The Narrative Image

When I arrive at approximately 10:30 P.M., maybe 30 or 40 tents are still present. A large group of demonstrators are gathered under the large tarp in Chapman Square listening to various speakers, but not much else is going on. I walk around Chapman and Lownsdale Squares. The police presence is minimal with groups of 4 or five officers at block corners and attending the giant light/generators that have been brought in to illuminate the parks. Evidently, Tea Party demonstrators haven't cornered the market on poor spelling. As the announced deadline for evacuating the camp draws closer, more and more people begin filtering into the park blocks and lining the streets facing the parks, particularly 3rd street. Some people have come to serve as witnesses, some join the ranks of the demonstrators in the park, some have come to express their displeasure with the demonstrators, and some, like ghoulish NASCAR fans, have come to see what they hope will...

  Mt. St. Helens from Clearwater Viewpoint. The original question was, did I know of any good hikes that would showcase fall foliage… …which makes it hard to understand how I arrived at the Norway Pass trailhead, a landscape that intermittently looks as if it has been decorated by nuclear explosions. The first part of the trail ascended the shadowed side of a ridge that provided just enough cover to keep huckleberries cool to the taste.  Boundary Trail #1 dances on the ridges surrounding Mt. St. Helens ’ northern blast perimeter. Some patches of scrubby vegetation are sensitive to the season and erupt in fire-like reds and yellows. Unexpected landscapes evoke the sensual: Lush grass meadows of the Alps , fresh goat’s milk, and Heidi’s sweet-smelling bed in her grandfather’s hayloft. Warm fingers of light dry my sweaty brow, and confronted with such beauty, I dare to search the heavens for some promise that the god of deluges will ...

A sliver of impotent moon puttered so peripherally on a path near the southern horizon that normally shy stars blazed – emboldened - as they spun and twirled in their 14 billion year old cosmic dance - not even tired yet. A waxing crescent moon didn’t present much of an impediment to seeing the Milky Way stretching across the apparent dome of the sky. I affixed my camera to the tripod and set it up for a long exposure only to find that I hadn’t brought my remote shutter release. To get an exposure longer than 30 seconds, I’d either have to hold the shutter with my finger (which kind of defeats the purpose) or get creative with band aids and cardboard. I managed to get this four minute exposure before the band-aids unstuck themselves. * * * Like anecdotal stories of old time buffalo herds covering the plains, Winnebagos so numerous they can’t be counted inundate the Columbia Gorge – fleeing from smoke filled, sweaty cities. It is almost as if it were the last day to camp… ...