Eastern Oregon
I try to get to Steens Mountain every fall to shoot its aspens in color. It's always a crap shoot regarding timing – I want to be there just past peak color high on the mountain, when there is a combination of some colored leaves surrounded by bare, stark trees (see my galleries from 2007, 2008, & 2016). And more years than not, I find impossible viewing conditions (e.g., cloud whiteout) or the leaves completely devoid of color due to black spot disease. This year I could find no reports on the internet, and the aspens in Bend had no peak – probably due to unusually warm fall nights, with no hard freezes. Because of this & poor weather, I went a full week later than usual and found the trees almost completely bare, & much of the few remaining hanging leaves still green. So, I'm not sure what peak color had been like. My guess is that it was not a great fall color year.
After an afternoon of shooting & spending the night at the funky Frenchglen Hotel, I decided to take a long route home through the Strawberry Mountains north of Burns and then on to the Painted Hills. I was hoping to find some photogenic color in the mountains and that the recent showers had brightened the Hills' clay colors. Alas, no photo opportunty found in the Strawberrys, and the Painted Hills were still summer dull. So I then decided to explore the upper Crooked River around Post & Paulina, upstream from the Prineville Reservoir. I had seen a nice image of aspens somewhere on the upper river and wondered if I could find that area. In fact, I had read that area's Aspen Valley Ranch had been acquired by a conservation organization, and its name got my hopes up. But I couldn't see any aspens anywhere from the valley's highway 380 – they must hidden back in the hills. And there was not enough time to explore any of the many tertiary roads.
Nonetheless, it was an interesting & beautiful sightseeing trip, and I did come back with some images.
Image Gallery – Tap/click to view individual image, then swipe to advance (use optional controls for auto play, index, or share menu):
