An adventure with Sequoia at the Dalles Mountain Ranch

 Hiya Blog Pals.  
Sequoia says "Time for a hike".  I am not one to argue with Sequoia so let's go!

And....we are off!

Today we are exploring the Dalles Mountain Ranch.  A former homestead for a few families now a state park.

The trail today takes us all over the ranch.  You can see the power lines, the Columbia River and Mt. Hood in the background. 

The ranch was pretty quiet today.  There were people out for sure but the ranch is really popular during wildflower season.  But the sun is out and the temperature is in the 50s, not bad for January.

The ranch was originally homesteads from the 1850s.  The biggest homestead was the Crawford's.   In the late 1860s the Crawford boy married a local girl whose parents homesteaded the adjacent land.  Growing crops was a big fail but the Crawford's ranched the land for years (until the Great Depression hit).  Once the depression hit, a wealthy doctor bought the ranch, ranched it until it went bankrupt, and sold it to another ranching family in the area.  The Blakely's ranched the land until their retirement and then deeded it to the state in 1993. 

The park has preserved many building from the Crawford ranch.  Original buildings, the original home from 1905 (built from timber from the original homestead house), a cemetery and lots of random farm equipment. 

The plan was to eat lunch at the ranch and explore the area.  The park removed the picnic tables for the winter so we continued onward to another lunch spot.  Perhaps another time to explore the ranch?

The land out here is not great for growing crops.  There are a few groves of decidous trees planted randomly....or so it seems.

The Timber Culture Act of 1863 granted homesteader an additional 160 acres of land if they planted 40 acres of trees.  The belief at the time was that trees would bring rain to dry land.  The program lasted about 20 years and wait for it.....didn't work (shocker right).  Anyway.

Sequoia has informed to be quiet, quit the history less, and continue hiking.  Not wanting to upset this little dog we are off!