Silver Creek Falls Part 2

Just a few more photos

Silver Creek Falls Part 1

We wanted to hit some of the trails At Silver Creek Falls and of course we always take Princess as she loves to walk, But soon found that all signs said No Dogs. So i guess this might have to be another trip and we park at the campground so we can leave her in the motor home but a shame as we love to take her. Might be a long time before we go there again.
So North Falls is the only falls we were able to see from the distant since we were not allowed to take Princess on the trail, so we just parked at the top and took these photos of the falls.

Just thought i would post some of the foliage around there. Lots of nice ferns
Be sure to click on the photos for better viewing, here you can see the trail
Silver Falls offers more than 9,000 acres of spectacular scenery.
The park’s most famous feature, The Trail of Ten Falls, thrills
hikers and photographers. The eight-mile hiking trail passes by
and under some of the stunning waterfalls of the north and south forks
of Silver Creek.
Take a stroll on the paved four-mile bike path, or ride your horse, hike or
mountain bike on more than 25 miles of multi-use trails. Park trails wind
through Douglas-fir and Western hemlock flanked by Oregon grape, salal and
sword fern. Pacific blacktail deer thrive in the lush, temperate rainforest. Black
bear, coyotes and mountain lions (cougars) live in remote park areas.
The spacious lawns and picnic shelters at the South Falls day-use area are perfect
for relaxing. Or, enjoy a swim in Silver Creek along a developed (but unsupervised)
swimming area.

The falls tumble over thick basalt lava flows
resting on softer, older rock.
The softer layers beneath the basalt eroded over
time and created natural pathways behind some
of the falls. Look up and see if you can spot
the many tree “chimneys,” or casts while you
walk behind North Falls. These formed when
lava engulfed living trees, causing the wood to
disintegrate.

Silver Creek Resevoir

Since we were so close to Silverton we wanted to stop and see the falls and do some hiking, well that was a big disappointment because we had Princess with us and most of all the trails it said no dogs. More on that later.

Silverton Resevoir is a 65 acre inpoundment on Silver Creek located in the Cascade foothills 2.5 miles southeast of the city of Silverton Or. on Rt 214
The Reservoir serves the purpose of flood control on the creek as well as acting as a water supply for the city.
The lake is popular in the spring and summer as a recreation area. Stocked with roughly 20,000
hatchery trout each spring and early summer, the lake also provides opportunities to catch bullhead catfish. Swimming is also quite popular on warm summer days as well as recreational boating, though only electric motors are allowed.

Since the reservoir was created in 1960, there has been fear in Silverton that Silver Creek Dam might someday give way. Though structural engineers have declared the dam safe and deemed the conditions for a dam breach to be almost out of the realm of possibility, studies have found that a collapse of the dam would be catastrophic to the city below.

If you click on the photo you can see the rope that people have used to jump off, when the sign so not too.

Sky Watch Friday over Bend

If you would like to join Sky Watch Friday please click here and join Tom, Imac,Sandy & Klaus

Mt Angel Abbey

I have always wanted to see the Abbey over the yrs and didn't know that you could take a tour. So going to the Oktoberfest was a plus to be able to go here, they have a museum also at the Abbey that i will share later on. I am not sure what the museum has to do with the Abbey.
Anyway we went to see the Museum to start with, but then when we got there and seen that, there was a bunch of people that was on a bus tour and Fr. Edmund Smith, O.S.B., Director of the Retreat House

Was doing a tour of the grounds, i am not sure if we were suppose to be there or not, but no one said we couldn't so we got a tour of the grounds with him telling us about the place, he has been there i think he said since 1953.

The Monastary

Mount Angel Abbey is a community of Benedictine Monks founded in 1882 from the Abbey of Engelberg in Switzerland. We maintain a monastic tradition that has been a vital part of the Roman Catholic Church for more than 1500 years. Responding to God's call to holiness and preferring nothing whatever to Christ, we dedicate ourselves, under a Rule and an abbot to a life of prayer and work. We strive to support one another in community, to serve God, the Church, and the larger society. We do this as we celebrate the Holy Eucharist together, pray the Liturgy of the Hours five times daily in choir, and devote ourselves to reading and silence.

Click on photos for better viewing

Mt Angel Seminary

Five years after establishing their community, the Monks of Mount Angel Abbey opened Mount Angel College. Two years later, Archbishop William Gross of Oregon City asked them to attach a seminary to the College. Over the years, with the increasing costs and complexity of school operations, the College and its associated high school have closed. The Seminary, however, has maintained continuous operation. Today it is home to 114 seminarians from approximately 30 dioceses, plus 40 candidates for priestly formation from religious orders. Counting 25 lay students working toward advanced degrees in theology, the Seminary maintains a total enrollment of just under 200.

The library is one of Mount Angel Abbey's principal works of Christian service. It has been made possible by the gifts of many people; its mission is to serve all who wish to use its resources.

The library strives to serve the scholarly and recreational needs of its patrons for reading, listening and visual material in many areas of human culture, especially theology, language and literature, philosophy and the arts, as well as social science and natural history.





To be continued:

Town of Mt Angel

Nestled between farmland and foothills, Mt. Angel is located 18 miles northeast of Salem on Highway 214. This little town, founded in the late 1800s by German settlers, has an Old World flavor which is heightened by the many Bavarian style storefronts and the beautiful Benedictine Abbey. They celebrate their German heritage each year during the Oktoberfest, held in September.

This is a town that should be visited at least once, and the Oktorberfest is a good time to check it out as i have to say we really enjoyed our 4 day stay there.











More to come.

Detroit Lake

Heading out to go to Mt Angel for the Okterberfest we drove through Sisters and then on to the Santiam Pass, a drive we really don't like because of the crooked road and steep hills. It is a 4,817-foot mountain pass.
We were surprised to see so many trees dead, either from fires or from bugs not sure.


Our trip last week took us thru Detroit Lake an area I would like to explore more as it looks like a nice place to go camping.
Detroit Lake is located in the heart of the Cascades.It is located just 50 miles East of Salem on Highway 22.It also has a Dam there so if your in that area stop and check it out, we didn't stop but one day we will

Sky Watch over Bend

Sunrise over Bend on 9-18-08


Click on photos for better viewing
If you would like to join Sky Watch Friday click here to sign up and view others around the world

Wickiup Reservoir

Wickiup Reservoir check this site out for some real good information.