Outside Archives - Page 181 of 204 - The Source

Big Time: They don’t come any bigger than the great gray owl

great gray owls, habitat, wild owls, fuel ladders, owl calls.

The Source StaffFebruary 20, 2010June 24, 2024

It’s true – just as the title of this story says – when it comes to owls of the New World, they really don’t come any bigger than the great gray owl, Strix nebulosa, or, for the sake of brevity, GGO. The adult has a wingspan that averages about four-and-a-hall feet; the female being larger then the male (a physical trait among all the owls and diurnal raptors). They stand about 30-inches tall and weigh in at around four pounds – and are armed with very large, strong, needle-like talons on very large powerful feet!
The species name, nebulosa, is the Latin for “misty” or “foggy,” the coloration of the owl’s feathers that help to conceal them when roosting during the day. Those same feathers are so soft in texture they make the owl’s flight almost silent.

Outside

What's Your Sign?: Double black diamonds are a girl's best friend

Pam StevensonFebruary 17, 2010January 4, 2023

I should have really written this column last week to make it into the pre-Valentine's Day Source “Love Issue.” But sometimes you just come up a day late and a greeting card short. At any rate, I thought it might be amusing, if not timely, to comment on the outdoor dating scene in Bend.
The other day I skinned to the top of Tumalo with a girlfriend and discovered an impromptu party at the summit. There were shiny, happy people everywhere, munching on Clif Bars, peeling off skins, soaking in the view. My friend and I noted especially the good-looking guys clad in soft-shell and beaming endorphins who were quick to strike up friendly conversation. Advice about the best line in the bowl, homemade brownies and cell phone numbers were shared. OK, I made up that part about the phone numbers, but on the way back down, we declared the top of Tumalo on a sunny winter day the best pick-up spot in Bend. At least way better than the Astro Lounge. Apparently, though, Cog Wild is now hosting Mountain Biker Happy Hour at the Marz Bistro on Wednesday nights.

Outside

A Grand Tour of Tahoe on Skinny Skis: Adventures of a Ski-O Newbie

Pam StevensonFebruary 10, 2010January 4, 2023

We have it pretty good here, but sometimes you just get a little jaded with yet another lap of Woody's or Zig Zag. So last week I decided to try something new – the 2010 Sierra Avalanche Ski-Orienteering Championships, a week full of Ski-O races in Tahoe. The field was stacked with several top Ski-O-ers competing for spots on the U.S. National Team for World Championships next year in Sweden.
Although I've done a little “Foot-O,” this was my first time doing it on skis. Ski-O totally breaks up the drudgery of just another ski race. Sixty seconds before your start, you receive a map plotted with about ten “control points” (orange and white one-foot cubes generally hanging from trees) to go find in order. Sounds easy… until you get to Intersection 15 at Tahoe Donner with nine trails radiating outward.

Outside

There are No Trilobites in Oregon: Well, maybe…

The Source StaffFebruary 6, 2010July 23, 2025

Now that I’ve reached that “ripe old age” of over 80, I find myself enjoying fossils more than I did years ago. Do you suppose someone’s trying to tell me something? Be that as it may, for more years than I care to remember, I’ve heard the old axiom, “Some day, someone will find a trilobite in Oregon.” Well, maybe.
One place to look is in the fossil-bearing Permian limestone of Coyote Butte near the Nevada border in southeast Oregon. “Hold on,” you say, “We have a Coyote Butte along China Hat Road, southeast of Bend.” Sorry, that’s a cinder cone, no trilobites there, it’s volcanic in origin and several millions of years to young.

Outside

Roaming the Aisles: A marathon a day, sexy robots and other dispatches

Pam StevensonFebruary 3, 2010January 25, 2023

I sure wish that headline read, “Roaming the Isles” and this column was coming to you from a sea kayak in Fiji or a sailboat in the Bahamas. Instead, I just returned from the aisles of the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida where I make an annual pilgrimage to the Surf Expo Trade Show.
As far as trade shows go, fondling boards and hanging out with legends like Shaun Tomson at Surf Expo is probably a helluva a lot more fun than, say, schmoozing with a bunch of morticians at the Casket and Funeral Supply Association of America (CFSAA) Fall Conference & Trade Show held in November in Indianapolis. Or investigating the latest porta-potty technologies at the Portable Sanitation Association International (PSAI) Convention & Trade Show held every year in Daytona Beach. Maybe not quite as exciting though, as checking out Foxy Roxxxy, the world's first sex robot that was unveiled at the AVN Adult Entertainment Expo in Las Vegas last month. The dark-haired, negligee-clad, life-size robot comes complete with flesh-like synthetic skin, artificial intelligence and can converse about football.

Outside

We've Been Friended! Four ways we can better Central Oregon

Pam StevensonJanuary 27, 2010May 9, 2023

Are we cool or what? Last week, Facebook itself friended Central Oregon. On Thursday, Facebook officials were in Prineville to announce a new $188.2 million, 147,000-square-foot data center. (If you want to keep abreast of the project, you can become a fan of the Prineville Data Center on Facebook). The announcement, and some other recent goings-on, got me thinking about how we could be even cooler. Here are some of my ideas:
MT B: MOST UPHILL-FRIENDLY DOWNHILL AREA
On January 19, a revised uphill travel policy that includes a designated route to the summit, went into effect on Mt. Bachelor. According to the Mt. Bachelor website, “The uphill route to the Mt. Bachelor summit is open during sustainably safe conditions, i.e. when the Summit chairlift is open to the public, following avalanche reduction work and grooming operations.”
I asked some local backcountry afficionados what they thought of the revised policy. “My hope is it is just a first step,” said one. “For one, I'd like to see access to the summit expanded to include hours before opening and after closing of the lifts.”

Outside

A Poem for Winter: Kit Stafford and her “rain dear”

Jim AndersonJanuary 27, 2010June 13, 2025

This being the winter season and all, with raindeer (intentionally misspelled) flying about, along with ice worms and snow fleas, well, I think you'll enjoy this…
One of things I enjoy in life is watching a person with talent do his or her thing. For example, sitting in Soji in Sisters, fixated on the delicious teriyaki chicken and enjoying the music of Nugget editor, Jim Cornelius – sometimes with Gary Miller and Lynn Woodward singing and playing – I'm always envious that I can't sing and play like that, but thankful they can.
It's the same when I'm reading a really good wordsmith, someone like Robert B. Parker, for example. What yarns he could spin, but now that he's gone out among the stars and we'll hear no more from him.

Outside

The Coyote and the Eagle: Coyote hunt could have unintended consequences

Jim AndersonJanuary 24, 2010June 5, 2024

“Jim!” a fellow naturalist shouted over the phone last week, “Have you seen the story on the front page of The Bulletin about the coyote derby some guy from Silver Lake organized?”
“More eagles are going to die from lead poisoning from this stupid coyote derby than if they had made it into an eagle derby,” he said referring a story about the controversy surrounding an upcoming “coyote derby” – an event that challenges hunters to shoot as many coyotes, which have no protection under state or federal laws – during an established time frame. This week's hunt covers parts of Klamath, Lake, Harney and Malheur counties.

Outside

Yin and Yang: Explore the Backcountry or Curl Up with a Good Book

The Source StaffJanuary 14, 2010May 30, 2025

Some days you're just raring to go grab adventure. And sometimes a crackling fire, a slumbering dog and a good book call your name.

Outside

Look Out Below!: Grebes are falling out of the sky

Jim AndersonJanuary 13, 2010April 27, 2023

This has been the year for grebes to fall out of the sky, literally. Three weeks ago, a Western grebe was discovered standing in the middle of Bradley Road east of Sisters in the early morning hours by Spirit of Sisters storeowner Sue Purcell.
Sue had no idea what the bird was, where it had come from or why it was sitting in the middle of the road. But she did the right thing and checked to be sure she wasn't going to be run over by a 10-wheeler, carefully wrapped the bird in a blanket, placed it in a cardboard box and called me.
The western grebe, aechmophorus occidentalis, is a water bird that eats fish of all kinds, and is so adapted to paddling on and under water that their legs have moved so far aft they and their kin have evolved into swimmers, not walkers.
Western grebes are black-and-white, especially in breeding plumage, with a long, slender, swan-like neck and brilliant red eyes. In the early 1900s when bird's feathers were big in women's fashion, grebes were slaughtered by the “plume-hunters” who took only a patch of skin and breast feathers and sold it as “Oregon Sable.”

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