manicured, tiny waterfall dotted grounds, features an elegant, chandelier and fireplace adorned lobby and restaurant.

The Mount Hood Railroad, located a short distance from the hotel, traces its origins to 1905 when Utah lumberman David Eccles laid track in order to transport timber between the forest and his lumber mill by a steam engine powered logging train, and today offers daily excursions along the 8. 5 mile stretch between Hood River and Odell through predominantly forested and fruit orchard topography and less frequent runs the full 22 miles to Parkdale, gateway to Mt. Hood.

Mt. Hood

Mt. Hood, named after British admiral Samuel Hood in 1792 and part of the Cascade Mountains, is an inactive volcano whose last, although minor, eruption, occurred between 1845 and 1865.   At 11,235 feet, it is Oregon’s tallest peak.   Glacier and river sculpted over the years, the snow covered mountain, rising above Trillum Lake, features a 50-degree slope at its last, 2,000 foot rise, and offers year round hiking and skiing.

Its story, however, is every bit that of the lodge designated “Timberline” and nestled on its south slope at the 6,000 foot level.   The result of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), the federal agency created in 1933 to provide gainful employment to Americans who had been rendered idle by the Great Depression, it had been constructed by a predominantly inexperienced workforce which had used natural, Oregon indigenous material.

Its initial site survey, made in the spring of 1936 under 14 foot snow accumulations and only accessible by a primitive road which terminated a half mile from the actual location, yielded to the first drawings and subsequent groundbreaking on June 11 of a European chateau and alpine style lodge designed by Gilbert Stanley Underwood and constructed entirely of gray, almost rock-resembling wood whose roof line echoed that of the steep mountain slope behind it.

Oregon had provided its foundation in the literal sense by supplying the mountain it had been built on and the natural materials which had been severed from their wombs and reduced to the individual buildings blocks which had been intricately reassembled into the lodge itself, inclusive of the forest supplied wood for its exterior structure and interior furniture and carvings, and the mountainside- and quarry yielding andesite stone for its walls and fireplaces.

Featuring a hexagonal core known as the “head house,” which had been inspired by the outline of the mountain peak behind it, and a single, angled wing extending from either of its sides, it had been designed as an extension of, as opposed to obstruction to, its surroundings.

Completed in only a 15 month period, it had been dedicated by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 28, 1937 and opened to the public the following February.

The hexagonally shaped head house, subdivided into the lower lobby, upper lobby, and mezzanine, features a truncated, 55 foot high “timberline” arch supported by carved sides and a top crossbeam, in the center of which is a six sided stone chimney which sports three, railroad track andiron adorned fireplaces.   Hexagonal ponderosa pine columns, each weighing seven tons and milled from a single tree, surround the lodge, while Oregon white oak provides its floor planks.   The hexagonal pattern is repeated in the hand forged wrought iron chandeliers and floor lamps, and floor to ceiling windows (attempt to) provide views through the 21 foot high snow banks.   Some 820 pieces of wooden, hand crafted furnishings and carvings were made in the WPA woodworking shop in Portland.

The Cascade Dining Room, located off the main lobby and thresholded by wrought iron gates made in the WPA blacksmith shop, exudes rustic, early-1900s elegance with a polished, wooden floor; a wood beamed ceiling; a relief carving adorned stone fireplace entitled “Forest Scene,” and a bar.

Guest rooms, varying in size and appointment from bunk beds to fireplace suites, are rustic with heavy wooden doors; wrought iron latches; leather-and-iron lamps; heavy, wooden beds; and knotty pine panelings.

Timberline Lodge, the only public building of its size constructed entirely by hand with original craft work in wood, wrought iron, mosaic, painting, and carved linoleum, and, since 1978, a National Historic Landmark, is every bit a “sight” as an overnight lodge.   It serves some two million annual visitors, only a small percentage of whom are actually skiers.

Returning to a roaring fire which castes warmth and light into the wooden lobby from its central stone fireplace after a day of skiing and enjoying award winning cuisine in the rustically elegant Cascade Dining Room, and then cacooning oneself in quilts in a knotty pine paneled guest room on the other side of whose wall the half, snow-buried pine trees surround the base of Mount Hood whose jagged, black granite, snow blanketed peak is periodically shrouded in cloud and mist throughout the night, is a quintessential Oregon experience.

Central Oregon

Because the Cascade Mountains mostly drain traditional storm fronts of their moisture, and therefore provide distinct climactic zones on either of their sides, Central Oregon, to the east of them, forms a high desert plateau and enjoys 300 days of sunshine, as contrasted with the rain drenched coast.   Access is via winding, ascending Route 20 through the dense, needle thin ponderosa and lodgepole pine of Willamette National Forest, over Tombstone and Santiam Passes, and finally through Deschutes National Forest, all of which are often shrouded in low-altitude cloud, and lead to an area of snow capped mountains, 150 mountain lakes, and 500 miles of rivers.   They afford a variety of recreational opportunities, including golfing, fishing, biking, horseback riding, hiking, climbing, rafting, and skiing.   Bend, an accommodations base and once a booming timber town, capitalizes on the area’s attractions with hotels, resorts, restaurants, and services.   The area is alternatively served by nearby Redmond Airport.

Sisters, one of Central Oregon’s attractions, is a quintessential western town of about 1,000 with 1880s style storefronts and wooden boardwalks named after the Three Sisters Mountains in the southwest.   Initially accessed by trails forged through the Santiam Pass to the high desert by those hoping to strike it rich in the gold mines of Eastern Oregon and Idaho, it had developed into a small town after the trails had evolved into wagon roads.   Wood from the surrounding pine forests had established lumber as its principle economic activity, although tourism plays an increasingly important role.   Bronco Billy’s Saloon, built in 1912, is an historically important building in Sisters.

The High Desert Museum, located a few miles south of Bend on Highway 97, is a modern, continually expanding facility which showcases the wildlife and landscapes of eight western states in both indoor and outdoor exhibits, including those of western exploration and settlement, the Columbia River plateau Indians, a “desertarium,” an 1880 homestead ranch, a working sawmill, and a raptor center.

The area’s geology can be studied in nearby Newberry National Volcanic Monument.   One of the largest “shield”-shaped volcanoes in the Lower 48 states and located along the Northwest Rift zone of faults, the 500 square mile Newberry Caldera, whose most recent eruption, the Big Obsidian Flow, occurred 1,300 years ago, cradles two trout and salmon abundant lakes: Paulina Lake, at 250 feet one of Oregon’s deepest, and 180-foot-deep East Lake, are both fed by hot springs below them.   Once believed to have existed as single entities, Paulina and East Lakes had been divided by pumice and water deposits 6,200 years ago.

Paulina Peak, the crater’s highest at 7,985 feet, provides views of the High Desert plateau and the Cascade Mountains.

The Deschutes River, a federally designated Wild and Scenic River, flows through the monument’s northwest corner, and offers fishing, kayaking, and white water rafting, while more than 100 miles of trails, interspersing the monument, facilitate hiking, mountain biking, horseback riding, skiing, and snowmobiling.   Area wildlife includes deer, elk, black bear, ducks, osprey, geese, tundra swans, and bald eagles.

Aside from the caldera, three separate areas can be visited.

The Lava Lands Visitor Center, the first of these, depicts Central Oregon’s geology, archaeology, history, and fauna.   Ranger-led interpretive hikes take visitors through the volcanic landscape.   500 foot high Lava Butte, whose crater had been formed 7,000 years ago when it had erupted and spewed lava over a nine square mile area, is accessible by a perimeter road and affords views of the Newberry Volcano and Cascade Mountain Range.

The Lava River Cave, a one mile long lava tube, had been created when a river of molten lava had formed a channel whose sides hardened, creating a roof, but the hot lava had continued to flow through the tube, leaving it hollow.   Its interior temperature is now a constant 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

Finally, the Lava Cast Forest had been created when Newberry Volcano vent originating lava had flowed through a miniature ponderosa pine forest, enveloping the trees and forming molds round their now burned bases when they had cooled.   A one mile trail leads through the forest, which is being progressively reclaimed by young pines.

Aviation-Related Northwest Oregon

Northwest Oregon features two significant sights, which not only center round aviation, but also retain the state’s nature oriented theme.

The Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum, the first of these, had been created by Delford M Smith, founder of Evergreen International Aviation, and his son, Captain Michael King Smith, who had served as Second Lieutenant in the US Air Force and had been an F-15 Fighter pilot and the head of the 123rd Fighter Squadron of the Oregon Air National Guard.   Centerpiece of the museum’s three modern, A-frame, aviation, space, and IMAX buildings, located in McMinnville, is the Hughes H-4 Hercules, the world’s largest transport flying boat, designed and built by the Hughes Aircraft Company entirely of natural, laminated birch wood due to World War II-imposed metal usage restrictions and hence given the unofficial nickname of “Spruce Goose. ”

Designed to fulfill the 1942 US Department of War requirement for a very large aircraft to transport personnel and war material across the Atlantic where aircraft had hitherto been frequent targets of German U-boats, it had originally been intended as one of three stipulated by the contract, which had dictated a two-year development period.   Powered by eight, 3,000 hp Pratt and Whitney Wasp Major radial engines, the H-4, with a 218. 8 foot overall length and a 319. 11 foot wingspan, accommodated 750 fully equipped troops in its cavernous, dual deck fuselage and had a 400,000 pound maximum take off weight.   The only airframe ever completed, and thus serving as the prototype, it had first flown on November 2, 1947 when Howard Hughes himself had covered less than a mile at a 70 foot altitude while maintaining a 135 mph air speed.   It became its only flight.

The museum retains its natural theme by cultivating its own vineyard in front of it appropriately named “Spruce Goose Vineyards,” and a wine tasting room and gift shop, where one can sample the wines of the area’s abundant other vineyards, is located in the aviation building.

Of the two hangars constructed here, Hangar B had been the first to have been completed in the spring of 1943, followed one month later by Hangar A.   Housing Squadron ZP-33’s eight K ships, it features six, 30 ton, railroad track guided door sections covering the 120 foot high, 220 foot wide opening which thresholds the 15 story high, seven acre internal space.   The 251 foot blimps, attaining lift with 425,000 cubic foot helium bags, could remain aloft for three days and cover 2,000 miles.

After the air station had been decommissioned in 1948, the two hangars had been used for several purposes, including those of hay bail storage, and the material in Hangar A had unexplainably sparked and ignited in 1992, destroying it.   Two years later, Hangar B had been developed into the current, nationally historic aviation museum displaying a vintage collection of restored, exclusively flyable aircraft.

Here, wood, the natural element of Oregon’s forests, had been used to build the hangars in which dirigibles, using the natural gas of helium to attain lift, had been stored, in an ultimate act of history preserving history, and of nature serving man, which is, in essence, the story of Oregon.


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People who want to have a wonderful vacation in the USA are most welcome at Oregon Coast vacation rentals as it offers a number of options to enjoy a perfect getaway in this beautiful area of the United States’ west coast. The area is internationally recognized among holiday makers due to its beauty and serene. There are many activities to choose from and the picturesque places to view and shoot. Oregon Coast vacation rentals are popular for making your holiday incredible and relaxing by offering the advantages one would find at home such as their own kitchen and laundry facilities. Apart from these, there are other facilities that include barbeques, stereo systems, movies, hot tubs, fireplaces and games. Some vacation rentals allow you to come with your pet as well. These facilities are not available at all the locations so, make a comprehensive search through the internet to find this out. Oregon Coast vacation rentals are considered great holidays for families who want to bring their children as there are a numbers of things for children to do especially along the beaches. The place has magnificent forests that reach right to the coast as well. Some areas along the coast provide great crab and clamming along with fishing. While staying at Oregon Coast vacation rentals, there are a number of activities to be involved with in urban areas as well. Some of these activities that include antique shops, fine dining, artist studios and galleries. Some of the other tourist locations along with the coast that includes The Sea Lion Caves, the Oregon Coast Aquarium, the Chinook Winds Casino and the Newport Historic Bay front. One of the most popular places to visit in Oregon, Mount Hood where snow-covered peak welcomes visitors with its impressive elegance and the spectacular Multnomah Falls awaits those who can realize the magnificence of its sheer force. Mount Hood is the place to head for tranquility among nature where lush forests surround most vacation homes, providing not only privacy but a secluded retreat to people who can enjoy surroundings without the noise of passing vehicles or loud neighbors.


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We go early in the morning for these elusive creatures. Fortunately for us, we hook more than one of these monsters in the two days of fishing in Oregon

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