Basin Adventures: Hunting for Painted Rocks
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Klamath Rocks Halloween Event - Image Ann Marie Rainey
Autumn is a magical time in the Klamath Basin; mornings are crisp, skies are bluer, fall colors are bright and the last bits of warmth are beginning to fade. Autumn is also a great time to take the family out for an adventure, and what better way to adventure than hunt for painted rocks. It's like a never ending Easter Egg Hunt.
Basin Adventures is brought to you by the Klamath Falls KOA, your adventure base camp of the Klamath Basin.
You may have seen photos of painted rocks on Facebook, or possibly even while walking downtown. Many of these painted creations were inspired by a local Facebook group, Klamath Rocks.
Klamath Rocks was started by Ann Marie Rainey and Alicia Howard to bring smiles and happiness to the community. Recently I interviewed these great ladies at a rock painting party held at the Klamath Falls Children's Museum. (watch that video here)
“People get to interact with family and friends, get together, hide and paint, and just enjoy themselves together while they are doing it.” says Rainey. “We have had a lot of families get together and show pictures of them at the kitchen table, painting rocks and having fun together with big smiles on their face, and I am like, “That’s the best thing ever.” it made me happy to see them happy. It’s a snowball effect.” continues Rainey.
“Its an uplifting free community activity that all ages can take part in. The kids love hiding them and finding them in the rocks. The older more adult section of the group, really get into painting and the making the masterpieces for the kids. It's just something that has a draw in some facet of it to pretty much everybody.” states Howard.
The Facebook Group Page includes photos of rocks that are hidden and sometimes a clue is given to the location of the rock. Most rocks have an identifier on them to note the group.
““Horray! You found it! Keep or hide this rock. Post where you found it on KLAMATH ROCKS Facebook Page. Klamath Falls, Oregon.””
Rocks posted to the group are found and hidden all over the world. Recent postings show rocks have been found as far away as; Grants Pass, Winston, Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, Alaskan cruise ships and even in Germany. Popular locations closer to home include; Keller Park, Veterans Park, Klamath County Fairgrounds, Sugarman’s Corner, Main Street, hiking trails and other public locations.
Klamath Rocks does ask that you please follow a few rules when hiding your painted creations - for a details list please see the Klamath Rocks Facebook Page.
With over 4000 members creating and sharing rocks, these treasures are all over the place. The next time you are out and about, look around you might just find a great piece of happy uplifting painted artwork. When you do, snap a pic, share it on Facebook then keep it or re-hide.
Happy Hunting
Basin Adventures is brought to you by the Klamath Falls KOA. Centrally located in Klamath Falls, the Klamath Falls KOA is the perfect jump-off point to visit all the spectacular recreation sites of the Klamath Basin – Crater Lake National Park, Lava Beds National Monument, wildlife refuges, hiking, biking, fishing and so much more. Visit http://koa.com/campgrounds/klamath/ for more details and to book your next adventure base camp.