May 25, 2013 4:00 am
Local campground hosts claim Central Oregon's outdoors folk are a hardy lot and won't let a cold weather forecast keep them from....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
WARM SPRINGS —A sudden splash, and then my line was tight. My heart raced as I frantically stripped line. The fish turned....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
About a year ago, I started looking for the perfect spot to host a reunion for my large, extended family. We had a lot of....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
We were in Idaho last week where the arrowleaf balsamroot was in bloom. Our guide told us in the breaks of the Salmon River, “The Indians knew when the bears were out of their dens by watching the arrowleaf blossom."It is that time of year....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
In June and July, one of the most effective lake patterns is the Callibaetis Nymph. This version is a Denny Rickard's tie. Put it ....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
Scientific name: Stellula calliopeCharacteristics: At 3¼ inches long, this is the smallest bird north of the Mexican border. Adults are iridescent green on their backs and lighter underneath. Males have pinkish-red gorget streaks on their throats and light green flanks. Females lack the gorget, but have green throat spots and peach-colored flanks. Breeding: Builds a small, cup-shaped nest made of....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
It’s a crisp October morning on the McKenzie River, one shoreline in early sunshine and the other still stuck in the shadows, and here we are, soaking up this drift-boat fishing trip without lifting a finger. Well, not quite true: We are doing....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
Denny Proctor likens mushroom hunting to kids’ play.“I call it an adult Easter egg hunt," said the Deary man. It’s a good analogy. Most morel mushrooms are similar in size to an egg and they are a treat to find and eat. But they are also better camouflaged than most Easter eggs. I accompanied Proctor on a morel hunt through some lush timberland in Idaho’s Latah County....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:CENTRAL ZONEANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The roads leading to the reservoir are clear.....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
Multnomah Falls is the main attraction in the Columbia River Gorge, but just a few miles to the west is another jewel: the exposed 1,600-foot bluff called Angel’s Rest. Just how popular is this spot? On April 27, a sunny Saturday with hardly....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
Can you work a camera, and capture a great picture? And can you tell us a bit about it? Submit your color or black-and-white outdoors photos at bendbulletin. com/waterfalls and tell us a bit about where and when you took them. All entries will appear online, and every week we’ll run a stellar local photo in this section. Once a month, we’ll publish a whole photo page on a specific....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
Jim Renshaw is a practitioner of a backcountry art form that is slowly fading from the landscape. The retired outfitter of Kooskia, Idaho still neatly wraps camping and hunting equipment in canvas sheets known as manties and ties them to Decker pack saddles with an eye for neatness, symmetry and balance.“I mean if you are going to do it, do it so it looks nice," he said while folding a manty ....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
HOLIDAY WEEKENDAs Memorial Day nears, increased trail use throughout the area is expected. A mix of rain and snow showers is forecasted throughout the rest of the week. Plan ahead and bring appropriate supplies. SUMMER TRAILSTrail access is good at....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
The Sunriver Nature Center is open daily and summer hours are in effect Friday. The center is open 10 a. m. to 4 p. m. today and Thursday ($3 adults, $2 children 12 and younger, members free). Beginning Friday, hours are 9 a. m. to 5 p. m. ($4 adults, $3 ....MORE
May 22, 2013 4:00 am
Pine Mountain Observatory opens for the season Friday. The observatory, located 34 miles southeast of Bend, is a research facility operated by the University of Oregon’s Department of Physics. It is open to the public on Friday and Saturday....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
The McKenzie River Trail that follows the scenic whitewater river on the west side of Santiam Pass undulates gently through moss-....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
Sometimes, two hours on a mountain bike is as long as I can go before I am basically spent, physically and mentally. Other times, four-plus hours seems like no problem. Often, how long you can ride and how long you want to ride depends on the trail. The Mrazek Trail west of Bend is one of those singletrack paths that can suspend time for mountain bikers. The gradual, sustained climb through the....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
FLORENCE — The Coast Range is not famous for waterfalls. Within the green and blue mosaic of rolling mountains, you’ll find patches of old-growth trees, silver streams and a lush rainforest of wildlife and plants. But waterfalls?The few that drop through the Coast Range rarely eclipse 40 feet and are certainly no match for the thundering majesty of cascades in the Columbia River Gorge....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
Caddis. They make their homes in gravel and woody structures and build their cases out of the material around them. The Stick Fly ....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
The winter constellation Orion sets until next winter. Tonight, 45 minutes after sunset, look west and you can draw a straight line from a 5-day-old waxing crescent moon to Jupiter, Venus and Mercury. Get a quick look at Mercury before it sets at....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
SPRING’s IN FULL EFFECTMild weather conditions remain with possible rain and temperatures in the 60s. Snow lines nest between 5,200 and 6,200 feet with patchy snow at lower elevations. Avoid muddy and soft trails to deter damage. Low-elevation ....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
The North American Pond Skimming Championships are set from 10 a. m. to 1 p. m. May 26 at Mt. Bachelor’s West Village base area, the final day the chairlifts will run at Mt. Bachelor. The pond skimming event includes skiers and snowboarders....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
The Bend Bicycle Film Festival is set for 7 p. m. May 22 at the Tower Theatre. Doors open at 6 p. m. Attendees can experience Bend’s rich cycling culture through produced short films at the fifth annual festival. Tickets are $12 pre-sale at the....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
They took out the stoplight on Interstate 90 in 1991 and the townsfolk in Wallace, Idaho, their feelings hurt by the freeway bypass, proclaimed a manhole cover the Center of the Universe. I remember the stoplight. We stopped there in the 1970s on a trip to Montana. We ate lunch in a diner, then hit the road again. I remember looking at the stream that ran alongside the road. It ran white in those....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:CENTRAL ZONEANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The roads leading to the reservoir are clear.....MORE
May 15, 2013 4:00 am
Can you work a camera, and capture a great picture? And can you tell us a bit about it? Submit your color or black-and-white....MORE
May 8, 2013 4:00 am
In case you haven't noticed, the price of everything is higher than it used to be. We can't blame inflation because government....MORE
May 8, 2013 4:00 am
Tree swallowScientific name: Tachycineta bicolorCharacteristics: A medium-sized swallow, tree swallows have iridescent blue-green ....MORE
May 8, 2013 4:00 am
Two popular Oregon lakes could have a fish that is worth $2 million to the lucky angler who lands it. South Twin Lake, southwest of Bend, and Hagg Lake, in Washington County, have been selected as Oregon’s representatives in the “Fish....MORE
May 8, 2013 4:00 am
There’s a scene in the movie “A River Runs Through It" where the stand-in for actor Brad Pitt, Jerry Siem, is....MORE
May 8, 2013 4:00 am
Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:CENTRAL ZONEANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The roads leading to the reservoir are clear.....MORE
May 8, 2013 4:00 am
A fly born in the Old Country, the Diawl Bach, which means Little Devil, is a good stillwater pattern here in the New World. Fish ....MORE
May 8, 2013 4:00 am
Hunters who have eyes on trophy wildlife outside of a general hunt have little time to make sure they apply for controlled hunt tags with the May 15 deadline nearly here. Pronghorn, bighorn sheep, deer, elk and Rocky Mountain goat all fall under the....MORE
May 8, 2013 4:00 am
GOLD BAR, Wash. — Our Jeep got wedged between boulders. Tilted to one side, the vehicle appeared on the verge of tipping....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
I don't often hike alone. I walk though my neighborhood or up Pilot Butte by myself, sure. But I rarely trek in the wilderness for ....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
Can you work a camera, and capture a great picture? And can you tell us a bit about it? Submit your color or black-and-white....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
The sun has been having coronal mass ejections — CMEs — for the past 4.5 billion years. It’s normal and the activity picks up when we are in the middle of the 11-year sunspot cycle. The sun rotates once every 25.38 days at the equator, but 30-35 days at the poles. This “differential rotation" causes the sun’s electromagnetic lines to become twisted. When these lines....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:CENTRAL ZONEANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The roads leading to the reservoir are clear.....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
Overall, Oregon salmon anglers can expect another season similar to last year, fishery managers say, with the ocean outlook a bit brighter than in 2012, but prospects for in-river fishing down slightly. Hatchery-reared coho salmon are expected to be....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
Any fly pattern that employs a spot of red gets my attention. Red definitely gets the trouts' attention. The Red Spot Shrimp uses ....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
Tight budgets or complicated schedules — or both — can put a damper on family vacations. Even if you can’t swing a trip to the Grand Canyon, there are so many ways to help children embrace nature and the abundance it offers as....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
The Deschutes and Ochoco national forests and Crooked River National Grassland are set to begin herbicide and manual invasive plant treatments of 112 sites on 2,475 acres starting Monday. Most of the treatments will be spot applications of the....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
Prescribed burns are taking place over roughly 1,575 acres of the Ochoco National Forest over the next few weeks, according to forest officials. Ignitions will take place as weather allows. The prescribed burns are meant to reduce fuel loads in the....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
According to the numbers, about 2,200 hunters go afield for antelope each season. A lot more would-be pronghorn hunters stay home.....MORE
May 1, 2013 4:00 am
Editor's note: Mountain Bike Trail Guide, by Bulletin sports and outdoors writer Mark Morical, features various trails in Central ....MORE
April 29, 2013 4:00 am
The trail was dry and dusty as a group of hikers set out Sunday morning to explore the Deschutes Land Trust’s Whychus....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
Bright blossoms that burst out of dust and rocks suggest something just shy of a miracle. Now is a good time to catch a fleeting glimpse of the brilliant color in scenery otherwise marked by muted tones. The phlox were the highlight of the desert wildflower show on Tam-a-lau Trail in the Cove Palisades State Park recently. Their tiny blue and purple petals overflowed rugged lava rocks and....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
A relatively mild winter and spring mean more angling opportunities this weekend for the opening of the trout fishing season on....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
Not many people have an otter in the freezer. But when Janna Keever was looking for something unusual to mount for a taxidermist....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
OspreyScientific name: Pandion haliaetusCharacteristics: Large birds of prey, ospreys are dark brown above and white below. The....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
CRATER LAKE — I had met her earlier, among the bustle of tourists at Rim Village. Actually, she spotted me. Or, more accurately, spotted my red vest with the logo, “Crater Lake Ski Patrol." She figured it meant I knew something about snow ....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
JORDAN VALLEY — Our rig bounced over the rock-hard dirt roads of the high desert of eastern Oregon, and the canoe shifted....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
Can you work a camera, and capture a great picture? And can you tell us a bit about it? Submit your color or black-and-white....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
In the spring, stoneflies are on the move and, after a long winter, the trout are ready and waiting. Best times to fish this....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
Peak 7 Adventures, a Pacific Northwest-based outdoor adventure nonprofit for underprivileged youth, was recently awarded an $83,000 grant from the MJ Murdock Charitable Trust to purchase two shuttle buses and new equipment for its branch based in....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
Tumalo Creek Kayak & Canoe will host its annual Spring Paddlefest from May 3-5 in Bend to kick off the paddling season in Central Oregon. Festivities include two-hour kayaking lessons on the afternoon of May 3 for $20 per person. May 4 features....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
A lot of fishermen trade their dreams of catching a trophy-sized trout for the easier goal of catching a limit of eatin'-sized....MORE
April 24, 2013 4:00 am
Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:CENTRAL ZONEANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The roads leading to the reservoir are clear.....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
Time to fire up the Global Positioning System, intrepid explorers. The Jim Witty Memorial Geocache is now in place east of Bend,....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:CENTRAL ZONEANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The roads leading to the reservoir are clear.....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
Changing conditionsWinter conditions made a comeback early in the week, but the warmer spring temperatures will return by the....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
Editor's note: Mountain Bike Trail Guide, by Bulletin sports and outdoors writer Mark Morical, features various trails in Central Oregon and beyond. The trail guide appears in Outdoors on alternating Wednesdays through the riding season. More than 10 years ago and still a relative newcomer to Central Oregon, I joined a group of friends and acquaintances on a mountain bike ride at Gray Butte and....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
Each and every day as we go about our busy lives, we give little or no thought to the importance of the sun. Fortunately, planet....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
Come the beginning of April, there's one place longtime bird-watcher Tim Johnson wants to visit. The Salem Audubon Society trip....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
From late February through early May, an angler might luck into a hatch of skwala stoneflies on any Western river. To a big....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
It was the biggest crappie I had ever seen: A silvery, black-spotted slab my cousin, Brad, pulled out of a freeway lake near....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
The U. S. Forest Service has lifted the temporary closures of roads and sections of snowmobile trails north of Forest Service Road 42, in the Ochoco National Forest, including portions of roads 4200-150, 4200-200, 4210, 2200 and 2230, according to an ....MORE
April 17, 2013 4:00 am
The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife this week released another interactive fishing map designed to help anglers find fishing locations all across Oregon. The Google-based maps detail 349 locations around the state where ODFW releases millions....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
LAKE BILLY CHINOOK—The section of water just downstream of where the Deschutes River flows into Lake Billy Chinook is a....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
I want to go on hikes with my 2-year-old daughter. I do. But actually getting out the door and onto a trail has proved....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
Youths age 15-18 are being recruited to serve in an education and work program through the Heart of Oregon Corps in conjunction with the Ochoco and Deschutes national forests and the Crooked River National Grassland. The program offers summer....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
Tours of the Fort Rock Cave will be offered twice a day on select days from June to August. Oregon State Parks encourages people to reserve a spot early for the tours. Reservations cost $8. The tour will take individuals to visit a site where people....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
The forecast for late this week calls for another short winter spell with possible rain and snow showers mixed with sunny....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
Trout eat caddis in all the stages of life and the last opportunity to turn Rhyacophila, Hydropsyche or Dicosmoecus into usable....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
Spring chinook fishing on the Umpqua River has started to pick up. It seems that most of the bites are nonaggressive or tentative and many of the hooked fish are coming loose, but the overall activity level has picked up. Also, there has been some....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:CENTRAL ZONEANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The reservoir is not accessible by vehicle....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
Going by the numbers, I logged 650 miles and spent two rainy days and half a sunny one in the field to bag my gobbler last year.....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
Great Blue HeronScientific name: Ardea herodiasCharacteristics: A large, long-legged, blue-gray wading bird with a long neck and daggerlike bill. Coloration is intensified in breeding plumage. In flight, the legs extend well beyond the tail and the bird draws its head and upper neck into an “S" shape, making it appear short-necked. Range: Found throughout much of Canada and the lower 48 of....MORE
April 10, 2013 4:00 am
Can you work a camera, and capture a great picture? And can you tell us a bit about it? Submit your color or black-and-white....MORE
April 7, 2013 4:00 am
Eli Reimer walked to the base of the world's highest mountain in March, and by doing so set not only a personal record but made a small piece of history. Eli, a 15-year-old Bend High School sophomore, became one of the few people with Down syndrome to reach the South Base Camp at Mount Everest.“It was really miraculous how well he did," said Justin Reimer, Eli's dad. “He excelled.....MORE
April 5, 2013 4:00 am
An off-road vehicle club and a hunters group are at odds about plans by the Ochoco National Forest to establish an off-road....MORE
April 4, 2013 4:00 am
From sleeping bags and outerwear, to socks and dog beds, all the recreation and outdoor products Doug Hoschek sells in his Bend....MORE
April 3, 2013 1:40 am
For a sneak preview of mountain hiking season, now is a great time to visit the Suttle Lake Trail, which loops around the....MORE
April 3, 2013 4:00 am
Can you work a camera, and capture a great picture? And can you tell us a bit about it? Submit your color or black-and-white....MORE
April 3, 2013 2:06 am
Texas was 4½ months old, a black-and-white cross between an English pointer and an English setter. Out of the dog box, he....MORE
April 3, 2013 1:29 am
If it can work for skiing and snowboarding, why not fly-fishing?Fly-fishing film tours are becoming more and more pervasive and....MORE
April 3, 2013 4:00 am
Spring weather continuesSnow levels are between 4,400 and 5,300 feet, but will continue to recede with the warmer weather. Melting snow is three to five weeks ahead of schedule. Road closures liftedRoad closures on Cascade Lakes Highway have been....MORE
April 3, 2013 4:00 am
The winter constellations Orion the hunter, Taurus the bull, and Pisces the fish are slowly fading in the west and being replaced by the spring constellations Gemini, Monoceros (rhymes with rhinoceros), Cancer, Leo Major and Leo Minor and Virgo. Ursa Major (the Big Dipper) is located directly overhead with its handle pointing to the very bright star Arcturus. If you follow a line from the handle....MORE
April 3, 2013 4:00 am
Here is the weekly fishing report for selected areas in and around Central Oregon, provided by fisheries biologists for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife:CENTRAL ZONEANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The reservoir is not accessible by vehicle due to ....MORE
April 3, 2013 4:00 am
OLYMPIA, Wash. — Despite well-documented budget woes in the Washington park system, Oregon’s neighbor to the north still has one of the best lineups of state parks in the country. From Cape Disappointment at the mouth of the Columbia River to Gardner Cave near the Idaho border, Washington will celebrate the centennial of its parks this year. The Legislature created the system on March ....MORE
April 3, 2013 4:00 am
The Central Oregon Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation is hosting its annual banquet and fundraiser Saturday at the Bend Elks Lodge, 63120 Boyd Acres Road. The group is a nonprofit organization composed of sportsmen and hunters that is....MORE
April 3, 2013 4:00 am
Discover Nature Day is scheduled for Saturday from 9:30 a. m. to 1:30 p. m. at Bend’s Shevlin Park. The event, organized by partners of the Deschutes Children’s Forest, includes family-friendly exploring, learning, and playing along....MORE
April 3, 2013 4:00 am
Have an outdoors-related event or story idea? Let us know about it:Events: events@bendbulletin. com. Story ideas: communitylife@bendbulletin. com.— From staff reports....MORE
March 27, 2013 4:00 am
You probably know this already, but some people are really serious about scaling peaks. They travel in order to “bag" as....MORE
March 27, 2013 4:00 am
When trout nerves have been jangled by trolling gear, when other fly anglers opt for Woolly Buggers and streamers, go small and....MORE
March 27, 2013 4:00 am
MEDFORD — From behind the counter of his family’s Grants Pass gun-and-tackle shop, Dave Bradbury sells access to the outdoors one jar of PowerBait or one pair of boots at a time. Lures for salmon fishermen, new shotguns for spring turkey....MORE
March 27, 2013 4:00 am
BILLINGS, Mont. — Hunters killed more wild bison migrating from Yellowstone National Park this season than they have in....MORE
March 27, 2013 4:00 am
Can you work a camera, and capture a great picture? And can you tell us a bit about it? Submit your color or black-and-white....MORE
March 27, 2013 4:00 am
ANTELOPE FLAT RESERVOIR: The reservoir is not accessible by vehicle due to the snow on the roads. BEND PINE NURSERY POND: Although the most recent stocking was in late September, it is likely that many fish overwintered. CLEAR LAKE RESERVOIR: Snow....MORE
March 27, 2013 4:00 am
Scientific name: Branta canadensisCharacteristics: Large goose with a long, black neck, dark back and brownish-gray undersides.....MORE