going down the line

Late this afternoon, before it began to snow, I snapped a picture of the old train station in Bend, Oregon. It is now the home to an art collective called Art Station, which offers community sponsored art classes to children and adults. I looked carefully along the roadway to see the vestige of old railroad tracks, but could find none and know, if I go by the historical museum, I'll probably find old photos and learn its history. In an earlier post I related how I became infatuated with trains as a child and this thrill has never left me. I went to a railroad museum in San Diego recently and bought caps of the now defunct Southern Line and the Southern Pacific. I don't think I'll ever wear these odd-looking engineer's caps nor hang them on hooks. I am still puzzled by my impulse. The emblems on them were beautifully embroidered and reminded me how exciting it was to see these lines' colorful freight cars whizzing by.


Yesterday I mentioned that I will be taking a hiatus from Bend Daily Photo starting in January and will be starting a new blog. Briefly, through strange circumstances, I decided to volunteer for what was to be a short while with an international service organization called Amizade. Upon learning of my blogging experience and liking my writing skills, the director asked me almost jokingly if I would be interested in doing a blog and a cohesive narrative of a number of their sites. Anyway, I am leaving first for northern Brazil to take pictures, write and help out at a medical facility and school in a small city on the Amazon. After that I fly to Cochabamba, Bolivia and do the same at an orphanage. After several weeks I leave for Tanzania via England where I will be in the "bush" near the Uganda and Rwanda border where volunteers are putting in water systems for villagers. I then cross Tanzania on my own and will be able to go on a safari through the Serenghetti. I then fly East through Hong Kong and New York to Jamaica and spend two weeks at a school up in the mountains. Finally I return to America and go to Arizona to the Navajo Nation for two weeks and help at an Indian school. At the end of April, I'll be back in Oregon and wonder whether it was all a dream or whether it was real. That's it. How does it feel? without a home .....like a complete unknown...like a rolling stone! Thanks Bob D.

Rise and Shine

I have been remiss in posting this week and hope to be able to show scenes of Bend, Oregon for the next several days until Thanksgiving plans take me elsewhere. Then my posting may be spotty again, until I return home after the first week in December. I have been waking early and seeing remarkable sunrises on the high desert and felt compelled to share this view taken from my front porch. My head is bursting with new ideas and thoughts predicated by a great upcoming adventure which will take me to many amazing places. I will be leaving Bend, Oregon for 4 months and will be creating a new blog which I hope you will be interested in following. I will include details in upcoming posts. A new morning to all of you!

resting place

I am not sure what caused this ponderosa pine node to fall. I saw it and similar new growth lying on the duff along the Benham Falls trail last week near Bend, Oregon. I so often have questions about natural phenomena I see on my hikes especially in the fields of geology or botany and never learn the answers. I shift my focus onto the aesthetic aspect of the object at hand and let it take my thoughts.

Endearing?

Yesterday I spied three mule deer not far from my house in Bend, Oregon. This isn't unusual here the since urban growth boundary has been pushed increasingly into wildlife habitat which contain scent trails that have been used for centuries. I am not here to debate whether the deer population has increased or decreased over the past years. The subject becomes unpleasant especially when talking to hunting enthusiasts or local farmers who allege their crops are almost purposefully munched. In any case, having originally been raised in the heart of the city of Chicago and then transplanted to the suburbs of Southern California in my youth, meant that seeing deer was an awe-inspiring event. Only after moving to Oregon in my early twenties and living in rural areas did this experience become almost commonplace. Nonetheless, there is still something so special about these innocent ungulates. I observed their behavior for hours when I worked on fire lookouts many years ago and learned much of their gentle personality. Seeing these few still brings me joy and reminds me of a world that once existed before there were so many of us.

Good Morning

I have been away from Bend, Oregon, for over a week and returned late last night from visiting San Diego, Chicago and Pittsburgh. I took many photographs of these locales and may enjoy posting them at a later date in another venue but for now I want to stick to my resolve of showing pictures specific to my community.

As I arose this morning, I watched the sun rise over the high desert sky and was gladdened to be back home in Oregon, a place to live that offers its residents such a myriad of diverse climactic zones and open spaces.

This state has, of course, its share of the blight of tasteless suburban sprawl which is so sadly common throughout America, but it is relatively sparse, geographically limited, and easily es- capable. Today in a matter of moments, I can step outside and see the jagged, now snow-white mountains, the thick pine forests or the open plains and be awestruck by the glitter of pulsating luminescent sparks bouncing off these vistas of grandeur. Lingering are the memories of airports, hotels, towns and distant people, but these are fading. In the light of this brilliant morning of this new day, I am recreated and home again.

In the Badlands

It is early in the morning at the airport in Portland, Oregon, and have some time between flights to post for Bend, Oregon, Daily Photo. As promised, I wanted to show some of the landscape of the recently established Badlands Wilderness Area which is 17 miles east of Bend, Oregon. One of several hiking trails lead to Flatiron Rock, a peculiar geologic formation of cooled molten lava piled high off the desert floor. Here I found many natural treasures. Along the path there are numerous caves and fissures to explore. I sought to find drawings from early natives but came up empty-handed. Instead I was treated to seeing unusual crystal formations created from dripping water, colorful green and orange lichen, and, of course, in the process disturbed lots of small scurrying things, primarily lizards and voles. In the above photo, I shot a picture of the many windows and arches that adorn this remarkable place. It is an easy flat walk of about an hour to this spot but, oddly enough, is sparsely visited. I have a new place to bring guests who love the outdoors. It is a place that will be remembered, I assure you.

Home on the range?

On several previous posts I have mentioned that Bend, Oregon, is located in Central Oregon on the high desert. The above photo, taken this weekend on a hike to the Badlands Wilderness area 17 miles East of Bend, gives a fairly good representation of the countryside lying in the rain shadow of the Cascade Mountain range. The trees that flourish in this semi-arid environment are junipers. They are generally short, with tough gnarly bark, rough light green needle-like or scale-like leaves and aromatic inedible blue berries. The soil is composed of pumice, lava and igneous rock and is the remnants of the huge explosion and fiery flow from the remains of Mt. Mazama 90 miles away, which is the site of present day Crater Lake.
There are many fascinating rock formations and caves in this location, which I hope to show in a subsequent post. I may be able to share one tomorrow, but if not, I will not be back in town until a week from Wednesday.