“Shevlin Park”, Bend, Oregon

Description

“Shevlin Park”, Bend, Oregon

Tumalo Creek and riparian color in Bend’s Shevlin Park

Shevlin Park is one of the crown jewel’s of Bend Oregon’s Park System. The area of the park was camped in by John C. Frèmont and his party of 25 men during the winter of 1843. Encompassing nearly 1,000 acres, much of which is old growth Ponderosa and Larch forest, Shevlin was donated to the city in 1920.  Park offers wonderful natural gathering areas such as Freemont Meadows and two excellent hiking trails: The 2.5 mile Tumalo Creek trail, and the 6.0 mile  Park LoopTrail. In Spring the forest is refreshed with the aromas of Wild Rose and the sun-struck, rum raisin scent of Ponderosa bark. In autumn the riparian areas adjacent to Tumalo Creek are enlightened by fall color of colorful Aspen Groves and golden larch trees.

Glowing golden needles of Laris Occidentalis, the Western Larch Tree

This beautiful fine art print of Shevlin captures much of what makes this park magical. Larch trees proliferate here, which is unusual just 1/2 mile east of the park. The basin of Tumalo Creek holds enough humidity that both larch trees and Engleman Spruce both thrive in the park and few other areas in Central Oregon. The two golden larch trees in this image do an elegant job of adding texture and color to an already attractive setting.  Most old growth ponderosa trees in the park area were spared by Bend’s once robust logging industry, offering stunning vertical accents for nature lovers and photography lovers alike. An obvious but critical element of Shevlin is Tumalo Creek, the water source for Bend’s iconic Tumalo Falls.  Tumalo Creek is the obvious water source flowing through this fine art photo, drawing the viewer’s eye through this beautiful autumn scene.