Travel

I have a huge soft spot for cowgirls
The Omak Stampede showcases some of the best horse riding cowgirls of the Pacific Northwest and western Canada every August (2013).

Cowgirls. Now what’s not to like about genuine, boot n’ jeans wearing cowgirls? Absolutely nothing. I love ’em, and they put on an amazing show every year at the Omak Stampede, one of the funnest rodeos in the West. You can see scenes I filmed last year. If you are in driving distance, mark your calendar and plan to go, and be sure to give those fabulous horse handlin’ ladies and cowboys some big cheers during the rodeo contest. It is a fabulous show. (Click on photo to open a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Sherars Falls, Oregon, a historic Native fishing ground

 

Anglers cast for spring Chinook on the Deschutes River, at a spot managed by the Warm Springs Indian Reservation (2014).
The Deschutes River smashes through a fishing ground managed by the Warm Springs Indian Reservation (2014).
Anglers cast for spring Chinook on the Deschutes River, at a spot managed by the Warm Springs Indian Reservation (2014).
Platforms erected by tribal fishermen line the Deschutes River, at a spot managed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs (2014). When I visited the first week of June 2014, spring Chinook were running.

For those who have never lived in the Northwest or fished, the significance of fishing to the region historically cannot be underestimated. Fishing is a unifying force among many diverse groups, a source of economic development for many small communities, and a cultural and historic legacy for Native Americans.

Fishing rights granted in treaties signed by the U.S. Government with tribes in Oregon and Washington remain in legal force. So-called “fishing wars” and “fish-ins” involved nonviolent and at times near-confrontational encounters among Native fishing activists seeking to reclaim fishing rights granted to them in treaties. These disputes attracted national attention. All of this culminated in the 1974 Boldt Decision that restored those rights in Washington State, and earlier with the Belloni Decision, in 1969, in Oregon. (Click on the Boldt Decision link to get a quick dose on this complex Northwest issue from a paper I wrote a few years back.)

Today, there are fewer fish, mostly salmon, because of decades of hydroelectric dam use on the Columbia River water system and development, but there is also shared management of the fisheries. Sherars Falls, on the Deschutes River, is a historic fishing area managed by the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs, as provided by treaty rights. I saw lots of tribal fishermen here this week, along with sports fishermen, who pay a daily fee to the tribe. Though developed, with a major railway, power lines, and roads, it is still wild, and the thrashing of Chinook caught on a line is one of the greatest things to experience. And this was really one of the most beautiful places I have visited in a while.

(Click on each photo for a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Oregon backroad in Wasco County

 

The sun casts shadows on the rolling farm country of Wasco County, Oregon, near the Dalles.

With stock images, one normally is supposed to provide some sort of cliché phrase about the road less travelled, the path to wisdom, finding one’s place involves windy roads, or a variation on this theme. For me, this was just a nice moment on a very seldom used highway (Oregon Hwy. 197), just south of The Dalles. It was early June, the crops were still growing, and the evening light was hitting the hills and casting shadows on the road. I pulled over and snapped this photo. I simply loved the scenery. This area is one of the premiere bicycle touring areas of the country. (Click on the photo to see a larger photograph on a separate picture page.)

The glory of the Roman pecking order
Statues of the Rome’s leading citizens are on display at the Vatican Museum in Rome. There are so many lessons to be learned from the Empire that rose, and then crashed from within (well, bad plumbing, a black plague, and a few enemies also played a role). I shot this in 2006.

 

Rome provides a fabulous example of hierarchy and status, of slave and master, citizens and non-citizens, not to mention privileged and non-privileged citizens. Does that sound familiar to anyone, like realities they are familiar with in the 21st century? (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

In celebration of running: something that totally changed my life

Today I read a story about someone I once knew who met a tragic fate. It was a piercing experience, as a whirlwind of memories came back to a time in my life when I made some absolutely critical life decisions how I wanted to pursue my precious time on this planet, how I wanted to be as a person, and what I wanted to achieve. Nothing turned my life around in the right direction more positively and more purposefully than running. Everything seemed to change after I picked up this activity that I continue to this day, despite gaggles of injuries over the years (who cares). It is wonderful to look back at critical moments and realize, excellent choice. Well done.

My smart choice was getting my first pair of terrible running shoes and hitting the pavement (I ran on pavement for years) when I was 15 years old, a sophomore in high school. All of this led to so many positive things, including being able to run across the Grand Canyon in September 2005 with an old UNC-CH grad school roommate, Jeff. Jeff did a rim-to-rim-to-rim (R2R2R) dash, south to north to south. I met him on the north rim and did an R2R. We lucked out and got a cabin just days before we were scheduled to run. We had perfect weather. Jeff and his family were gracious hosts to me in Flagstaff. And so funny to think, this kind of transformative event, with a phenomenal colleague, was the result of me deciding to do some smart things at the right time. Here’s to wisdom and rewards it may bring. Thank yourself for being smart. You may be smarter than you think.

Camera note: all of these are simple point and shoot photos taken with my consumer grade Canon digital. I punched up the contrast, a look I like. This post is more about the experience and emotions and less about the pixels and striving for art. (Click on each photo to see larger pictures in separate picture pages.)

Tok, gateway to the ‘Great Land’
My favorite sign in the whole world, I think, greets visitors driving into Alaska from Canada in the tiny junction town of Tok. Spent many memorable nights here over the years (taken in 2004).
Many have seen their visions of a better life dashed in the cold and mosquito swarms of the north. Ask Jack London, who wrote about that in Call of the Wild back in the Gold Rush boom of the late 19th century and early 20th century (photo taken in 2008).

By far, my favorite sign in the world, I think, is this one that greets visitors as the drive in on the Al-Can Highway from the Yukon and arrive in the first junction and town in Alaska, called Tok. Go straight, you arrive at Fairbanks. Head left, you come to Glenallen, and then on to Valdez or Anchorage. Do not be fooled. Tok is also a graveyard of dreams, where many who dreamed of a better life, or escaping their problems or the law, or perhaps a Permanent Fund Dividend check without working for it, busted. Alaska is filled with dreamers and also broken dreams. It is what makes it Alaska, and I still love it so. (Click on each photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

The John Wayne Trail … it’s alright

Today I biked one of my favorite off-road trails, the John Wayne Trail. The trail itself runs 100 miles. The ride I normally do on the trail, from Rattlesnake Reservoir near North Bend, outside Seattle, to the old train tunnel at Snoqualmie Pass, is 36 glorious, smooth off-road miles and an excellent way to see some of the front range of the still snowy Cascades. Good for running and even horseback riding too. Yes indeed, it is very much alright!

Piskefløde med jordbær (strawberries and cream to us non-Danish)
It cannot get more Danish than this (2000).

There is nothing more Danish than strawberries and cream in late May. Ah the wonderful memories of my too short of a stay in Denmark in the spring and summer of 2000. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Crow Creek Gold Mine, Girdwood, Ak.
The old placer mine is located just outside of beautiful Girdwood, Ak. (2005).

About 30 miles from Anchorage you’ll find Girdwood, which is one of the prettiest places in the entire world. From there, follow the signs to the old placer mining gold operation known as Crow Creek. Today it is a popular tourist attraction. I visited the mine in May 2005, so time to trot out one of the old pictures. I loved this place. But, I loved tons of places in Alaska. (Click on the photo to see a larger picture on a separate picture page.)

Danish colonial legacy in Greenland

 

A statue of Danish Lutheran missionary Hans Egede overlooks Nuuk’s harbor (1998).

A statue of Hans Egede stands over the harbor in Nuuk, capital of Greenland. Greenland was long a colony of the Kingdom of Denmark, and among the most prominent and I would say beneficent colonial settlers was  Egede, a Lutheran missionary who in the early 1700s established the then colonial town of Godthåb, which was later renamed Nuuk. This photo dates from 1998, and I wonder how much has changed on this hillside since. I imagine a fair bit. I ended up visiting Nuuk several times over three years. It was among the most interesting northern cities that I have explored.