Tag: #eckriverlife

McKenzie River Stops

I often feel nostalgic as the seasons change, reflecting on the iconic locations of my life of outdoor adventures. The McKenzie River Valley holds more than just beautiful views; it carries my memories of a life well-lived in these vibrant, green corridor. Each river spot reminds me of my adventures and a collection of snapshots brings back both joy and reflection on the past.

Here are a few of my favorite places along the River . . .

Leaburg Reservoir

Just 20 minutes from the larger city center of Springfield, this reservoir is a go-to destination for townies looking to float or paddle board. Though there are plans to dismantle this dam and return the river to its natural river bed here, it’s still our evening swimming hole and quick kayak trip from the boat ramp.

Due due to my daily commute to Eugene, I am afforded many a beautiful landscape or sunrise opportunity along with curve of the river . . . too many picture to ever post but worth the stop every time!

Goodpasture Bridge

Coincidently one of the most photographed covered bridges in the state, the Goodpasture Bridge near Vida features prominently in my own photo adventure living near-by as I do;)

As you continue up Highway 126, one will find many a pull off or boat ramp to tempt you off the beaten path. About 20 minutes east you’ll pass near the town of small town of Blue River – slowly recovering from the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire – and its name sake reservoir.

Blue River

Blue River Reservoir offers a delightful experience on both sides! On the town side behind the community of Blue River, you’ll discover ‘Viewpoint’ along with several inviting swimming holes and remnants of old logging roads just waiting to be explored.

Tourists most often flock to the Mona Campground side of the reservoir where RV amenities and a convenient boat ramp cater to campers and water enthusiasts alike.

*Saddle Dam

To get to this boat entrance, drive past the town of Blue River and take the next reservoir entrance.

*Mona

Continue past the boat ramp along the northeastern shore of the reservoir and you’ll find Mona Campground along with an enticing bridge or two (for youthful jumpers, BUT only certain times of the year!), and several long forest access roads.

Find the first view at the end of said road, the second from the bridge ~

Buck Mountain

If you’re up for a journey, keep going straight past the turn off to Mona to where the road turns to gravel for a chance at mountain top views and abandoned mines for miles.

Wolf Rock

Or, go east at the fork in the gravel road and you might stumble past Oregon’s largest monolith, Wolf Rock!

Deer Creek

If you continue east, the long way around bypassing Highway 126, you’ll pop out at Deer Creek and a beautiful section of the McKenzie River Trail!

With 90 miles of length, the McKenzie River has a lot to offer.

What’s your favorite spot

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McKenzie River Stops ~ Leaburg Reservoir

Nestled just 20 minutes east of Springfield, Oregon, Leaburg Reservoir is a gem along the McKenzie River, beloved by locals for its fishing and swimming spots. But as someone who lives upriver and a long history of commutes into town for work, I’ve discovered a quieter treasure: the breathtaking sunrises that paint the reservoir in hues of blue, purple, and gold.

Sunrise Moments

While afternoon boaters and swimmers soak up the sun on these calm waters, my early morning drives around the river’s bend offer a front-row seat to a spectacle that many travelers miss. They are the kind of moments that makes me roll down my car window, pull over for a quick pic and then linger longer than planned, just to soak it in.

Morning Mists

For an even closer look, I’ll park at the lot near the Leaburg Dam and take a short trail to a rocky shoreline spot. Standing there, with the quiet lapping of water and the faint calls of early birds, feels like stealing a moment of peace before the world wakes up.

Fall Colors

This magical fall capture occurred before the 2020 Holiday Farm fire. How quickly I forget how much lush green growth there was along the river banks!

Playful Hours

And last, but least, we have the park and boat launch just over the Leaburg dam! There’s a huge field back there along with multiple picnic sites along the banks.

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McKenzie River Backroads ~ Blue River

Whether you yearn for solitude amidst the tranquil forest or seek to explore the vibrant urban areas nearby, Willamette National Forest offers something for every traveler. With an extensive network of over 6,000 miles of back roads, this natural wonderland provides abundant opportunities to immerse oneself in its unparalleled beauty.

Blue River Road ~ 1500

Nestled within the breathtaking 1.7-million-acre expanse of Willamette National Forest, the captivating Blue River Road 1500 awaits. This picturesque 22-mile route winds through the heart of the forest, inviting outdoor enthusiasts to embark on an unforgettable journey. Located centrally in Oregon, this road serves as a gateway to adventure just up the hill from the majestic Blue River Reservoir (blog post) and Mona Campground (blog post).

As you navigate Blue River Road, you’ll encounter a well-maintained gravel surface. While the road is generally in good condition, be mindful of a few minor potholes. It’s important to exercise caution as you pass through areas affected by fires in both 2020 and 2023, as they may present hazards such as rocks, landslides, and fallen trees even years later. As striking as the stark landscapes might be, these burnt areas have also given rise to new environments, attracting a variety of mushroom (blog post) growth throughout the year.

Hidden Jems

One of the hidden gems along Blue River Road is the magnificent Wolf Rock (blog post). Rising to an elevation of 4,535 feet, this monolith was once the plug to an ancient volcano that has eroded away over time. Its impressive stature and breathtaking landscape attracts only a handful of climbers each year, making it a coveted destination for adventurers seeking solitude and natural wonders.

Nearby, this rather large pond never fails to dazzles though it is without a name so far as we can find.

And keep your eyes open for the remnants of the old logging industry as well as various individual mining claims and artifacts from long ago natives all around the reservoir and backroads (blog post).

Backroad Adventures

Along the road, you’ll discover dispersed camping sites offering rustic charm. While these sites lack amenities like running water and restrooms, they can offer breathtaking views. Buck Mountain (blog post) in particular has some of the best sunset views! Spending a night under the starry sky, surrounded by the untamed beauty of the forest, provides an unparalleled sense of tranquility and serenity.

Or maybe try your luck trekking up one of the many tributary creeks that feed into Blue River and, ultimately, the McKenzie River. They are gorgeous and chilly no matter the time of year;)

And if you exhaust the adventures available ton you on Road 1500, you can wander over to the Deer Creek (blog post) side of the McKenzie River Trail if you take one of those right turns behind the reservoir instead of continuing on to Highway 20 from Blue River Road.

But that’s a whole different story!

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Oregon Covered Bridges | Goodpasture

A well-known tourist trek through rural Oregon communities will often include a scenic view of one of our many covered bridges.

One of the most photographed covered bridges in the state, the Goodpasture Bridge near Vida, Oregon spans the McKenzie River.

For those of us living along the McKenzie River, we are treated to the ever-changing faces and seasons of Oregon’s second largest covered bridge.

Spring Growth

At their height the early 1900’s, Oregon had about 600 covered bridges in operation. To this day we still have over 50 – one of the largest collection in the nation – with as many as 20 in Lane County alone.

Sunsets & Moonlight

Though the historical structure of this covered bridge makes for amazing photographs, Oregon’s own McKenzie River with its reflections and the beautiful sunsets throughout the year are quite striking as well.

Adventures

Fishing, boating and swimming adventures are easy to find near Oregon covered bridges! Just down the way from the Goodpasture Bridge is a boat ramp and Leaburg Reservoir not to mention the fact that the bridge spans the iconic McKenzie River itself!

Winter Wonderland

Spring, summer and fall are all wonderful, but some of the best pictures of Oregon’s Covered Bridges happen in the winter with a dusting of snow to set the mood.

**Side note: In pulling together this gallery of Goodpasture Bridge views, I found the snowy pictures above that pre-date the 2020 Holiday Farm Fire. I was struck by the reality that many of us in the McKenzie River Valley share the experience of stumbling across images we’ve captured of ‘before.’ It was an unexpectedly intense trip down memory lane resulting in the gallery you’re viewing now containing a striking array of photos before-and-after the flames and heat dramatically changed the landscape❤️❤️

Christmas Lights

The Goodpasture Bridge is one of a few Oregon Covered Bridges that changes into holiday colors come December. Be careful not to block traffic, but the red and green lights are amazing from every angle.

Lane County is a great place to start, but don’t stop at just one covered bridge on your trek through Oregon.

#pnw #oregoncoveredbridge #tecklandscapes #oregonlife #eckfamilyadventures

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McKenzie River Backroads ~ Beyond Mona | Blue River

Winter Walks ~

On the northeastern shore of Blue River Reservoir just across Tidbits Creek, you’ll find Mona Campground and a forest access road that will take you around the to the ‘other’ side of the reservoir. While the gate may be closed to vehicles in the winter, that doesn’t have to stop an intrepid adventurer from taking a gorgeous trek:) The path continues well past the large, accessible campground and is a worthy walk any time of the year.

Clear Waters

Blue River Reservoir is fed by ice melt and mountain springs so – as you can imagine! – it is shockingly cold in the winter. Even then, on sunny January days, you’ll be tempted to at least dip your toes in the refreshing waters. No matter the time of year, the clear waters make a picturesque backdrop. Typically Blue River Reservoir will reflect the surroundings and, on particularly clam days, the water will take on the greens of the forest. Other days, the waters will live up to their colorful name and seem quite blue reflecting the mood of the skies above.

River Banks

With the seasonally low water levels in the winter, you’ll find all sorts of lost and found treasures along the reservoir banks.

Reflections

Creek Beds

The 2020 Holiday Farm Fire left stripes of burnt forest riddled through the mountains around Blue River creating a unique landscape to wander and mycelium growing everywhere! Come spring, we will be tromping around in these forests looking for morels😉

The End of the Road

And if you make it to the end of the forest access road, just keep going and you’ll soon be looking for a way to get to this unique, aerial view of the reservoir (this one captured in the summer)! From here you’ll see how the crystal clears waters alternatively take on the colors of the sky and trees depending on your line of sight;)

Panoramic Moments

#eckriverlife #tecklandscapes #eckfamilyadventures

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McKenzie River Stops ~ Deer Creek, Oregon

*Pictures from 2019

Trail Adventures

This section of the McKenzie River Trail is marked by a lovely wooden bridge where Deer Creek flows into the larger river. The trail closely follows the icy waters of the upper McKenzie River only a few miles downriver from the more well-know Blue Pool and Sahalie Falls.

Check out the sights captured by the Wandering Yuncks who trekked in from Blue Pool.

Salmon Restoration

The Deer Creek section of the McKenzie River Trail has under gone significant changes these last few years with periods of closure. Not only has this area weathered a forest fire or two, a long anticipated habitat restoration project has radically changed the watershed in hopes of regenerating the native environment and supporting fish and wildlife.

Deer Creek Hot Springs

Just off the beaten trail, you can visit Deer Creek Hot Springs . . . a very unofficial hot spring one can still occasionally find empty;) During the summer, tourist often find the spot, but only locals make in the winter. Seasonally, the river rock wall is re-built in the spring, gating the warm waters dripping off the hillside into a private pool. When the river levels are high, the icy waters tend to dilute the warmth, so you take your chances visiting in the winter too.

**Local tip – If you enjoy a scenic drive, you can reach Deer Creek from the back with forest gravel roads stretching all the way back to Blue River Reservoir.

#eckriverlife #mckenzierivertrail #oregon #tecklandscapes #pwntravels

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New Year’s Day ~ Blue River, Oregon

This winter Blue River Reservoir has been drained farther than we’ve seen in recent years! There is so much to explore down there as we marvel at amazing views of the original river bed as it was before the dams were built! There’s no quick access point even with a Jeep Gladiator, but if you’re up for a trek, there’s a place you can simply wade across the natural river at the bottom of this muddy, steep-sided reservoirs when its this low. On New Years Day, we easily reached the other side of the reservoir – something we’ve only be able to do by boat (and, no, not the boat we found at the bottom of the reservoir on this adventure😉 . . . see below)

The lower water levels revealed natural plateaus above the original river levels where years of Native Americans camped, hunted, and fished each year. One such plateau is littered with obsidian shards while another hosts a perimeter of forest giants logged decades ago leaving only huge root wads exposed.

As we moved up the river from Saddle Dam, we discovered the river rocks changed from clay-brown or gravel (likely an artificial addition to the geological layers during dam construction) to the more colorful and spotted stones we’ve found in the tributary creeks of Cooks and Tidbits much further upstream.

After a long trek in and then out of the river basin, we took a short drive up Mill Creek before heading home. Along this road we caught a view of the Three Sisters which was crystal clear across the valley on this lovely winter day:)

#eckjeeplife #mckenzieriver #tecklandscapes #eck1123

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Jeep Life ~ Eck Family Adventures

2022 was a year of exploring the #pnw from rainforest to desert, all inspired by the recent purchase of our Jeep Mojave truck the year before.

Vegas Road Trip

In 2021, we ventured south on the scenic route to Las Vegas (blog post) the very day after purchasing our delightful Mojave (blog post). With Marshall’s lifelong preference for Dodge trucks, I’d never owned a vehicle truly designed so well to go off-road and it was a treat. At times it was almost as if we were going where no man has gone beyond roads and well-maintained paths. We could literally just drive off the side of the highway and take off into the desert on a road that seemed to go forever!

The Ochocos, Oregon

Just past the new year, in 2022 we wandered east to the Ochoco National Forest in the Jeep and were amazed by the beauty of this drier Oregon climate. We went off road, delightfully spraying mud on our chariot and checking the creeks for quartz and other interesting rocks.

It pleased us to find out the Ochoco National Forest stretches east from central Oregon with magnificent rock formations to explore as well as hiking, fishing, camping, hunting, horseback riding and rock hounding.

Mushroom Hunting

2022 was the year of the morel (blog post) for the Eck Family! We drove all over the dirt roads near the 2020 burns and the harvest proved to be plentiful☺️ Something about the rainy-then-warm days we’ve been having has created some monster #morels here in the #pnw, I swear!

Smith Rock, Oregon

Summer of 2022, we made the trip to Central Oregon to explore a few hidden spots as well as a few of the 7 Wonders of Oregon such as Smith Rock where we caught a sunrise AND a sunset ~ Magnificent!

Along with day hikes around the base or up Misery Ridge, the camp ground was wonderful. The sheer cliffs of tuff and basalt are ideal for rock climbing of all difficulty levels. Smith Rock is generally considered the birthplace of modern American sport climbing, and is host to cutting-edge climbing routes.

The Painted Hills of Oregon

Made it to the Painted Hills of Oregon finally! Been talking about it for years and we were not disappointed with the colors and views of this unique geological masterpiece:)

Glass Butte, Oregon

One of the most unique spontaneous trip was our venture to Glass Butte (blog post) – the largest obsidian deposit in the world – in south eastern Oregon.

On this adventures, we made it all the way to the top of Glass Butte. At 6,388 feet, we had an unparalleled view of Oregon’s high desert in all directions and shards of obsidian littered the ground everywhere we looked.

Eastern Oregon

Mountain top sunset, hunting memories, Jeep camping and over the fire, cast iron steak & shrimp.

Wolf Rock: Blue River, Oregon

Blue River adventures included trips around the state’s largest monolith – Wolf Rock.

Blue River, Oregon

Blue River water adventures include kayaking and creek jaunts💙

Sunsets and camping

Oregon Coast

The beach proved irresistible. What’s the point of a jeep if you don’t go out on the sand?!?

Off-road, outdoor cooking!

Somewhere close to Reno, Nevada off-road adventures included some over the fire, cast iron cookin’😉

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Christmas on Goodpasture Bridge

During the holiday season, there’s something extra enchanting about the way Christmas lights reflect on the water. In Oregon, where scenic waterways abound, this phenomenon becomes a mesmerizing sight to behold. As the sun sets and darkness envelops the landscape, the twinkling lights create a magical dance on the water’s surface, adding a touch of wonder to the festive atmosphere.

#eckriverlife #eck121022 #teckadventures #eckreflections

Let’s explore the captivating allure of Christmas lights reflecting on Oregon’s waterways.

@teckadventures

  1. Illuminating Nature’s Mirrors:
    Oregon is blessed with an abundance of lakes, rivers, and coastal areas, providing ample opportunities for the reflection of Christmas lights. When the lights are strategically placed along the water’s edge or on nearby structures, their illumination is mirrored on the calm surface, creating a stunning visual display. The reflection adds depth and brilliance to the already mesmerizing glow, transforming the surroundings into a winter wonderland.
  2. Coastal Delights:
    Along Oregon’s picturesque coastline, the reflection of Christmas lights on the ocean’s surface becomes a breathtaking spectacle. Coastal towns and cities embrace the holiday spirit by adorning piers, lighthouses, and waterfronts with twinkling lights. As the waves gently lap against the shore, the lights shimmer and dance, creating a truly magical ambiance. Strolling along the coastline on a crisp winter evening offers a unique opportunity to witness the convergence of nature’s beauty and festive cheer.
  3. Lakeside Magic:
    Oregon’s numerous lakes also provide an idyllic setting for the reflection of Christmas lights. During the holiday season, lakeside communities and resorts embrace the festive spirit by illuminating their surroundings with colorful lights. As darkness falls, the lights cast their magical glow, which is mirrored on the calm surface of the water. This reflection creates a serene and ethereal atmosphere, inviting visitors to immerse themselves in the holiday magic.
  4. River Reflections:
    Oregon’s rivers, with their meandering paths and tranquil waters, offer another opportunity to witness the captivating interplay between Christmas lights and reflecting surfaces. Many riverside parks and bridges are adorned with festive lights, casting a warm and inviting glow. As the lights reflect on the river’s surface, they create a symphony of colors that adds a touch of enchantment to the surrounding landscape. Enjoying a riverside stroll or a leisurely boat ride becomes an even more magical experience during the holiday season.
  5. Capturing the Moment:
    The reflection of Christmas lights on Oregon’s waterways provides a picturesque backdrop
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