Bonneville Dam – Columbia River

One nice thing about the universe is that it pretty consistently follows rules. As hard as I have prayed for exceptions to the rules and as much as I would like the rules to submit or bend to my wishes, I guess I appreciate how they don’t. Consistent rules make science possible. When matter and energy act in a characteristic manner, it becomes possible to figure out what happens next.

Careful observations lead to experiments which lead to greater understanding of rules which sometimes leads to new interesting ways to manipulate matter and energy.

Observation: Golfer dies after lightning strike.
Hypothesis: Sky-god hates golf, golfers, or golf clubs.

Experiment: Initial attempts at making golf club shaped lightning rods.

Observation: Excessive cat petting results in mini lightning bolts.
Hypothesis: God may be a cat.
Experiment: Worship cat and see if life improves.

Careful scrutiny of disparate phenomena have resulted in today’s modern water-powered turbines which create millions of volts of electrical power by turning thousands of live cats against rotor housings lined with shag carpet

Original Power House on the Oregon side of the river

A universe that follows rules sometimes seems like a cold, heartless place where skeptics pooh-pooh supernatural interference, homeopathy and omnipotent invisible beings that spend inordinate amounts of time determining whether you are naughty or nice.

The same power house but this time viewed from the reservoir side.

It’s a universe where reason tends to look condescendingly towards carelessly described ‘miracles’ of escapes from tornados and train-wrecks and addiction filled lives.

2nd Powerhouse viewed from Table Mountain Trail

The real ‘miracle’ is an intricate universe where the rules are complex enough to allow for the ‘breath of life’ to animate creatures of dust...

…where love repeatedly winks in and out of existence like fireflies in a field…

Hubble Space Telescope Image – Gravitational lens

…where stars and galaxies coalesce in a headlong rush away from some unexplainable beginning…

Spillway – Bonneville Dam

… where clever monkeys impose their imperfect will on their poorly understood environments.

Lichen – Rock on Bradford Island

Quite without wits, a fungus appropriates photosynthetic algae in a symbiotic, perhaps parasitic relationship that allows them, together, to survive on rock or sterile soil or even in space.

Fish ladder – Bradford Island

Having electrical power is good.
Killing an entire species of salmon is bad.
Clever monkeys begin to seek balance.

Fish Ladder – Second Powerhouse – Washington Shore

Transmission Lines – Bradford Island

Beacon Rock in the background – View from Bradford Island

Bonneville Fish Hatchery – Tanner Creek – Oregon Shore

“For every 1000 salmon that Bonneville Hatchery releases, only three return as adults.”

-Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife-

White Sturgeon – Sturgeon Viewing Center – Bonneville Fish Hatchery

Rainbow Trout – Rainbow Trout Ponds – Bonneville Fish Hatchery

An opportunistic sea lion feeds on fish in the vicinity of Cascades Island. Opportunistic clever monkeys seek its death warrant. Balance, it seems, depends on your point of view.

Test Paddling the Thresher 140

Wilderness Systems has broadened their sit-on-top offerings this year with the introduction of the Thresher (this includes a 14 and 15.5 foot version). The Thresher seems designed to bridge a gap between overly stable, relatively slow fishing platforms and sleeker more touring-orientated craft, all for the sake of fisher-people who need to cover significant distances to reach their intended fishing locales, whether that's in the middle of a huge bay or out beyond the breakers in the open sea The characteristics that make this boat a good fishing option, should also make it a killer expedition photography platform/beer barge. I knew my test trials wouldn't be complete until I auditioned this state of the art bid for kayak fishing supremacy. The Thresher 140 I've probably been remiss for not highlighting this before, but the reason I've been able to rent and evaluate various sit-on-top kayaks is because of the reasonable and renter friendly policies of the ...

Miller Island Expedition: Columbia River Ghost Cult

My brother Fred sent me a checklist of things he didn’t want to forget for our second attempt at a Miller Island Expedition. Foil pans Steak Beer or whiskey/tequila Bacon Shovel TP Bug spray Homebrew Ghost repellents Scouting Miller Island from the Lewis and Clark Highway (Washington side of river) “Ghost repellents?” I asked. Well, it turns out that Fred had been doing some research and found an old article from American Anthropologist by Wm. Duncan Strong called The Occurrence and Wider Implications of a “Ghost Cult” on the Columbia River Suggested by Carvings in Wood, Bone and Stone. The article, written in 1945, revealed that bone carvings depicting figures with prominent rib cages, a symbol of death, were found in old cremation pits on Miller’s Island. Excerpts from the article: “It can be shown that among these peoples there was an old belief in the impending destruction and renewal of the world, when the dead would return…” “One of the most striking fea...

John Day River: Thirty Mile Creek to Cottonwood Bridge

"Ever since the creation of the world his invisible nature, namely, his eternal power and deity, has been clearly perceived in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse;" -Romans 1:20 "I'm not so sure about that, but whether or not we all make it through these rapids alive, I'm confident the grading criteria will be fair." - Scott "Get ready to explore your world without boundaries." - Wilderness Systems Owners Manual Sunrise found us on the outskirts of Wasco, high on the Columbia Plateau, our 3 vehicle convoy speeding through golden fields of wheat on toward Condon and then West to a 7:30 AM meeting with a rancher who would provide us a private launch site to the John Day river and also execute our car shuttle. Startling verdant fields, free of the vestiges of irrigation, belied narratives of drought that punctuated the news. The fresh born morning, still cool to the senses, felt like the fledgling hours of a...

The Narrative Image

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