We have so many wonderful memories of our explorations. Perhaps best were the incredible sunrises and sunsets, easily viewable from our campground. I will always remember the two Great Horned Owls who hung out in a tree next to the campground serenading us with their hoots many evenings and mornings.
We arrived at the Refuge in July, usually considered a slow time, to find Marshall Pond full, and water everywhere it should be. This abundance of water also brought an overabundance of mosquitoes. When we set up camp at the volunteer RV pads, the skeeters enthusiastically welcomed us, although the sentiment was not mutual.
There is nothing more exciting than springtime at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. Driving from Portland during the first week of April, this year’s excitement started with icy roads on Mt. Hood and a dusting of powder that blew me into Burns as I drove my old RV, Maxine, east from Bend.
During the past several years, we have volunteered for a month each year at Refuge Headquarters, helping at Crane’s Nest Nature Store and taking on a few assignments around the Refuge such as checking signs along the trails and the Central Patrol Road (CPR), and helping with the annual highway clean-up near Frenchglen. This year, we enthusiastically agreed to be stationed at the far south end of the Refuge at the homesite of the former Pete French Ranch, now known as P Ranch.
Written by Suzanne Simons/ Photo by Dan Streiffert Flocks of birds and people disappear overnight. Tundra swans, snow geese, birders, volunteers. It’s disorienting. Squawking, raucous lines at the gift shop
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