Leon Turnbull Photography

I totally forgot about this one for some reason. This is 24 ft. high Salmon Falls in Oregon, on the Little North Santiam River. We arrived here a bit before sunset, and the place was packed. It is a very popular area for swimming and fishing and jumping off the waterfall. There were a couple kids jumping just prior to us arriving at the waterfall, and quite a few people lounged out on the rock at the top of the falls. I had to wait patiently as the sun slowly sank, and while the crowd dissipated, which it eventually did. I still needed to wade out into the middle of the river to take my shot, as there were a couple fisherman that arrived late, and they were in my way, so I found a different angle from the middle of the river so they would not be in my shot. Meanwhile Tara and the kids and the dog waited patiently for me on the shoreline, along with the mosquitoes.

I did get out hiking last weekend but did not find any new waterfalls so you are stuck with another one from Oregon. This is University Falls and not particularly photogenic at low flows, but I did what I could. This weekend I will hopefully fare a little better with my waterfall hunting. And the rain is coming next week. Finally. So that means the waterfalls here will start flowing again. Yipee!

This is Fern Rock Falls in Oregon. It is a pretty little thing. I think this might be the last decent image I have from my summer trip to Oregon. That’s all she wrote, folks. Now we just need the rainy season to start here so I can go get some more images. I do plan to hike this weekend, but there’s really not a lot flowing right now.

This is Upper Bridge Creek Falls in Oregon. It is not overly impressive, but would be better with higher water flow. I only photographed the upper tier of this falls since it was the most interesting. I got right out on the slippery rocks into the middle of the creek while my family watched non-nonchalantly hoping I did not fall down the lower section of the waterfall – or maybe it was just me hoping I would not slip.

The fog was a sweet and unexpected surprise. After going to Munson Creek Falls, I had fully expected that by the time we got up here to Bridge Creek, this area would be in full on sunlight. I was not planning to get any more decent photos on this day after Munson. When we arrived and I realized the light was still good, I had to stop and take as much advantage of it as I could. Thank you Lord for keeping the good light for us!

We first went across the road to the Upper Bridge Creek Falls, then went down to the Lower Falls which drops pretty much right into the Wilson River. Neither of the two falls are all that impressive really, and this lower one is half man-made, in that it flows through a pipe under the highway. I cut off the top of the photo right at the edge so you would not have to see the pipe or highway. It is an easy stroll down to the river. Jadon and I were ahead of my wife and Nekoda. When I got down there, I realized the best vantage point would be on the other side of the river. This meant I needed to cross said river. Which meant I needed my water shoes. I zipped on back up the trail to the car to get them. That is where I found my wife and second child sitting, waiting. Lame! Aren’t you two going to go down to see the waterfall? No, you can’t get to it, she said. What are you talking about, how could you possibly know that? I can tell from the bridge, she said. Ugh! There is a good view of the falls at the bottom of the trail! You need to go down there! Well, finally she relented and went down to see it. In the meantime, I found that crossing the river, well, was not difficult at all, but was indeed a lot deeper than it looked to be. The water rose up to my thighs, getting my pants slightly on the damp side. Nonetheless, I made it across without incident and set up shop to take my photos.