Discover ORegon Spring Trip

Hera Community School
Know-Understand-Do

DISCOVER OREGON SPRING TRIP

JUNE 2-5, 2009

In celebration of

Oregon's 150th Birthday,

Hera Community School went on a

“Discover Oregon” trip to the Central and Southeastern part of the state, June 2-5, 2009. Students earned science and history credit as they studied and witness first hand the geology of Oregon. We had an amazing time exploring and experienced the scenic, wide open space of Oregon's remote "outback."

Trip Itinerary

June 2, 2009- We left Oregon City at 10:15 am and took 84 towards The Dallas. We stopped by Multnomah Falls for a quick hike. We stopped and had a picnic lunch at a grassy rest stop, we were all entertained by the overly friendly squirrels working the circuit. At Biggs we headed East on Hwy 97-the travel back in time-route. The road snaked through ghost towns and gleaming white wind turbines.We turned on Hwy 206 towards Condon and followed that to Hwy 207. We reached our first destination, Mitchell,OR around 5:30pm. We checked into our rooms at The Oregon Hotel and then enjoyed a tasty dinner at The Little Pine Cafe. http://theoregonhotel.net/

After dinner we drove to the Painted Hills and watch the sunset. We had the area to ourselves, it was a spectacular evening. We returned to Mitchell and enjoyed a nice campfire by the river and ate S'mores for dessert.

June 3, 2009- We left Mitchell and made our way to the John Day Fossil Beds and Painted Hills. We spent most of the day exploring that region and visiting the Thomas Condon Paleontology Center . We had a picnic lunch near the John Day River at the historic Cant Ranch Museum. At the end of the day we will drive towards Burns, Or and made our way to Crystal Crane Hot Springs where we checked into our rustic cabins and quickly went for a soak. ihttp://www.cranehotsprings.com/

in Harney County http://www.co.harney.or.us/

We had a nice home cooked meal and then enjoyed the hot springs and got some much needed sleep.

June 4, 2009-

We woke up ate Breakfast, packed a lunch, enjoy the pond and then head out to explore. Half the group elected to stay behind and enjoy the hot springs, those seeking more adventure grabbed their hiking boots and climed in the van

Our first stop was Mann Lake hunkered behind the Steens Mountains on Fields-Denio Road off of Hwy 78. The students looked for lizards and a group of Trumpeter Swans could be seen in the distance.

Our next stop was the Avord Desert, we stopped at the hot springs and had a nice visit with a group of German tourist.

We continued on and stoped for a cold drink at Fields, OR, population 8.

http://fieldsoregon.com/default.aspx

We arrived at Bog Hot Springs, Denio, NV, a hot spring river that snakes through the high desert surronded by snow capped mountains. We wasted no time beginning to explore the area. The wide open sky was incredible and we found at least 7 different types of lizards. The area was used by Native American as a camping area to flint arrow heads, the ground was littered with obsidian flakes.

We enjoyed the drive back to Crystal Crane, we went through the Malheur Wildlife Refuge, a birders paradise. Numerous species of birds dotted the twilight sky.

We drove through the Diamond Crater formation at sunset. Diamond Crater has some of the most diverse basaltic volcanic features in the nation. The views at sunset were wonderful. We stopped at the Peter French Round Barn and were greeted by a family of ravens that were nesting in the barn. We arrived back at Crystal Crane and dusk and were greeted with dinner.

http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/burns/recreation/diamond_craters.php

June 5, 2009-

We got up early and packed the vans for the trip home. We drove to Christmas Valley and went to Crack in the Ground is a volcanic fissure over two miles long and up to 70 feet. We hiked through the crack and even found a nest of hawks, which we were careful not to disturb.

Our next stop was Fort Rock, the circular rock formation rises above the flat desert, visible for miles and resembling the ramparts of a fort. The state park is the home of nesting raptors. We went to the Fort Rock Valley Historic Homestead Museum and toured the preserved buildings.

We stopped at Abby's Pizza in Redmond on our way home on Hwy 26. We enjoyed our time out of the vans and to eat one last meal together as a group.

We all had a wonderful experience and made memories that will last a life time.

Thank you to everyone who donated to make this trip possible, we could not have done it without you

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