Oregon is commonly thought of as a wet, green state. In fact, over one-third of the state is desert and over three-quarters of the state average less than 15” of precipitation per year. In Oregon there is much more dry acreage than wet acreage.
And the icon of the dry desert is the sand dune.
Oregon has a fairly large area of dunes southeast of Bend—the Sand Dunes Wilderness Study Area. This area is managed by the BLM and is open for motor vehicle use.
After staying the night in the Lost Forest, I approached the dunes from the southeast. Since paved roads are closer to the west and north sides of the dunes, there was little traffic on my route. The previous day I had driven a circuitous route from the north. The roads through the desert are not terrible, but some stretches are rocky. In order to minimize the stress on my truck I deflate my tires to around 20 lbs.
In the sand dunes I maintained the 20 lb. pressure I use on rough roads and had no problems. In the few places where the sand was loose and the slope got steep, I ran the truck in 4 high. I never had any problems maintaining traction.
The dunes reminded me of a miniature Death Valley. Well, without the sidewinders, collared lizards, and kangaroo rats. Wait, according to the ODF&W there might be kangaroo rats here, that’s exciting!
If you are interested in some more sand dune photo techniques here is a video by Michael Shainblum and Nick Page. In the video he points out lots of things I did wrong, and a few I did right. I’m most sorry that I missed shooting a cross wind closeup. While the wind was blowing, it didn’t create the plumes over the dunes evident in Death Valley. Maybe it was the light.
But that is part of the joy of the process. Training oneself to see the world in a different manner and then capture that vision. I’m still at the ‘where did I find that camera setting’ stage.
The trails through the dunes wind between humps of sand held in place by sagebrush.
The cool wet spring meant a late bloom of wildflowers. Few were in evidence. But these grew in the spaces between the sand humps.
These sand dunes reminded me of those I have seen in the Mojave Desert. On a camping trip to the Mojave, I remember watching kangaroo rats hopping about in the moonlight. After I had eaten and put things away, I sat down on a picnic table in a campground near Panamint Springs, CA. I was the only human as far as I could see. The night was still and warm—the best kind.
On a previous trip I had seen a kit fox and I was hopeful it would pass by here again. The fox didn’t but when darkness descended, at least a dozen kangaroo rats popped from their burrows and raced around the sagebrush chasing each other and doing kangaroo rat things. They hop on their back legs, like four-inch-tall kangaroos.
Periodically the rodents would hear some noise from the brush and all of them would pop into their burrows, or if too far removed, then freeze right where they were. In a few moments, as if on cue, out would hop the hiders and their frantic chases would resume. I’ve no idea how long I watched, but they never seemed to tire. Perhaps they figured that predators would not venture too close to the human on the table.
At some point they all retreated to their underground lairs, and I retreated to my truck. What a delightful night under a warm desert moon.
Here is a bit of Kangaroo rat lore. I had no idea that they ventured so far north. It would be fun to find and watch them again. Perhaps I could even get some pictures.
I would definitely recommend a trip out to see these dunes. They are different enough from others that it’s worth the drive. Knowing they live here in the Great Basin; I’ll have to keep my eyes open for kangaroo rats on my travels. It would be nice to once again watch their moonlight antics.