The Narrative Image

  Ruby and Gemma celebrate the end of the world in 2020 In August of 2021, as Summer rounded out the year with its characteristic spurt of heat, Oregon wildfires decided it was finally time to make their bid for infamy and proceeded to scorch the sky by burning 10 times the acreage they burned the previous year. Then, also, U.S. COVID-19 deaths surged past the 600,000 mark (currently 1,127,152) a year and a half after Trump economic advisor Larry Kudlow reassured the public, “We have contained this, I won’t say airtight, but pretty close to airtight. We have done a good job…”   Owhyee Canyonlands in 2021 The Southeast corner of Oregon had long been enticing Kip, Uncle Rico, and me ever since our introduction to Steens Mountain, and though we knew the area was isolated and often desert-like, we also reasoned that triple-digit temperatures somehow seemed more wholesome in an actual desert rather than urban Portland. Shifting winds modulated the atmosphere from opaque to hazy to ...

The Columbia River Gorge 09/05/2017 at 3:00am (As viewed from the Cape Horn Viewpoint on SR 14. Phoca Rock visible in middle of river.) The Columbia River Gorge 05/31/2010 (from Cape Horn Viewpoint) I've aligned these images based on the positions of Phoca Rock and the navigational structure in the middle of the river to estimate what areas are burning. When I arrived at the viewpoint, it seemed I had missed the explosive advance of the fire's front. Still, as the wind gusted, and photographers scrambled to secure their tripods, one or another tree or other combustible item would explode like a solar flare. The smoke stung my eyes. The buffeting breeze reminded me of speeding through central Oregon on a 104 degree day with the windows down. Whenever the breeze lagged, voluminous, billowing smoke would hang briefly, as if in collusion with the ravenous flames, attempting to cover their sins of gluttony. Starting around 4:00am, I started receivin...

I told Kip and Uncle Rico about a magical lake that drains at low tide revealing channels of flowing catfish that you can catch with a bucket. So we set sail, testing the waters as we went... ...but the pelicans already knew. Cafeteria queue  Uncle Rico strikes a classic heroic beer drinking pose (I call this one the '10 o'clock meeting') Last Friday when I left work, I thought I caught the faintest hint of autumn gently wafting on the breeze. This scene seemed to confirm the arrival of fall, but Uncle Rico reminded me we were downstream from a super fund site. End of summer lakes leave broad fertile plains around their perimeters. Uncle Rico and Kip engage in a competition to see who can catch the smallest fish. Dr. Jekyll clouds begin their amazing transformations. Far-away rumblings are carried on the wind. Even though the waning tide has begun to suck all the water out of the lake promising the w...