Pringle Falls Experimental Forest in La Pine, Oregon:

Just outside of La Pine, Oregon on Burgess Road, on your way toward Cascade Lakes Highway, there is an experimental forest right before you get to Pringle Falls.  This summer, my husband Cary and I stopped there to look around, and then drove up to the top of the mountain behind it.

The Pringle Falls Experimental Forest is one of several such research forests in the state of Oregon.  It was developed in 1931.  Here is a cool map of where these special forests are located.   I obtained it from this link provided by Oregon State University:  "Bole Decomposition Rates of Seventeen Tree Species in Western USA"

Source:  Oregon State University Research Paper

These are the photos that we took that day. It was pretty, warm and peaceful.  If you happen to be driving by, why not stop and take a look for yourself?

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

#1:  The Multi-Age Forest:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

#2:  The Same-Age Forest

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

#3:  The Turn-of-the-Century Forest

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

To learn more about this cool place, please click on the research paper below.  I have posted more links at the bottom of this post, but this link is very thorough and full of history.  It was written in 2007 by Les Joslin:

Ponderosa Promise: A History of U.S. Forest Service Research in Central Oregon

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

My handsome driver took me up to the top of the hill behind the forest.  The road was pretty good, since it was summer and dry.  The area seemed pretty undisturbed, like we were the only recent folks to travel on it.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

I thought that we were looking at Davis Lake down below, but looking at the map it could have been Wickiup Lake instead. We stopped at the top, and then turned back around.  Our cell phones worked, but we were at the end of our drive that day and didn't feel like exploring further.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

The marker says Road 500.  This area is just plain old.   I kept thinking of Indians and hunters and people being buried there for some reason.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

It was so quiet, and very pretty.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There had been deer around, but we didn't actually see any; just their evidence. 

If you get the chance, stop by and take a look at the markers.  That part is visible from Burgess Road, and is very accessible.  For further information, please check out some of these links:

Link to an OSU Powerpoint Presentation about the Pringle Falls Experimental Forest: Ponderosa Pine Management

Forest Service: Experimental Forests, Pringle Falls

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.
 

Donald G. McGregor Memorial Viewpoint at La Pine State Park, Oregon:

After a weekend of watching/listening to football and having friends Tom and Cheryl over for dinner, Cary and I decided to get out of the house for a bit yesterday afternoon.  It was partly cloudy and sort of muggy, getting up to 62*.  We drove up to Paulina Lake and I'll do a short blog post on that part soon, as well as our stop at the beginning of The Peter Ogden Trail.

We hadn't been to La Pine State Park in a while, so after leaving the mountain we headed there.  It was so funny what we discovered inside the park not far from crossing over the bridge: The Donald G. McGregor Memorial Viewpoint.  I don't know how we missed it prior to this.  I think that the short driveway was snowed in when we drove past it before on our way to the campground.  Turning right at the sign and going down a short drive to a small parking lot, we found the most beautiful treat.  You can see where it is on the middle of the map below: 

Source: Oregon State Parks.org

After getting out of the car and walking a tiny bit, this was our discovery:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This memorial was dedicated in 1973 to Donald G. McGregor:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There is a picnic table, a hiking trail and the most incredible scenery.  That is our car in the background, where the parking area is.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Wow!

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There was a great view of Paulina Peak, the place where we had just came from:

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

This is the Big Deschutes River.  I had to mentally track where it came from, and to my best guess it arrived here from the back of Wickiup Dam, past Haner Park and Pringle Falls, making its way under the bridge at La Pine State Park and wrapping around to this viewpoint.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Cary is taking a look at the view.  A lady and her dog came jogging by and I asked her where this trail ended up.  She said that if you stayed on to the north, it would eventually take you to Fall River.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Here is me, Grandma Kathy posing for the camera.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

There are some really cool trees there too; I love the Ponderosa Pines.

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

 Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy ~ Kathy Matthews

In trying to find out more about Mr. McGregor, I discovered this newspaper article about him.  It talks about the park that they named after him at Lost Creek Dam near Mt. Ashland, and mention the La Pine State Park Viewpoint near the end:

Source: Newspaper Article About Don McGeagor

So, if you ever get the chance, this is an easy and pretty sight to see.  If you enjoyed this post, I think that you will also like the one that I made about  "The Big Tree", also located in La Pine State Park.

At Oregon Gifts of Comfort and Joy, if you miss a day, you miss a lot!  All material on this post is copyrighted and not for use without my permission ...Please click here to go to my home page and see what is happening in Mayberry today.