An unidentified person watches the sun set behind Portland from Sherrard Point on Sunday.

After the Balfour House protest today, I decided to get away and enjoy some rest and relaxation.

I enjoy being active with the neighborhood and helping my neighbors fight this makeshift jail, but I need to take a break. Then factor in my day job, which I won’t divulge.

Today, I drove to Sherrard point, a 4,056-foot panoramic point on Larch Mountain in eastern Multnomah County to shoot some photos of the sunset. This time I left the two misbehaving four-legged slobber tongues at home.

Judging from the parking lot at the summit, it appeared very crowded, but at the observation point there were only a few people there.

I snapped a few standard Mt. Hood photos and a few of Mt. Adams. The light on Mt. St. Helens didn’t have much reflectivity, so it was very poor to photograph.

One photo that I was really amazed with was the guy on the rock at the Sherrard Point, watching the sun descended behind Portland out in the distance.

The past few weeks have been quite crazy for me, but now it is time to take a break from all the neighborhood excitement.

Mt. Hood from Timberline Trail #600 at Bald Mountain.

After hiking to Ramona Falls last week, I thought about trying a new hike at Bald Mountain, a butte located north of Ramona Falls. I needed a new hike destination anyway. I drove fifty mile from my house to the Top Spur Trailhead located along Forest Service Road 1828-118. The dogs jumped out of the car and began racing up the trail.

I headed through the woods southbound on the Timberline Trail #600 as my dogs ran ahead of me loose. I noted the trail began curving to the east and then the forest ended as Mt. Hood came into view. I also saw the narrow trail running alongside a steep hillside with some steep drops.

My dogs are clueless to what might happen if they strayed off the trail. Henry was curious about the cliff ledge, so I leashed the coupler to both their harness, attached the leash to the coupler and to the carabiner attached to my camera pack belt. Immediately both my Labs decided they wanted to tow me along the trail or wrap me with the leash, which I saw this as a real potential problem.

Right then I aborted moving forward, turned around and headed back to the trailhead. I may have to revisit Bald Mountain without the dogs. I might feel guilty leaving the two at home the next time around, but that is better than losing one or both dogs, or all three of us in some mishap.

Ramona Falls.

I took the dogs for a six-mile hike to Ramona Falls, a waterfall in the Mt. Hood National Forest north of Zig Zag, on Tuesday. Normally the hike turns out pleasant, but with temperatures in the 90s, wind blowing dust off of the sandy hillsides and smoke from wildfires, the hike was rather uncomfortable. Exhausting my water supply only made matters worse. This hike was also a rare moment hike where I desperately wanted to get off the trail.

I delayed posting this blog because the Web hosting company was doing hardware upgrades in the server. Wednesday was another story that I don’t want to get into.

The sun sets behind the Coast Range, as seen from Sherrard Point.

After spending a short afternoon watching a river boil, I jet off to east Multnomah County for some sunset photography at Larch Mountain. At the peak of Larch Mountain is Sherrard Point, an overlook with a panoramic view. I didn’t spend much time up there because practically a ton of people from the area also showed up. The site is not at all a hidden treasure, especially when it is clearly visible from Portland. The dogs became quite impatient with the several dozen people at the overlook while being leased, so I bagged up and left after a few shots.

Austin Hot Springs reaches 156.4 degrees.

I (safely) found out how hot the Austin Hot Springs can get. Even though I didn’t manage to get across the river, one of the spring pool sin the Clackamas River did reach 156.4 degrees Fahrenheit. I was curious to find out how hot the springs were after hearing a report that three people were seriously burned by the springs.

Editor’s Note: Shortly after writing this post and a related YouNewsTV on Monday, I learned the springs is located on a private property. The property is not clearly marked with “no trespassing” signs and property ownership, which may have been removed by unauthorized persons. The property owners and U. S. Forest Service officials are asking people to stay out of the springs and the property. Unlike the nearby Bagby Hot Springs where cool water is mixed to control the water temperature, the water temperature at Austin can fluctuate unpredictably to levels where it may cause serious burns.

Catalpa Lake.

I took my dogs, Owen and Henry, to Catalpa Lake. It is a small shallow lake located in a secluded area between White River valley and Frog Lake in the Mt. Hood National Forest. It is smaller than the popular Mirror Lake that is west of Ski Bowl in Government Camp. The hike is short and easy, about three-quarter of a mile one way on a dirt trail though a moderate density forest, and with a climb of a total of 100 feet. Parking at the trailhead is extremely tight.

Owen (near) and Henry (out far) enjoy a cool swim in Catalpa Lake.

The former Roslyn Lake now becoming a meadow.

In May, Portland General Electric drained Roslyn Lake. Four months later I saw the lake bed turned into a meadow. The construction crew are smoothing out the dikes. The Bull Run lake filler and the turbine intake towers are gone. The entire lake perimeter is fenced off with orange construction fencing and “No Trespassing: Trespassers Will Be Prosecuted” signage posted along Ten Eyck Road. The transformation is moving so amazingly fast.

Paul Bausch, ORblogs.com’s (www.orblogs.com) administrator announced today that his website that feeds updates from blogs located within the state of Oregon, has closed. The sudden announcement was a surprise for me, but I understand his reasoning that the task of once being a hobby has now become a full time job. ORBlogs was not just a place for me to automatically announce my website updates, but it was also a place to preview what other people are saying on their blogs.

Bausch also said on his website that the current ORblog members list will remain available for thirty days, so anyone who wishes to gather last minute RSS feed or blog address can do so at www.orblogs.com. Orblogs started operations in March, 2003.

Although I don’t know Mr. Bausch personally, but I just want to say thank you, Mr. Bausch, for your dedicated service for all the bloggers. You will be missed.

B. Dorr’s Blog usually updates to Google’s search engines fairly quickly.

A litter pile on a former bridge at the Walla Walla River delta, part of the McNary National Wildlife Refuge.

During my day road trip yesterday I stopped at the Walla Walla River delta at US 730 and US 12, which is part of the McNary National Wildlife Refuge near Pasco, Washington. I thought this would be a great place to shoot some photos. I saw several fishermen fishing from along the rail of a decommissioned highway bridge, constructed in 1931.

Everything was going so positive until I spotted a massive pile of aluminum and plastic beverage containers and broken glass at the cap of the bridge’s southern half. This was the most repugnant sight that I had come across of any public park, especially for one being in a wildlife refuge. My dogs instantly spotted a two-liter bottle floating down the Walla Walla River below and they were eager to dive from the bridge and retrieve it. Unfortunately I failed to find a trash can on the southern half of the refuge. I guess for the few who use this park, so instead of packing out the trash, the ground will have to just do? It’s downright criminal.

I will allow the photo above speak for itself the magnitude of this filth. If there are no trash cans available at the site, then you must pack out your trash. Leave no trace, except for footprints.

The next three miles have upside down traffic lights!

WALLA WALLA, Wash.—I’ve been on the road since 4 am today. I headed eastbound on I-84 to La Grande, Oregon, then up Oregon 82 to Elgin. I took Oregon 204 back towards Milton-Freewater. So far the only thing I found quite humorous was a “signal ahead” sign in Walla Walla that was installed upside-down (and a private street sign nearby named Leave Me Alone Lane) along Washington SR 125 near the Oregon state border. The weather is mostly sunny and at a comfortable 68 degrees over here on the east side.