CHRISTMAS LIGHTS IN KLAMATH FALLS
Old Town Klamath Falls is beautiful at night and interesting during the day!
The Pendelton Blanket Horsey!…at Drew’s of course!
Some of the shop windows…..
Outside a Mexican restaurant…
LUMBERING WATER BUFFALO ON THE OC&E TRAIL AGAIN
I was in Klamath Falls for the night…and having been lazy all week I went for a walk….too damned tired to run. I decided to go in the opposite direction on the OC&E trail through the town. Well for the most part it was b…o…r…i…n…g… except for this old railroad bridge.
seems crazy to me in these times of drought and ground water being depleted at such a rate that the CIA warns that our next wars will be fought over water instead of oil….that the high desert has been turned into farm land for alfalfa and potatoes….onions…and Medford which has farmland in abundance and would require a lot less irrigation is mostly taken up by residences and businesses….God forbid we do anything that makes sense…
Now as you can see when I am tired I get cock-eyed….photos tilted….I wish I could blame it on the builders of the bridge!
I have such a crazy fear of water that looking over the edge was hard…I know its crazy and unreasonable. Swimming pools??? dumbest things ever invented!!! (I used to be a good swimmer…can’t even stand the thought of a bath….none of that jacuzzi nonsense…saunas are great though!) I get sweaty palms just thinking about stepping on a boat! About two years ago my brother and I were on a hike it went between a river and an irrigation ditch…..and at one point narrowed to a two foot metal walk way between the two. I didn’t think anything of it at first but in the middle I started hyperventilating every muscle in my foot started cramping and I fell to my knees clinging to the metal walkway. Even as this was happening I was thinking STOP BEING SUCH A PUSSY!!! And I really do try when faced with the challenge….I did stay on the bridge for a few minutes…trying not to let my imagination run away!!
now this would be a great idea if put into practice……park benches on railroad tracks….just move around the whole city….if only you could burn calories at the same time!
the trail cuts through a part of town with larger lots and several people have horses……although these poor horses as you can see have no grass….five of them in that little space and while there is plenty of hay and feed around horses like to graze.
the wind had started blowing hard and I wish I had made sure this was in better focus…
this was a 5.58 mile walk….so in over two and a half miles….there wasn’t too much of interest…but then I saw this shoe hanging from a fence post. Next time I’m in Klamath Falls I’ll drive to the trail outside of town…that might be more interesting!
the next day I finally made it to the Lava Beds….THAT place was much more interesting!
lots more to come from the Lava Beds National Monument
LUMBERING WATER BUFFALO STAMPEDES THE OC&E TRAIL
I was in Klamath last week and it was rather cold and windy but I still managed 3.92 miles lumbering in Klamath Falls. It was cold and windy so windy I really couldn’t do much running in it….wahhhh!!! I feel like a whiner now that I’m home…but when its blowing head on…it really is a challenge and I’m not in the best shape!
OC&E stands for Oregon California Eastern 
Klamath Falls is high desert and where ever there is a bit of space that has not been manipulated for awhile the desert life tries to make a comeback…patches of sagebrush along the trail…
if you squint and get out your magnifying glass you can just make out Mt. Shasta in the clouds….
in the other direction the mountain is called Hogback….
looking down into one of the rail cars….lots of plastic bottles….
this has to be the most unappealing stack of signs….EVER….and the clown ….any minute now I’m going to want to turn around and patronize the business THAT belongs too! Not!! I don’t always understand urban decay….twenty years from now this might appeal to me but just now….the in between state where the business owners still operate but have given up on forward thinking….drives me crazy….
I weighed in at 195.5 so my eating habits weren’t as destructive as I thought they were….but I definitely need to do better! And the total for the week was 10.37. And the Nike Equalon’s are living up to my previous praises….four miles on concrete and the pain was minimal!
LUMBERING WATER BUFFALO FORGOT HER RUNNING SHOES…
I took two days to recover from the sore butt and Achilles and was headed to Klamath Falls for work brought my running clothes water but forgot my shoes and lunch…waahhhh!!! It was a good excuse to buy some RILEY’S JERKY!
I DID have my hiking boots with me so I headed for the Link River Trail it is 1.5 miles each way so I did get in 3 miles of walking and not on concrete although my feet didn’t feel to great as my boots are a bit tight these days…They were loose when I bought them but gained weight so I may need to get a larger pair! EVERYTHING costs money…..
Oregon Avenue runs across the Klamath Lake outlet
I have never been on this trail before but have made fun of it in the past because it looks from the trail head to basically follow power lines….it does…basically this trail connects Klamath Lake to Lake Ewauna and Veteran’s Park.
My hiking, walking and running always get deterred by things of interest…this must be investigated!!
Can you believe all of these scary spiderwebs….kept me out!!
Oh boy this must be the first dam on the Klamath River….or maybe its just an electric plant…
PARK BENCH FAIL! But I am going to guess that the bench was there first and then the tree grew in front of it!
Finally I have found the trail to Klamath Falls….that which the town is named after
Surely they mean everyone but ME!!
Those are the “falls”…I had heard before that there weren’t really any falls….so I wasn’t disappointed
Back on the River Trail we begin to travel along a perfectly charming irrigation ditch…
The river below…
my shadow
Now this was exciting….tunnels in the little trees that grow along the river….
very cool the trails go in all directions
looking up…
Ah Ha….where the children play
It actually has partial walls made of branches
trails that open up to “rooms”
Klamath River was filled with ducks but when I came lumbering along they scattered.
The houses lined along the river
HA!! I went in anyway!!!
The trees are watching….
Hmm…I wonder how you get through this door….
Next time I’ll see where these lead to…
This Oak tree had all sorts of dried whirly-bird things and the wind was blowing and it made a wonderful rasping noise. Speaking of wind it was cold AND windy. My hands were frozen by the time I got back to my car….I encountered a few runners and they all had gloves on their hands!
Of course I just love the “privacy” fence!! wonderful layer of textures…
Hopefully a run tomorrow…..now I am way late getting to bed…but I don’t have to work tomorrow!!
ODDS AND ENDS FROM KLAMATH FALLS
A dedication to Clause
Outside the museum…it was closed can’t wait to see what is inside. They did a very nice job on the stone, work.
pelican
These are not crows…they are quite big not sure what they are they were funny all lined up
the train at Veteran’s Memorial Park
more glass bricks.
LIGHT WATER AND REFLECTION I
This is Lake Ewauna a lake in Klamath Falls that was used to hold logs until recently…most were removed in the 1990″s. I’m not sure how many mills are still in operation around the lake. At this section is the Veterans Memorial….which I will do a post on later. The lake is fed by Upper Klamath Lake. At one time it housed. When I first walked to the lake it was covered with foam as you will see in the photos..not sure if it is from the mills or naturally occurring. The foam was mostly concentrated in one area.
KLAMATH BUCKET BRIGADE AND WAR MEMORIAL
This is a monument for the Klamath Bucket Brigade. Not sure I agree with it but haven’t read ALL of it yet…not against the farmers but lean toward undamming the rivers…but anyway here is a big bucket in honor of the Bucket Brigade.
Here is the war memorial in old town Klamath Falls.. there is another one larger and up to date in a park nearby…much more accommodating for celebrations or community events surrounding veterans or victims of war…but that needs a separate post.
BRICKS AND SUCH IN KLAMATH FALLS
Those of you have been readers for awhile know I have a fascination with bricks and other textures in towns I visit. And here is old town Klamath Falls
OOOOH… I belong to a secret society with secret hand shakes…seriously what is this stuff really about?
Someone lost a nut
dark hallway art
poorman’s version of stained glass…plastic
I found this building fascinating the strips of wood bolted to the bricks. I wonder if it had a different color scheme at one time
the end
KLAMATH FALLS II
Someone told me this was Mountain Laurel but I was looking it up and think its a type of Sumac….
This is the Klamath County Courthouse
Flowers in town
I love the old Chinese restaurant! Reminds me of a Department 56 building!
more color!
This is a cool building
The town clock…I couldn’t decide which side of the clock was better…dark or light… so I put up both!
I love how dated this building this is.
some alleys
I really want to eat at this restaurant just because of the name…it was closed though!
OLD TOWN KLAMATH FALLS I
Klamath Falls like many old towns in Oregon was falling into various states of disrepair. But this town has been getting together and much of their old town has been “rescued”. This is also due to an infusion of money from retirees escaping from California. They say it will be the next Bend….eventually. And they even have water. The town is the home of Oregon Institute of Technology which has THE nursing program for Oregon. So in addition to the Californians and the college students the town is a bit more adaptable to change….racism while existent has made great strides compared to many of the towns in the surrounding areas. This is also helped by an Air Force base which brings in another infusion of a variety of people. Klamath Falls has a very active art/outdoor community and some not so much…
Anyway this is the Post Office
Drew’s is a high-end western wear store that has been around forever. One of the cool things about it is that they use the local ranchers in their beautiful catalog. Last time my sister was here she spent a fortune as they were having a clearance sale.
This is interesting an old Ford dealership with an Egyptian motiff!! I was asking locals about it….none knew anything in that section of town. This is the part of town that still needs some infusion. Maybe it used to be a theater…when I was at the Ragland Theater I forgot to ask about it!
Sculpture
As I said some of the buildings are still in disrepair…
Tile work on building
Then you have buildings with pretty decor
Its all about the Pelicans!!!
On one of the side streets…..
I always laugh when I see this building which now houses a Mexican restaurant! The windows have painted Mexican motifs on it…not quite right!
Ross Ragland Theater….no good photos due to the position of the sun!
I wonder if you can get the daily paper at the Daily Bagel
MURALS IN KLAMATH FALLS
I probably didn’t quite get them all…
I don’t think that there are Ewauna Indians I think it is just the name of the lake. The only thing I can find is the legend about Chief Siskiyou’s daughter. Legend of Bandon’s Face Rock (click and scroll down the page)
This was sort of odd WINEMA (there were some cute pieces on Winema but I’m tired of history fluff the link seems to be a more accurate description of Winema… on one side of the street and directly facing it this mural commemorating the first train bringing white people into the area
MORE FROM KLAMATH FALLS
These are the from the mystery roll!
Klamath Lake…I am so easily entranced by sparkles!!
I wish I had a better zoom on my camera. I love the pelicans. They are so funny to watch grooming themselves with their giant beaks.
I need to photograph this tree in different light…its hard because it is so big. Its a wonderful monster or sacred being and most of the time it is surrounded by water.
Mural in old town Klamath Falls. Maybe today I will head over there and take photos of all of the murals they have..I love murals….
I love this it is my desktop background right now!
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