Burns, a small town of roughly 3,000 Oregonians, lies tucked in between miles of ranch land and sage-brush near the eastern border of the Beaver state. Make no mistake though, this is no ordinary small town. Burns, a city originally built around the practices of logging and cattle grazing, now serves as a spring-board for any and every outdoor activity imaginable. With 3.4 million surrounding acres owned and operated by the Burns-Hine’s Bureau of Land Management (BLM), the possibilities for outdoor recreation are infinite.

                  A little over a month ago, I began an internship for the Chicago Botanic Garden as a contractible employee, able to serve and work for various government agencies (I like to think of it as a mercenary internship). When hired, I was offered a position as an Outdoor Recreation Intern for the BLM office in Burns-Hines, OR. Looking back now, I could not be more grateful to have accepted the offer.

                  This place is extremely different from where I grew up, in the North-West suburbs of Chicago. I was born and raised to be a city-boy; however, this is the land of hunters, cowboys, and mountaineers. The cultural difference between my home-town and here was almost tangible on my first day. Although, as I am writing this, I find myself leaning more into the way of life out here and am beginning to see the bliss found in an area of such natural beauty and solitude. I am eager to see what else this town can teach me.

                  Speaking of learning, my partner (a Twin-Cities, Minnesota suburbanite) and I have been presented with many new challenges and adventures. The BLM has had us go on hikes in the local Steen’s Mountains in order to monitor campsites, help scout out a new trail, and assess Wilderness areas. We’ve also begun to utilize ATVs in order to traverse some of the more rugged landscape. The work here can be long and physically draining, but we always manage to come home proud of the job we did.

                  Camping season is upon us and we will be spending more nights out “in the field” in order to work on some more long term projects. Updates and more pictures to come in future posts.

-Carter Cranberg out of Burns-Hines Bureau of Land Management

Alvord Desert: Looking forward to doing some R&R in a tent out here

Fog on The Steen’s: One of the my favorite moments so far – standing near the top of the Steen’s as a cloud rolled over us

A Gorgeous Gorge