Bend Picture Thread (Cove: horse, station, ranch)

[darnselfly]

FINALLY!! Success at posting pics. These were from the north Cline Butte, during the heavy snows. Better late than never.

Another search found an FAQ for Cline Buttes.

Of interest:

Question: I've traveled up to the top of the south butte in the past using the FAA Road that heads west from Cline Falls Highway, about 1 mile north of Newcomb Road. Can I continue to drive, bicycle, walk or ride my horse on this route?

Answer: The FAA Road is not a public road; most of it is located on private property. The first 400 feet of the road east of Cline Falls Highway is located on BLM administered lands, and this portion of the road was closed to public use in 2009. Access will be provided to the buttes on designated trails from the Buttes and Cascade View Trailheads. There is no public access to the FAA road.

Question: I've enjoyed taking a trail to the top of the butte from Barr Road; can I still do this?

Answer: Most access routes to the tops of the buttes from Barr Road go through private property. There are very few legal routes from Barr Road to the tops of the buttes. BLM will develop trailheads and marked trails for pedestrian, equestrian and mountain bike access through the few corridors that are legally available for the public. Some of the existing routes to the top of the buttes are creating significant erosion problems and damage to private lands.

So yeah, I guess according to this map, a lot of the area surrounding the buttes is private, but you can still get there via trails on BLM land.

[Thom52]

Awesome pics Darnselfly! And thanks for the Cline butte FAQ link!

Digging into that link, I finally found a map of the designated areas. According to the map, the signage I have in my photo really should say the "non-recreation area". Although it looks like an official trailhead signage, and pretty much reads like that at a glance, and there is usually a pile of vehicles parked there, and well defined trails take off from there.....according to the map it is NOT a recreation area!

The only "authorized" area is the rock pit road, directly across from the Maston Juniper trailhead with a very tiny corridor into the area. Definitely a misleading sell job on this area as a recreational opportunity, if they ever actually enforce the restrictions. I haven't used the Juniper trailhead yet, but from my exploring the area, that rock quarry looks like it is still active, which means you are sharing that access road with a bunch of heavy trucks. Sort of sad, if that is the destiny of this "recreation area".

Definitely sad when you consider the potential of the area for recreation.
cbb1300270BendMtnBiking by Thom I, on Flickr

cbb1300267smithRock by Thom I, on Flickr

[darnselfly]

I had a link to that map in my post too, but I hid it at the end.

There is decent access as well between the two "chunks" of Eagle Crest along Eagle Crest Blvd. There is room off the south side of the Blvd for some vehicle parking and trails that head towards the rock pit that get you to other trails.

I note on the map the fine print in the upper right about how the trails shown are not necessarily developed yet...

[Coniferian]

Great shots darnselfly! Thanks for the research on the area. I sometimes fly kitekam in the open area below Eagle Crest Blvd. and park on that dead-end road. I've seen horseback riders coming through from the stables above. You do indeed have some large rock hauling trucks on the quarry road, which envelop you in a cloud of dust if you're close to the road. My frustration here in Redmond is that so much of the Cascade and river views is on private land. I'm older and can't hike or bike 5 miles into an area, so I've been using the kite for aerial shots. I'm used to Colorado where it seemed there was more public access.

[Coniferian]

Aerial shot of the future Maple Meadows in Redmond. 314 units are going into the green area at left between Maple and Hemlock. There's a new development going into the area to the south of Hemlock too. Once they start construction I may not be able to put kitekam up, so this is the Before shot.

[Thom52]

View from Maston Mtn biking trail today.

mmb_1332PANCline by Thom I, on Flickr

[Thom52]

Trails in Sawyer park are finally snow free, after being snow covered the last couple of months.

And its cheap entertainment to watch the kayaks launch.

sw1310503KayaksPuttingIn by Thom I, on Flickr

sw1310511UpRiver by Thom I, on Flickr

[Coniferian]

Bend-Redmond is now the 3rd fastest growing area in the US. Nearly 1,000 new homes have been approved by Redmond. This is a kitekam shot of Fieldstone Crossing, a few blocks from my house. The sidewalks and utilities have been in for over three years and now they're moving dirt again.

[Thom52]

Chimney Rock, out by Prineville, last saturday.

cr1310693TouchTheSky by Thom I, on Flickr

cr1310695PANValley by Thom I, on Flickr

[darnselfly]

Wow!! Is this a cell phone or a "real" camera, Thom?