Friday, May 11, 2012

May 3, 2012. Going Through Oregon. Willamette National Forest. SNOW!!!

Hee!

We left Bend, Oregon,
and headed through Willamette National Forest.


It's cold and gray and there's snow on the ground.
And I'm loving it!

It's beautiful!





And now it's snowing!
31 degrees.
















Frozen lake.




Let it snow.
Let it snow.

Let it snow!



All good things must come to an end.


Would you look at the moss(?) covered branches?



I found this very interesting plant
and turned to one of my many
 botanically knowledgeable sources for an ID.
Zzzadig came through with the identification.






4. Division Sphenophyta (Horsetails)

Primitive vascular plant group of the Carboniferous Period (300 million years ago) with jointed stems, whorls of tiny scale-like leaves at the nodes, and a terminal spore cone (strobilus); some species with dense branches at nodes, apparently resembling a bushy horse's tail to some botanists; also called "scouring rushes" because the silica-impregnated stems were used to clean pots and pans; many fossils, including tree-like forms dating back 300 million years ago; the present-day genus Equisetum is a living fossil with several species that are the only living representatives of this ancient group of vascular plants.
 Horsetails (Equisetum telmateia ssp. braunii) in the rain-soaked Coast Range of northern California.
 







America's First
Transcontinental 
Automobile Race

Automotive history was made here
June 20, 1905, when the first car to cross
 the Cascade Mountains conquered the
Santiam Wagon Road. 
Dwight Huss drove "Old Scout,"
a 1904 Oldsmobile Curved Dash Runabout,
from New York to Portland in 44 days.
"Old Scout" was the first car to travel
North America from East to West, 
the first car on the Oregon Trail,
and the first car to enter Portland
on its own power from out of state.
Dwight's son, John,
dedicated the restored wagon road to antique cars,
 horseback riders, and hikers on July 7, 1995.




Oregon History
Santiam Wagon Road
The pass located east of here through the 
Cascade Range was once called Wiley Pass
after Andrew Wiley.
Wiley, with other Willamette Valley pioneers,
explored it in 1859 while searching for a route to move
their livestock to the grass lands
 of central Oregon for summer grazing.
In 1864, the Willamette Valley and
 Cascade Mountain Military Wagon Road Company
was formed and  submitted plans
to the U.S. Government for a military road
to be built along the route as far east
as the mouth of the Malheur River.
The land grant of 1866 included
 861,512 acres for the road builder.
Little Road was never constructed
and much of the land reverted to the state.
In 1868, a wagon road was completed from
the valley to near sisters and became a
toll road known as the Santiam Wagon Road.



I've noticed ferns always find a place out of which to grow.














Oregon History

Santiam Wagon Road
The pass located east of here through the Cascade Range was once called Wiley Pass after Andrew Wiley.  Wiley with other Willamette Valley Pioneers explored it in 1859 while searching for a route to move their livestock to the grass lands of Central Oregon for summer grazing.  In 1864 the Willamette Valley and Cascade Mountain Military Wagon Road Company was formed and submitted plans to the U.S. Government for a military road to be built along the route as far east as the mouth of the Malheur River.  The land grant of 1866 included 861,512 acres for the road builder.  Little Road was never constructed and much of the land reverted to the state in 1868.  In 1868 a wagon road was completed from the valley to near Sisters and became a toll road known as the Santiam wagon Road.








Back to the frog.

3 comments:

southdrivein said...

Believe it or not I have a type of horsetails in my yard I planted . You are welcome to some if you want

Anonymous said...

Love the snow pictures, Rosie. We had no snow at all this year and I still feel gypped. Glad to be able to experience snow vicariously through your trip.
vera charles

Rosie Hawthorne said...

South, I'd love some of your horsetails. Will contact you when we get back home.

Vera, it is rare that we get snow on the Outer Banks. This was a special treat for us. Glad you enjoyed the snow! We surely did.