Wildlife in Oregon?

Our National Parks trips are typically filled with spectacular views and a plethora of wildlife.  We drove almost 1500 miles in Oregon and had few animal sightings.  I thought I would give an account of the animals and weather we encountered during this adventure.

We had rain, hail, clouds, sun, wind, blowing sand, desert climate and snow patches to play in.  Portland and Bend were having a slight heat wave while we were there.  Most homes do not have air conditioning, so temperatures continually in the 90's encourage folks to sit on the porch, the roof or go to the local park.  

Snow in July...shorts and sandals!

One thing we saw in abundance were cyclist.  Not just a day trip, but folks making long distance journeys loaded with gear. We even saw a couple cycling with their small dog! Oregon is not flat, but it is bicycle friendly. It is also especially accommodating for the pedestrian.  It wasn't unusual for cars to stop even if you weren't in a crosswalk.

Our house in Bend had bikes we could ride around town!

Finding wildlife was challenging.  We saw Clark's Nutcracker which is a very noisy bird. We saw a lot of chipmunks and ground squirrels.  Since Berry has a plethora of deer, we don't find that noteworthy - but we did see a few. We went in two caves, and never spied a bat! At the end of the trip we passed a field with elk.

The people of Oregon love big dogs! Huskies are a popular breed.  We found huge mosquitoes, mayflies and fish at Crater Lake.  Arriving on the coast we explored the beaches and enjoyed the tide pools.  Dogs were prevalent on the beach, and we encountered two women riding horses near the Pacific shore.

The water at Crater Lake was so blue and clear!
We saw fish, but none in this picture

Beauty on the beach

I guess no beach is complete without a seagull.

Tide pools are my favorite