My parents were in town visiting recently and helping with some much needed and fairly urgent home repairs. During their visit we made sure to get out and take them exploring! We decided to take them on a loop drive starting from Lakeview going East on hwy 140 to Adel Oregon, then heading south over to Ft. Bidwell, and crossing over the beautiful Fandango Pass into Davis Creek and then back up hwy 395 through New Pine Creek and back into Lakeview.
The first part of the drive will be on pavement as you leave Lakeview going north on Hwy 395, you will then turn onto East hwy 140 heading towards Warner Canyon Ski area and the small town of Adel. There are some beautiful stops along that route if you have time to explore. Once you reach the turn for Adel you will want to turn right and begin heading south towards Ft. Bidwell California. The road will start out paved and then will transition into a dirt road, this road is not maintained in the winter making this a late spring/summer/early fall drive only.
We followed this road and enjoyed the views. We found lots of cows and some fun small roads to explore. One of our roads we explored we found a lot of interesting rocks including obsidian.
During the drive you will pass some old homesteads, and a lot of scenic views. I also recommend looking out for Bald Eagles and other birds of prey, we saw at least 4 Bald Eagles! Then you will come into the small town of Ft. Bidwell. If you have time be sure to stop in at the NFB Restaurant and have a bite to eat. The food is fantastic and the service very friendly. We were there on a Friday night and got to enjoy live music while we ate.
Make your way out of Ft. Bidwell and then turn onto the road for Fandango Pass. This will be another dirt road and is a nice drive over the mountains. There are some nice scenic stops and historical points of interest in addition to the amazing views of Surprise Valley.
Great view from Fandango Pass
When you come into Davis Creek at the end of Fandago Pass and you will turn right on Highway 395 to head North towards Lakeview.
This is a beautiful and nice scenic drive. It will take as little as 2 hours and 45 minutes, but make sure to plan extra time so you can stop and explore.
A large part of our traveling and adventures is hiking! It is perhaps my favorite part. Many people feel that if you have kids and love to hike that you need to find a sitter and leave them at home. For some hikes that is true, but for many it is not necessary. I suppose, it just depends on what your ultimate goals are and why you are hiking.
I began hiking and fell in love with it for a multitude of reasons. The fresh air, open space, exercise, and ability to experience places not easily seen by everyone. Through the years more reasons have been added to my list. When I hike with my children they help me slow down and notice the little things. We pick up sticks, find cool rocks, and investigate the leaves. We talk A LOT and about anything and everything. We talk about hiking, how to be safe, how to take care of the trails and nature. We don’t make good time mileage wise, at least not yet, but we make memories that last. I would not trade them for anything.
We started hiking with our kids before they could walk. A quality child hiking pack is important at this stage. As they reached toddler years we started having them walk safe portions of the trails. We let them hold sticks and leaves (not always very pleasant for my head). The older they got, the more they walked and the slower we became. It was a necessary sacrifice to help build their comfort outside as well as their stamina.
Our two oldest children at ages 3 and 1 getting ready for a hike. Spring 2017 hiking in Northern Alabama.
As they were growing and starting to get harder to hold we needed to help encourage them to push through and continue hiking. At this point we offered each of them a goal. We told them if they successfully hiked three 2+ mile hikes in a row without being carried they would earn their own hiking bag!! This was actually very motivational for them. It also allowed us to give them their own water bladder and to have them begin carrying their own snacks and small toys if they wanted them. Once they earned their bags then if they complained or wanted carried we could simply remind them that they have proven they CAN hike, even when it is hard or they are tired.
Our youngest earned her hiking pack after our Georgia trip! We picked it up at REI in Chattanooga, TN.
Our oldest is turning 10 this summer and is a very confident hiker, and our younger two are also well on their way. We are starting to be able to hike further and a bit faster these days. Speed to me is not the most important thing, I love that they enjoy hiking and nature. I hope this will be something that will carry us through their teen years and help us to continue to feel connected.
Our tips for hiking with kids:
Find a comfortable Child Carrier.
Bring lots of snacks. Space them out on the trail (they are great motovation for kids).
Choose a hike based on the abilities of all in your group, including the children.
Encourage the child/children to hike as much as possible on their own. This will sometimes feel frustrating but in the long run it is beneficial. They are learning to hike. Try to make it fun for them!
Familiarize yourself with first aid and other safety measures. Hiking with young kids often means first aid will be necessary.
Slow down and enjoy nature. Use the slower pace as an opportunity to teach and connect with your child.
When they are old enough get them a backpack sized correctly for them, and add a water bladder. We LOVE the child sized day packs by REI.
Georgia 2017Spring 2020 in Lake County, Oregon
I hope you feel inspired to get out and hike and explore with your children. If you don’t have kids of your own, hopefully this information will help if you ever join a family/friends with kids on a hike! Our children love encountering friendly hikers on the trail. Hikers who understand how kids hike and encourage them are immensely inspiring for our children.
We had the pleasure of visiting Shirk Ranch this spring. Shirk Ranch is a historic ranch located in the Guano Valley near the small town of Adel, Oregon. The ranch was first Homesteaded in 1881 and was purchased by David L. Shirk in 1883.
David L. Shirk operated his ranch on the property until 1914. The property went through a few exchanges and was eventually acquired by the US Government in the year 1942. The ranch is now managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).
Map from Wikipedia
We had fun walking through the abandoned house, barn, and all the other buildings. It was fun to imagine what it must have been like to homestead there 100 years ago. There are still a lot of items left to see on the property and beautiful views any direction you point your camera!
I highly recommend this visit. Please remember to be kind to this, and all other, pieces of living American history. It is a protected historic site, so remember to take only memories and pictures, and as always, tread lightly. Items on the property need to be left for others to enjoy (though we did remove some garbage left by other recent visitors). Also, keep in mind that this is not a developed recreation site so there are no restrooms or trash collection, so plan accordingly.
We headed out to explore the surrounding countryside and discovered that once things dry out a bit more, there would be a lot of roads to explore. There is a scenic reservoir, nature area, and you can even take some dirt roads into the back side of Hart Mountain. This would make for a wonderful trip, but it was too early in the season for us to make it very far. They were very muddy in sections and the snow level was still too low in elevation. We hope to go back this summer and make the loop.
We were reminded of a one of the most important rules of adventuring, especially in the Oregon Outback:
If at all possible you should make sure someone knows your plans and when to expect you back. This is a remote area with little to no cell service, which is absolutely a large part of the fun, but not somewhere you want to get stuck. Being prepared is always a priority in this area.
I hope you take some time and make a trip out to Shirk Ranch! Check out Doherty Slide while you’re there and eat at the historic restaurant in Adel. There is plenty to see in this area! If you are planning to visit and want more ideas feel free to comment or send us a message and we will be happy to share some ideas!
Happy Adventuring,
Stephanie
The gravesite near Shirk Ranch
Check out wikipedia for more information about Shirk Ranch. Driving directions coming soon. We used Google Maps and made it safely but we had a clear idea of where we were heading and what to expect.
Descending Doherty Slide (1000 ft descent)Abiqua Falls – Mother’s Day Hike 2015
I have been asked the following questions over and over again throughout the years: Where do you find your adventures? How do you get your kids to happily hike? When should you start taking kids hiking with you?
Exploring the Blue Ridge Mountains – Summer 2018Wide Open Roads in Lake County, Oregon.
Where do we find our adventures?
This is a question we have been asked for years in almost every state we have lived. We are asked this question by people newer to the area than we are which is not surprising. But then we are just as frequently asked by people who may have lived in the area their whole lives!
The answer though seemingly simple is a rather complex one. First it starts with being prepared. We are ALWAYS overpacked and packed for multiple possibilities. For example we carry recovery gear in our truck even if we are planning to go to a state campground. Our kids hike with backpacks, which each contain their essential supplies, even if we are just going on a one mile hike, as do we. The reasons for this level of preparedness is that we are NEVER quite sure where we will end up or what will happen. We have learned to prepare ahead of time for multiple possibilities. These include the real possibilities of getting stuck, hurt, or stranded. Our number one goal while exploring has always been to be safe and keep our kids safe. There is always, despite that goal, the possibility of getting hurt, so we try to be prepared and to have a plan.
We have talked through and trained our kids in trail safety and ettiquite. Our kids have been taught to fall uphill if we are hiking in a steep area. They have been taught what to do if they get separated from us. They have been taught basic orienteering using trails, trees, creeks, rivers, and hillsides. They are just about old enough now to be taught to make a safe fire, and how to use a map and compass together. That being said, our preparedness has changed throughout the years and with our family member’s ability levels. Use your best judgment and know your limits. If you have to ask yourself multiple times if you are safe, or if you should turn back… better to be cautious and safe, than stranded and in trouble!
Exploring with others is always best! This is with our Buddies @suburbanoverland. Overlooking Summer Lake, OR at Fremont Point.
First thing that happens when we move to an area or when we visit a new area is research. We don’t just look at pamphlets that are handed out, or at the state or local forests website. We search online, we look at maps, we look up the local history, anything we can do to find and get a feel for what we may encounter.
Once we have a good idea of what is around, we will often choose a drive or an area we want to start exploring. These exploration drives involve a lot of stopping, side roads, and diversions. This is how we find a lot of neat adventures that may not be as well known. We make notes about what we want to come back and do later. This is how we begin building our lists of adventures to do around the area.
These drives become adventures in and of themselves because we are never quite sure if our planned route will work out, or what we may find that brings us away from our planned route. This is why we travel prepared for multiple possibilities. We may go out looking for a hike in the desert, but instead find ourselves enjoying a campground in the mountains. We very often encounter closed or impassable roads. Practicing leave no trace for us also involves trying to avoid tearing up roads, so sometimes we turn around or change course to avoid muddy roads.
The kids have mixed feelings some days about our driving adventures. They don’t always find them exciting, so we try to do a few things to help make them more fun. We stop, get out of the truck and let them explore when we find an interesting area. We let them get wet, muddy, and dirty if that is what comes up! We generally pack a picnic lunch and find somewhere fun to eat. We also talk to them about our plan and our route and we give them choices about where we go explore. When they have more ownership and choice about what we do they become more invested in it and have a lot more fun.
Always exploring
We use the following mapping programs most often:
Avenza Maps (a lot of free USGS Maps – can purchase other maps for various fees)
Gaia Maps (free version)
US Topo Maps Pro (single app purchase, no subscription, but maps are a little outdated)
Google maps (sometimes, not very reliable on Forest Service roads, cannot be counted on as the only mapping source).
That is a quick summary of how we find some of our adventures and places to explore. It is a fun process that is often unpredictable. Honestly I greatly enjoy the unpredictability of these drives! It is a good reminder that even the best laid plans don’t always work, and most importantly that plans can be adjusted and often our unexpected turns have led to our greatest discoveries and adventures!
Stay tuned for part 2! I will talk about hiking with kids and how our children have changed and grown as hikers through the years. I will include some of our favorite tips, as well as some harder lessons we have learned.
We went and explored the Sunstone Public Collection area in January 2019 between snowstorms. The kids were excited because they love collecting rocks and looking for gems is something we had never done! A lot of our exploring in a new area is done without planning ahead so we did not prepare by bringing shovels and sifting screens. I do definitely recommend bringing at least some hand shovels and a way to sift the rocks and dirt. Despite our lack of preparation we were able to find quite a few small Sunstones, we each found at least 15 or 20 during the short time we were looking.
The kids requested a return trip with shovels and screens and more time to look around and explore. We will also make sure we have ample food and water as well as extra water to wash hands and rise the Sunstones. The area is mostly sagebrush with no shade to speak of so sunscreen and hats are also on my list.
About the Sunstones:
Thirteen or fourteen million years ago in the Steens Mountains, a volcanic eruption occurred producing feldspar (a combination of minerals that form into colorless/pale yellow crystals) within the lava flow. The area was covered by a large lake. The lava remained submerged for thousands of years, but when the lake dried up the lava began deteriorating. Sunstones – also known as feldspar crystals – were then released from the lava as it decomposed into the top layers of soil.
Tumbled Sunstone. Picture from Geology.com
Important Information:
The Sunstone Collection area is located in the Rabbit Basin of south-central Oregon. It is Managed by the BLM and there is no fee to use it, but you are only permitted to collect for personal use. The BLM states that you may not collect sunstones to trade or for Commercial purposes. Camping is permitted anywhere within the public collection area, but be advised it is a very remote location, come prepared with water and food as there is not store or restaurant facility nearby. The collection area does have a pit toilet and some covered picnic tables available for use.
This area is located very close to the Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge. We had a large herd of antelope cross the road in front of us on our way out of the Sunstone area. Keep your eyes peeled for them as your drive around the area!
Exploring the Oregon Outback 