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Showing posts from June, 2022

Mining Opals in Oregon

 I had the incredible good fortune to join some serious rock hounds at a dig over Memorial Day. This is a random collection of video, stills, compilations and comments. Please note that I am still really rough in the world of making and editing videos. Many of them do not have audio. I haven't figured out how to keep the audio track on these compilations. Anyone that would like to help me learn, please send an email badkneestravel@sonic.net  .   If you look at no other, go to the third video.   I am listing comments and links from others at the bottom of this blog This all takes place on a mountain in southern Oregon. I was invited to join in at their annual campout. The claims shown here are not open to the public. Do not go to these places and think you can just start digging.  It is really bad form, and bad kharma as well.   This first video starts at the parking area .  Notice that all of the vehicles are 4x4. The walk was not far, but it was pretty much straight up the mountai

Wildwood Recreation Site, Salmon River

    Walk: You could walk up to 3 miles or just sit at a picnic site. Slight up and downs.  Paved and wheelchair accessible Dogs: On leash     Fee: $5 and up,  almost no park passes accepted   They have the w orst web site in the world . And another almost as useless site. I love when a misadventure turns into a delight.  Using the Oregon Creaky Knees Guide I had decided to walk the Trillium Lake Loop(#40) but that access is not open  for the season yet. So the next short  walk is the Wildwood Recreation Area (#33). After paying my $5 fee, I found out that the bridge was damaged a few years ago and the trail was inaccessible. Sigh. Oh well, I am here, and parked, might as well go for a walk. And it turned out to be a lovely one. The bathrooms were right next to the information kiosk.  There were more well tended bathrooms on the path. I  grabbed a map  and away I went for a splendid Bad Knees walk. This site would be great for groups with a person with very limited walking, and others t

Petersen Rock Garden

North of Bend Oregon. UPDATE: this property has gone on sale, and a foundation is trying to start up to purchase it. https://www.facebook.com/SavePetersenRockGarden/posts/pfbid0fE9kkKXhvJP3MTN46Ne5F683dbyxqvMNasD6PJusBSZdwwk7eDXpbhhwJBs1xhnLl Distance: Not much, but watch your step. Wheelchairs, only if they have big wheels. Dogs are OK, but the peacocks may take umbrage. Fee: $6 donation In a life of visiting weird places, this is one of the most weird. It was weird when it was created, and only gets weirder as it fades into obscurity. There is no tech associated with this place. The people that caretake are from an earlier time, a different mind set entirely.  Finding information on the Rock Garden is almost impossible other than the Wiki Page. In the early 1900's, a young man leaves Denmark to emigrate to a place as unlike Denmark as can be, Central Oregon. The farming is good if you can get water. But what really  got him were the rocks. The arid, open grasslands are rich in in