30
Wednesday, August 8, 2018 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
EXPLORERS: Kids
enjoy riding, nature
observation and art
Continued from page 3
not much incline, with many
observation — aka resting
— points.
Heather provides journals
for the participants to draw
in and make observations
and trail maps. Every other
week the group rides the trails
and wildlife habitat to Suttle
Lake to cool off, swim, and
do art. The other weeks they
return to Camp Sherman in
the afternoons to work on art
projects with treasures found
from nature, and from scraps
found on their explorations.
Last week, the ecobikers
went through the forest to
Suttle Lake from the north
entrance of the Deschutes
Land Trus t’s Metolius
Preserve.
“It was a fresh summer
morning and the cool breeze
was a huge relief to the pre-
vious two weeks’ blazing
sunshine. On this particu-
lar morning I made a couple
extra stops and bought some
orange juices for the kids and
even some donuts! I’m a bit
against donuts, so this was a
rare moment for me!” Walden
reported.
“I drove up to our end des-
tination at Suttle Lake and
dropped off our art supplies,
then headed to Jack Lake
Road that we would cross
midway. I pulled off the road,
grabbed my little ice cooler,
and hiked up the trail to a
spot to hide the cooler behind
some bushes, just off the trail.
I got back into my car and
drove down to the entrance of
the (Deschutes Land Trust’s)
Metolius Preserve.
“I had picked up a bike
that I found on Craigslist for
only $50. A few of the new
kids had been riding with us
on single-speed BMX bikes!
And although our group is
more about exploring our
ecology etc., we do like to
have fun while riding our
bikes, too!”
The Central Oregon
mountain-biking commu-
nity is large, and kids out-
grow bikes and gear quickly,
so Walden has an easy time
finding equipment for her
charges.
On the Suttle Lake trip,
she provided a safety briefing.
“As the kids got on their
bikes and ready to go, we
decided to wait another 15
minutes as a couple kids
had not arrived and we usu-
ally depart at 10 a.m. for our
ride,” Walden said. “So I sat
on the tailgate of my truck
and noticed the current article
in the issue of The Nugget,
about the bears and cougars.
So, we spent the 15 minutes
reading the article to continue
that conversation about safety
and I even had the kids do a
sample shout real loud and
raise their arms up in the air
and use their bikes as shields.
“We made a quick call
to find out that our missing
companions were not going
to make it today. So, off we
went on the trail. I assigned
the lead to one of the kids
returning from last year, and
we quickly reviewed what
it meant to be the leader.
The leader makes sure the
caboose isn’t too far behind,
and stops to wait if necessary.
The leader might shout out an
upcoming obstacle like a log
or rock etc. The leader keeps a
steady pace, not too fast. The
leader stops at every junc-
tion to make sure we are all
on the same path. We always
talk about why we need to
stay together as a group and
look out for one another. The
group rides single file and we
all pair up and have a part-
ner. It was still a beautiful
Pine Meadow Village Lot
678 W. ST. HELENS AVE.
Set in a community of panoramic Cascade mountain
views with meandering creeks, pond, parks, trails,
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morning, the sun wasn’t too
hot, and it felt good to be in
the shade of the trees.”
The kids caught crayfish
in the creek and observed
bees.
“We rode down to the
lake and wow, the kids were
sweaty and ready to cool
off and swim in the lake!”
Walden said. “We do lake
days every other week. What
better way to spend your sum-
mer, biking and swimming in
the lake with your friends.
“As we had lunch, I read
them a book, I found recently
called ‘Winnie the Pooh on
Problem Solving.’ It’s a fun
book and actually easy for
kids to follow. One of the
kids asked, when are we
going to do art today? Just
as I was about to look at my
clock, our art director Aleshia
showed up! So, she went to
set up our art supplies and I
started guiding kids to dry off
and pack up their gear.
“We made boats out of
natural items and … we are
going to race our boats in the
creek in Camp Sherman. The
kids gathered sticks and logs
from the forest and we drilled
holes to put the sticks into the
logs. Tied twine and reeds
around the sticks to hold
it all together. They made
some amazing creations,
and were all excited for next
week to race them in the
creek.”
Walden takes great plea-
sure in her work.
“I enjoy every minute
with the kids,” she said. “I
hope that this program will
grow for our community! I’m
simply the founder of the pro-
gram, and in high hopes that
others like me would come
and participate in donating
time to the program. So, if
you’re a biker and enjoy a
slow-pace ride with kids, or if
you’re into exploring nature,
or enjoy art, or especially art
from scraps, then come join
the fun!”
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EAST PORTAL: Area
has seen substantial
vandalism
Continued from page 1
Sgt. Vander Kamp reports
that law enforcement pres-
ence has reduced the calls
for service. That may be a
positive development, but it
didn’t do anything to fix the
mess already made.
On Tuesday, July 31,
Deschutes County Sheriff’s
Office Deputies and Sisters-
Camp Sherman Fire District
Firefighters came together
and collected trash from
the site before washing out
the kiosk shelter with soap,
brushes, and a fire hose.
“The site is open to the
public and we encourage the
public to report any future
suspicious activities,” Sgt.
Vander Kamp said.
The sheriff ’s office is
working with the USFS
Sisters Ranger District to
improve the security, with
improved lighting and
increased patrols.
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