The Great American Solar Eclipse

There’s a short span of time burned into my memory, roughly 10:18 to 10:20 am. Many of us had turned away from the Sun and Moon to watch the gathering darkness in the west. It did not take long for the temporary night to fall. First, the light left the clouds behind Mt. Jefferson and then the mountain itself. Suddenly, we were in darkness, too, surrounded by a sunset that illuminated the slopes of Mt. Hood to the north. I turned back towards the Sun and was awestruck by the wonder of the corona. That moment, that turn, has been playing over and over in my mind ever since.  -Chaney Swiney, Wanderlust Tours Naturalist Guide

The weekend (and those two particular minutes) that we anticipated for so many months has finally come and gone. If you were lucky enough to find yourself in the path of totality, you know that this moment really was the moment of a lifetime. We are still sharing stories, recalling the magnificence, and wondering how everything turned out just perfectly. 

Months ago we sent a team out to find the perfect spot to camp. What the Wanderlust team found was beyond perfect: we all dreamed of the magic that would take place on this ridge. Some of us have hiked this ridge in the past, many of us have gazed upon it through the window of an airplane on its way out of Redmond. Needless to say, we knew it would be the right place to attend this cosmic rendezvous between Sun and Moon.

With all the behind-the-scenes logistics taken care of and our permits in place, we left our office early on the morning of August 20th to beat the anticipated traffic. Leading a small group of enthusiastic eclipse-chasers to our camp ... 

Nature took heed as totality neared – resemblance to dusk, shadows looked different, breezes dissipated, wildlife took pause, and the temperatures dropped almost a full 13°. Naturalist Guide Danny recorded the temperature every 9 minutes as part of NASA's Citizen Science campaign. By collecting and submitting this data, we were able to observe the effects of the solar eclipse on our atmosphere. Events like this bring people an awareness and appreciation of the value of science, and we jumped at the opportunity to geek-out over sun-planet-moon systems.

"Taking in this celestial event from the best possible viewing location was one of the most unique experiences of my life. The best part? Seeing Mt. Jefferson cloaked in darkness while Hood, outside totality, was lit up like a candle." - Danny Walden, Wanderlust Tours Naturalist Guide

Transfixed by the ethereal vision in the sky, when the precious two minutes passed, your first thought may have been 'when and where is the next eclipse?' Well, the next North American total solar eclipse will be enjoyed by our neighbors to the east on April 28, 2024. If you can't wait until then, try traveling to Rio Cuarto, Argentina on July 2, 2019 for a full 2 minutes and 2 seconds of a totality awesome experience!

The Best of Bend

As many Bend locals know, The Source Weekly has been rounding up everyone's favorite spots around town for their 2017 "Best Of Central Oregon" issue, which was released this week. We are SO grateful to our awesome community for awarding us with Best Tour Company. Beginning with our humble origin, Dave and Aleta Nissen desired to inspire our clients with the intricacies of Mother Nature. Now our incredible staff maintains the vivacity for sharing nature's beauty along with our cultural history in ways we hope have left an impression on you. Our community is important to us; we strive to model stewardship in every realm of our undertakings. Thank you Central Oregon!

The Source Weekly's Best of Central Oregon

In the spirit of the best, this week we've put together a Day of Bests in Bend. Travel with us through the day in the life of a Bendite as we pay tribute to other local businesses featured in this week's issue of The Source... 

In order to make the most of everyday, you wake up with the sun around 6:15 and scroll through the best blog, Living The Bend Life, while listening to 92.9 KRXF, Bend's best radio station. Now you grab your bike and ride over to barre3 for a class at the best exercise studio, making sure to stop at Backporch Coffee Roasters for Bend's best cup of coffee to get you started. After a high-intensity workout, you're feeling great - and hungry! Best breakfast in Bend is at McKay Cottage, so you meet some friends to grub on their lemon ricotta pancakes with fresh summer berries. 

Now that you've eaten all the calories you burned off this morning, it's time for your volunteer shift with Bend's best nonprofit, Bend Spay and Neuter Project. Because this is Bend, of course you have your own dog! So you make sure to grab a new bag of treats at BSNP's sponsor, Bend Pet Express, which also happens to be Bend's best pet store. 

A few hours and a lot of belly rubs later, you've worked up an appetite again. It's a gorgeous, quintessential Bend day so of course you want to hit the best patio dining at Cabin 22. You order the RPM pork wings because 1) they're delicious, and 2) they're made with Bend's best locally brewed beer AND best IPA, Boneyard's RPM. As you digest your yummy lunch you start to think about your evening plans.

You've got a birthday dinner to attend for a friend, so you head to downtown to shop for a gift. But you can't make it out of the Westside without stopping at Bend's best growler fill, The Growler Guys, to fill up your Hydroflask (aka Bend's best locally-made product) with some fresh Humm Kombucha, another best in Bend. Sensing a pattern here? 

With a full tummy and a stocked growler, you ride over to Ju-bee-lee to shop for a birthday gift. Where else would you shop for a gift, besides Bend's best gift shop? After you find the perfect present, you stop by Bend's best bank, OnPoint Credit Union, to pull some cash for Bend's best produce at the Brooks Alley Farmers Market. 

After a day full of exercise, good eats, volunteering and shopping, you deserve a drink. 900 Wall has the best happy hour, so you go for a lemondrop to pass the next hour before meeting for dinner at the best fine dining restaurant, Zydeco. No birthday dinner is complete without birthday dessert, which you find around the corner at Bend's best Bontà Gelato. Then the real festivities begin at the best bar, Dogwood Cocktail Cabin, down the street. You enjoy a few celebratory drinks, but you're not in college anymore so you wake up the next morning with a bit of a headache. You know you HAVE to start your day with the best hangover grub in town, at the D&D Bar and Grill, and go on to live another day to the fullest in the best town, Bend. 

And now it is our turn to have a celebratory drink, and to once again say thank you to our Bend Friends. We love our community and are thrilled to continue sharing the natural wonders and cultural history of Central Oregon.

Animal of the Month: California Tortoiseshell Butterfly

You may have noticed the ground around Bend has been covered in a sea of orange and black over the past few weeks. Maybe you've had to wash your windshield more frequently, or maybe you've been dodging these flying beauties while out on a trail. Well, the reason for this explosion of orange and black also happens to be our animal (or rather, insect) of the month: the California Tortoiseshell Butterfly. 

Photo courtesy of Frank Townsley, FineArtAmerica.com

The Nymphalis californica, or California Tortoiseshell, was first identified by entomologist Jean Baptiste Boisduval in 1852. The top side of the wings are orange-brown with large black spots and dark wing borders. The underside of the wings are dark mottled brown with darker wing bases. This coloring serves as camouflage for the butterflies - when the wings are closed the butterfly looks like a dead leaf. Their wingspan measures between 3.2 and 7 cm. 

The "Tortie" overwinters as an adult and on mild midwinter days, can be found enjoying the sunshine outside of their overwinter location. Adults emerge in late May to early June and emigrate soon after, going north or east to higher elevation. This species is known for having population explosions. They are currently making their way through Oregon and the PNW, which explains why we're seeing such an abundance as of late! 

The cause of these population explosions is not as random as one might think. Entomologist and UC Davis Professor Arthur M. Shapiro, Ph. D., explains the reason for the California Tortoiseshell's massive population boom: 

"Occasionally the upslope movement encounters the retreating snowline, forcing females to lay only on Ceanothus that have melted out. This can result in enormous larval densities, total defoliation of the hosts and mass starvation -- while close at hand, plants that were still under snow when the eggs were laid sit absolutely untouched!" 

The range of the Tortie remains mostly on the west coast of the United States. From British Columbia south along the Pacific Coast to Baja California Norte, east to Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico. Rare migrants to Michigan, Pennsylvania, New York, and Vermont after periodic population explosions in Mexico.

Various species of wild lilac (Ceanothus) provide habitat for the butterflies to lay eggs, and food for caterpillars. Adults visit flowers of many kinds, aphid and scale honeydew, damaged fruit, sap. A particular favorite of the California Tortoiseshell is a mud puddle. The insects enjoy the damp surface, and it is possible to see hundreds or even thousands packed side-by-side enjoying the mud.

If you thought this year's population explosion was bad, just wait for next year! Following wildfires, buried Ceanothus seeds germinate and surviving Ceanothus resprout profusely, growing more rapidly than young conifer seedlings. This means we will likely be seeing a lot more of these guys next summer!