The Oregon Star
Party, Inc.
This annual
astronomy event is held under the dark, dry skies of Central Oregon.
A small group of amateur astronomers run it for 500-700 participants,
and it's always been sponsored by the Rose City Astronomers/Portland's
OMSI... Diverse people of all ages flock to the unique 5,000 ft
high site in the Ochocos Mountains east of Prineville. OregonPhotos.com
has always been its Group Photographer.
Please continue for space artists---below are links to two artists, both of whom are excellent space artists known to me personally. Don't rule either out if space art isn't your interest, as both offer extensive art portfolios of other content.
John Foster
Visual Adventures 
Hulan Fleming Studio
Next Adventure: "Portlands Alternative Sporting Goods Store."
Here's a business that has a major emphasis on "Green,"
including a huge basement called the "NA Underground,"
committed to such forward-thinking practices as selling used gear,
consignments, buying, selling, trading." I've had great conversation
with Deek Heykamp there. ph 503-233-0706. 426 SE Grand Ave. Portland,
OR 97214 (back to my site's 45 pages about "The History of
Gear" click for my main
page)..And
if you are in Bend, Oregon, find a similar used gear specialist
named NEAT
REPEAT,
www.RepeatPerformanceSports.com.
Save the Gribble Barn. Oregon Trail pioneer history was endangered as a classic turn-of-the-century barn in rural Clackamas County south of Portland faced destruction and recently lost the fight.
Oregon.com is a portal to much information about Oregon. They take an approach that involves extensive linkages to Oregon motels, restaurants, travel, and monthly happenings all around the State. "Find lodging, attractions, recreation and more" says the site's search engine.... About twenty of my images were formerly featured for sale in their "Photo Gallery Section," in the sub-section about "Mountains." But as the site has become more and more "corporate," and requiring money to be on it, I dropped out.
Goats:
You don't always need the
$5,000 telephotos lens! This image was netted while prowling
the timberline zone on the northeast side of Mt. Rainier on the
slopes of Fremont Peak. I was using a telephoto lens made out
of a cast-off lens from a copy machine!
Cloudlands: The perfection of this image is its rendering
of the pre-eruption Mt. St. Helens (center, skyline). 
The
photographer stood precariously on the summit of Mt. Hood in a
gusting wind, glad to be so far above the gray drizzle which encompassed
all of Western Oregon that day.
Oregon Climate Service (OCS). the authority in Oregon for all categories of information about Oregon weather and climate, including river and snow pack measurements. My friend and (now former) State Climatologist George Taylor was very available to help with specific questions. Copies of the recently-published "The Oregon Weather Book" and "The Oregon Climate Book" may also be ordered on-line from OSU Press at this site... Note: Your photographer was a proud contributor to both books!
Pacific Crest Trail Association. The Official website of the Pacific Crest Trail, covering all of the trail segments in Washington, Oregon and California, and a real "must-see" for anyone wishing to become more politically knowlegeable and active. Here is a link to their page where they are linked to OregonPhotos.
The Mazamas. Oregon's oldest, largest climbing club, some 3,000 members strong, since 1894 a strong voice in Oregon of love for our majestic mountains and of the environment that will keep them that way. One of the Club's symbols is the Mountain Goat. Look for the reciprocal link back to OregonPhotos once you have toured their extensive site---www.mazamas.org
Swayze Mirrors. Steve Swayze is an amateur astronomer now gaining a national reputation for his superb work as a custom telescope maker. The photographer met him in 1989 while doing star gazing with the Portland Rose City Astronomers under the unbelievably transparent, dark skies of the high Steens in Southeastern Oregon.
Juniper
Sky ...(2017, link no longer works and I don't know why).
This was a fine site to do astronomy in Central Oregon. Gary and
Carolyn Strong originally found the Oregon Star Party site in
the Ochoco Mountains in the early 1990's, then went on to find
and create their won permanent 60 acre observing site a bit closer
to the main population centers of Bend and Prineville. Juniper
Sky is northeast of Bend in the juniper forests. Potential Visitors
should browse their website and learn more about this non-commercial,
educational and esthetic resource! Click here for an image of them and their dog at 1992's Oregon
Star Party in the Ochocos!
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), Burns District. ph 541-573-5241. They manage the Steens area. From 1988 to 1991, they were most kind and helpful to our (then small) group of amateur astronmers meeting on Steens Mountain for our annual event, The Oregon Star Party.
Warmlite. For your trips to the Oregon High Desert, check out the warmest, lightest and most technologically-advanced tents, sleeping bags and packs that one can buy. Custom-made for you by one of the innovators in the outdoor gear revolution, Jack Stephenson, an aerospace engineer who has been quietly designing the warmest, lightest and most technologically-advanced tents, sleeping bags and backpacks that one can buy since the late 1950's. Since Stephenson's death in 2017, company relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado, and by 2021 relocated again, this time to Maine. It's still run by Jack's niece Kim Cunningham.
