Category: Life

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Stomping up the Steens

June 17, 2008 { Photography, Travel }

A need for a hike spurred us up the north Steens Loop road, which, in mid-June, was not yet open to the summit. Instead, at Fish Lake, a grader blocked the road entirely and we had to go from there on foot. We hiked about eight miles into and up a place where spring has [...]

Anti-Rescue

June 17, 2008 { Photography, Travel }

Dinner was PB&J David smeared together using the hood of the ‘bru as a table at deepest dusk in Long Hollow. Long Hollow, an east-west passway through to the Alvord–the eastern, desert side of the Steens–in the narrow notch between Steens and Pueblo Mountains, takes all of the loneliness of the Alvord, all the vastness [...]

A Perfect Moment

June 17, 2008 { Photography, Travel }

Post-sunset Alvord Desert Full Sail Amber Ale 75 degrees (air) View more beautiful than many people have ever seen Emptiness, Solitude Alvord Hot Springs 104 degrees (water) Mineral smell Playa, mountains Mr. Pencil Bleached boards around tub A rolled up towel for a pillow Laying back and staring at sky

Indian Creek

June 17, 2008 { Photography, Travel }

I have long ignored the dirt road leading off up and west from Alvord Hot Springs, heading up the steep, steep eastern ascent of Steens Mountain. I assumed it went nowhere; most of the little spurs don’t around there. On crowded days in the Alvord, this is where people camp (by “crowded” I mean: when [...]

Artifacts

June 17, 2008 { Life }

I failed again on this trip, I did. I still have never found an arrowhead, despite inclinations to the contrary. I look and peer and stare at my feet a lot when I’m in the hinterlands. I can’t seem to pull it off. But leave it to Mr. Pencil’s keen eyes and we have something [...]

An Exciting Sighting

June 17, 2008 { Photography, Travel }

It is difficult to explain the scale and peculiarity of the Catlow Valley. It’s as if everything is stretched out wider and thinner here in this mysterious part of southeastern Oregon. Distances between things are far, far, as if the land were inflated beneath you like a balloon. Such strange places, with such vastness. Catlow [...]

Blitzen Redux

June 17, 2008 { Photography, Travel }

One dusty day about two years ago, I, solo, in the Catlow Valley, after suffering misdirected starts and inaccurate maps, found the ghost town of Blitzen, Ore. You can see photos from that endeavor here. This time I brought David. This time at sundown. This time someone had graded the mud-rutted road enough that it [...]

Things I Learned about Lakeview

June 17, 2008 { Photography, Travel }

Lakeview, Ore., named for its vantage over “formerly larger” Goose Lake (now shorelined some 15 miles from the town), is the county seat of the eponymous Lake County in south central Oregon. With about 2700 folks, it’s a veritable bustling metropolis, when considered against the vastness of Lake County–fully a third of the county’s population [...]

Someone is Slightly Sad

June 17, 2008 { Travel }

North of Eugene, above tract houses so cheek by jowl they appear tesselated, a single mylar balloon is escaping. It’s metallic and draws the eye because there are no clouds and it is sunny. Likely someone below, likely someone young, is momentarily sad.

David Hatches a Plan, Part II

June 17, 2008 | 1 comment { Travel }

I-5 south near Eugene; I am driving. “You know what I’m going to do?” asked David. “What?” “I’m going to start an algae oil colony. Normally you need glass tubes but I don’t have glass tubes and I don’t want to buy them. But I can still have an algae colony in our garage. I [...]

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From the Archive

From the archive, a few random posts that you might not have seen before.

Wonderful games with Caslon