Work has been pretty busy, and spring just snuck right past me. I try to do what I can to get out on the weekends and plan a few trips here and there, but somehow time the time got away. Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial beginning of summer for me. This dates back to all the camping trips we took growing up marking the official start of our summer schedule. With this in mind and the fact that last year I was taking a lot of trips to see what I could before leaving Colorado, I feel feeling a bit down that I hadn't made any plans. I didn't have enough time to make a plan that required too much travel, like going to Alaska or something of that scale, so I asked myself what a three-day extended "stay-cation" would look like for a photographer? I landed on a three-day jam-packed weekend of seeing many local sites that were on my todo list.
Day 1: The Old Bohemia Mines and Parker Falls.
The mines and this area of the Calapooia Mountains have been on my list for a long time. With no idea of what to expect, I got up early and set my GPS for the Bohemia Mines. The day ended up being relatively overcast and foggy giving the mountains a beautiful atmosphere that only fog can provide. I opted for taking the older rough road that got me away from the weekend campers to see the less traveled area of the woods. It's always interesting trying to piece together the meaning or purpose of old "ruins" or ghost towns. Why was that there? What was that for? How long have these places been abandon? Why did they leave? I know I could have done a bunch of research before going, but there is something special about making up your own story in the moment. For me, it makes the experience a little more magical.
After exploring a few mines(they are all gated off) and doing my best to stay on some of these very tiny and rough wagon roads, I headed over to Parker Falls for a hike. There are so many waterfalls in the Cascades, hundreds if not more. There are few fairly popular ones, but many of them are like Parkers Falls: very beautiful and quite easy to get to and have the place to yourself. The first day of my "stay-cation" adventure was a success, but I'm just getting started.
