See the World from a Butterfly’s Point of View
I wonder if butterflies might get annoyed by all the poetic language they attract. They’re “tiny rainbows,” “flying flowers,” or “ephemeral angels.” We use them as metaphors for transformation and as symbols of beauty, joy, and immortality. But what are they really? My fear is that all the chatter about beautiful butterflies reflecting the...
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How To: Raft the Lower Owyhee
Author: Corinne Handelman | Published: May 14, 2019 | Category: How-To | Updated: December 28, 2021 Tips to plan your desert rafting trip Rafting the lower Owyhee River is a once-in-a-lifetime experience that introduces you to some of the most spectacular and untouched high desert landscapes found in eastern Oregon. Deep canyon walls, riverside camps,...
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Where To: Hart Mountain
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge lies at the center of the Greater Hart-Sheldon Region in southeastern Oregon. Few established trails cross this vast region. Instead, desert enthusiasts have endless opportunities to build their own adventure and experience the solitude of Oregon’s high desert. Here are six tips that will help you make the most...
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Three Amazing High Desert Inhabitants
Oregon’s high desert is a land of many superlatives. You’ll find North America’s fastest land mammal here, as well as its largest fault block mountain. Perhaps most intriguing are the ways that the plants, animals and insects that call the high desert home have evolved over millennia in ways that allow them to survive...
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Hart Mountain Revealed Recap
During our 2019 High Desert Speaker Series, ONDA’s Hart-Sheldon Coordinator Jeremy Austin presented in both Bend and Portland. Here’s the “CliffsNotes” version of his for Hart Mountain Revealed talk. Where is Hart Mountain? Roughly 230 miles southeast of Bend, Oregon, Hart Mountain sits at the northern extent of the largest desert in the United...
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Desert Wilderness Retrospective
Author: Gena Goodman-Campbell | Published: April 2, 2019 | Category: Look Back A Tale of Two Wilderness Areas: Badlands and Spring Basin On March 30, 2009, President Obama signed a massive public lands package into law, with the Oregon Badlands Wilderness and Spring Basin Wilderness among the many places protected. Besides sharing the same...
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Dark Desert Skies
Author: Kody Osborne | Published: March 29, 2019 | Categories: Where-To, How-To For those of us who have spent time in Oregon’s high desert, there is no need to explain how truly dark skies showcase the wonders of the stars viewable by the naked eye. Night skies relatively free from light pollution — that...
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Happy Birthday!Oregon Desert Trail Turns Five
Author: Renee Patrick | Published: May 20, 2019 | Category: Essay Looking back on five years of the ODT In the spring of 2014, ONDA released a basic map-set for an ambitious route we’d started to call the “Oregon Desert Trail.” It wasn’t long before a few hikers set their sights on completing the...
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Meet Mary McCord
ONDA Volunteer Extraordinaire Over the past few years, Mary McCord went from being newly introduced to ONDA to becoming a frequent volunteer in Bend. Mary and her husband, Tom, attended an annual Wild & Scenic Film Festival event and were instantly inspired to become ONDA members. They formed a personal connection with Oregon’s high...
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How to Shoot a Desert Video
Videos can tell stories, convey ideas and immerse the viewer into an environment in ways that are difficult to achieve with photographs or the written word. And, with many video cameras becoming better and more affordable and a number of free editing programs available, creating videos has become increasingly accessible. Perhaps you’d like to...
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