Perseid Meteors/Ochocos

So I had this idea... why don't we all pack up and run over to the Ochocos and take in the Perseid's meteor shower, do some prospecting and get back in 24 hours!. And.. Jerry and Spencer agreed! We left Salem at about 3:00pm and drove about 150 miles, had dinner along the way, made camp in the dark and sat in chairs staring heavenward to enjoy a wonderful meteor display (about 5 an hour). The satellites were cool, too.



Jerry and Spence take in an incredible view of the Ochoco Mountains. As we walked onto this site we startled two grouse who exploded into flight. This place was very near our Thursday night campsite at a breathless 6200 feet. After a morning of flapjacks, scrambled eggs, sausage links and steaming fresh brewed java we wallked here to check out an abandoned thunderegg claim.



This monstrocity is known as Stein's Pillar. It should be Steen's after the man who discovered it, but it had been mispelled soo long no one wanted to change the name. Standing 350 feet tall this monolith proudly basks in the last rays of a hot eastern Oregon summer's eve.



Here Cindy, Bob(retired army chef), Spence and Jerry stand outside Kop's shack on the Lucky Strike mine. These guys were cool, with tons of stories about strikes, claim jumping and little known spots just waiting to be discovered. Kop was in town selling a ton of large thundereggs and came back with a fist full of dollars. He is quite a character. At 6 foot and weighing in at 128 pounds this strapping lad is a dynamo for an 86 year old.



Pardon my driveby shooting, but the Crook County Court House is not only the place where we miners file claims, but is also just plain pretty to look at.