Although we do have flooding, even destructive flooding in Oregon, it usually does not come on with the “flash” attachment. We had traveled to the Whitewater Canyon Preserve to look for desert tortoise. The preserve gates were closed with warnings of flash flooding. So we backtracked to the nearest barely visible rivulet and watched it steadily rise as pebbles quickly danced and rolled downstream. We stayed alert for the escape route and took photos of the vegetation (the feathery bush was directly in the streambed) and unique rocks along the way.
~~~
We noted the river continue to rise and figured the dark clouds in the distance were providing plenty of rainfall up the drainage…so we exercised caution from a higher vantage point while exploring the canyon. History of Whitewater (exit 114 off Hwy. 10) seems interesting. The compound was chained off so little to see, but it looks like the remnants of some structures still exist.
~~~
