Oregon at Last!

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Oregon, Here I Come!

While the Land Rover is getting finished up, I decided to take a little jaunt into Oregon before it got too cold and snowy. I know, snow covered landscapes are beautiful... they just make for dangerous driving. I do wish I had the Land Rover in tow, though. It sure would make it a lot easier to explore the little side roads where America's real treasures lie. As it is, I'll go as far as I can in BABS, and hike or bike the rest of the way. (And, for those of you who don't know, BABS stands for Big Ass BusS. Cute, huh?)

On with the story...
It was a great drive up Hwy 299 to the Oregon Border. And, everywhere I stopped, friendly people would always ask me about Vanishing America. I'll tell you, that artwork on the RV is just the ticket to get people thinking about this project and about what's disappearing in their communities.

My first stop was just outside of a tiny little former logging town called Lakeview, just north of Goose Lake where Hwy 395 meets up with Hwy 140. It was a gorgeous drive, especially when I hit the snowstorm.

That's right, I ran smack into a snowstorm. But, not to worry, it only lasted about 30 minutes and nothing stuck. I have to admit, though, it was fun, and beautiful. It occurred just as the sun was setting over Goose Lake. And, as luck would have it, I had the dash video camera running the whole time.

I've uploaded the video below, but since this is the first video I've tried to upload to the blog, I'm not sure if it will work on all platforms. So, if you can't play the video, please let me know. Oh, and let me know if you like the soundtrack. It's a song called I Wish You Would by the Breeze Kings. They're a hot blues band out of Atlanta, GA. You can check them out at www.myspace.com/breezekings. They have two albums out now and just got voted Best Blues Band in Atlanta by the readers of Creative Loafing. If you're in Atlanta, you absolutely have to go see them. And, if you're not in Atlanta, and you like blues, you have to buy their CDs. Every song on them is PURE GOLD!

Alright, enough of that. Back to the trip...

When I got into town, I got a few groceries at the local Safeway and headed out Hwy 140 West to a little RV campground called Junipers Reservoir RV Resort for the night. It's a great place, situated on an 8,200 acre ranch in Oregon's high desert. And, Mary, my host, was a perfect angel. The next morning she and I talked about how the area is changing, how we need to find a middle ground between environmentalism and development, and how there are still a few folks hardy enough to spend a full 12 months out here, even when the snowstorms hit (and don't let the video fool you. The storms out here hit HARD!) And, Mary herself is a hardy soul. She and her husband (grandparents both of them) head south about 350 miles during the winter when they take the cattle down to "greener pastures." And they do it the old-fashioned way -- via a bunch of cowboys and a good ole' cattle round-up. I'll tell you, I am impressed!

As I'm writing this, I'm recovering from Mary's recommendation of the 7 mile hike around the ranch that the Resort is built on. And, no, I'm not such a wuss that I can't hike 7 miles. It's just that it's a tad uncomfortable to hike 7 miles with a twisted ankle and a blister. (I got the blister today, but I got the twisted ankle back when I camped at the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Shingletown, CA.

Despite the pain, it was a great hike. The air was brisk and cool, the scenery was gorgeous, and I felt like I was a kid again, exploring the woods and fields around where I grew up.

Most of the hike was easy, along a dirt road that runs around the property, but being the curious adventurer that I am (don't laugh!), I wandered off the trail and into the high desert backcountry from time to time. And, I'm glad I did. I got to commune with nature. I know that sounds like something a hippie tree-hugger would say, but I mean it. I wandered off the beaten path and stepped into the wilderness that few people get to see. In amongst all the beautiful blue skies, green trees, and yellow pastures, the most interesting things I saw, and the most photogenic (at least for my style of photography), were the scattered tree trunks left over after the 2002 fires that swept through the area. Much of the forest has had time to regrow, but the new trees are so small compared to the hulking behemoths that the fire left behind. It was almost as if the fire selected certain trees and left others intact.

While the ranch raises cattle, the whole area is host to deer, antelope, elk, coyote, the occasional mountain lion, and plenty of ducks and geese. It's real wilderness. And the potential for becoming part of the food chain is real, too. But, the most dangerous creatures I came across were deer, a few chipmunks, and a little grass snake. But I was ready! I had my bear spray and my machete at the ready. (Hey, that rhymes.)

Well, it's getting late, I'm getting tired, and my writing is beginning to ramble. I'll say goodnight, and as always, stay tuned. The adventures are just beginning...

Wild Horses... Icons of the American West

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Part I:
Helping these Icons thrive... history and destruction.

Up until about 10 million years ago, horses (and their ancestors) roamed over 60 percent of the present day continental United States. From that time until about 10,000 years ago, with their migration North into Canada, and across the ice bridge into Russia, and South into Central and South America, their numbers here dwindled to just a few small, scattered herds. We stayed relatively "horseless" until sometime around the 1500s when horses were reintroduced to North America by the Spanish and English. It is these horses and their descendants that gave life to the iconic roaming herds of the Wild West.

But, with Man's encroachment on their territory through his self-proclaimed Manifest Destiny...

The American claim is by the right of our manifest destiny to overspread and to possess the whole of the continent which Providence has given us for the development of the great experiment of liberty and federative self-government entrusted to us. It is a right such as that of the tree to the space of air and earth suitable for the full expansion of its principle and destiny of growth.

John O'Sullivan, 1845

...the wild horse has been crowded into ever smaller parcels of land. And whenever an entity is forced into too small an area, whether that entity be man or beast, that area becomes over-burdened and decimated, ultimately resulting in land that is devoid of sustenance for even the smallest band of creatures. We've seen it with cattle over-grazing as well as with human consumption. Too much stress on an ecosystem will cause that ecosystem to fail.

And it's this stress on the horses' ecosystem, with Man taking it over for farming and habitation, and horse populations too large for their remaining lands to support, that caused the Federal Government to step in and take measures to begin reducing their population. Thousands of undernourished and weak horses were removed from their herds and sent to processing plants for feed, cosmetics, and industrial supplies. Over time, the populations were culled even further to include perfectly healthy horses -- partly as a means to reduce the stress on the land, and partly to keep up with the increasing demand for horse-based products.

The emotional part of this tale is beautifully told by John Huston's The Misfits, starring Clark Gable, Montgomery Clift, and Marilyn Monroe. Mostly character-driven, the movie does a great job of depicting the desperation of the wild horse as two down-on-their-luck wranglers (Gable and Clift) try to make a few bucks rounding up the last of the ill-fated mustang herds.

As horse lovers began to recognize the plight of this vanishing icon, they began to foster these horses and set aside land of their own so that the Wild Mustang could once again roam strong and free. Diane Nelson's Wild Horse Sanctuary is one of these places.

A rocky, tree-lined and scrub covered 5000 acres of Mustang paradise located in Shingletown, CA, the Sanctuary sits at the bottom of a sloping hillside that will test the limits of any hiker in the summer, but becomes a virtual garden of eden in the spring. This small patch of land is where over 300 wild, feral, rescued and donated North American Mustangs call home.

I spent 3 days camping in the woods near their tiny, drought-stricken watering hole, hoping to get some candid shots and compelling video footage of these magnificent animals in what, these days, passes for their natural habitat.

And, even though 5000 acres is a lot of land, it is nowhere near enough for 300 horses to survive on without help. Horses are migratory grazers, just like bison or elk. When they strip an area of food, they must move on to the next area of abundance. When they strip that one bare, they move on to the next. And by the time they come back to where they started (having given it time to reseed and sprout anew), that area is once again lush with food. But with most of today's lands fenced off or developed, these animals can't migrate like they once did, and they are forced to subsist on lands that can never have time to regenerate. So, they must be fed or they must die.

And, Diane has chosen to feed them -- as have many rescue workers who have taken on this tremendous task of saving these beautiful animals. In order to keep their interaction with humans to a minimum, and thus help them retain their wild characteristics, hay is dropped off at various locations for the horses to come eat at their leisure. Without this hay, the horses would literally starve, as they've already eaten and trampled virtually every bit of food naturally available to them on the limited property.

It's far from a perfect world for the horses, but with all the competition for space from developers, farmers, and the American Way of Life, it's the best that anyone at this moment in time can do.

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Part II
Three days in the WILD... photographing Wild Mustangs!

Wild... It's all in how you look at it. Does it remove you from the convenience of the local Kwik-e-Mart? Do you have to pack in everything you'll need to survive? Does your cel phone stop getting reception past a certain point? If you "fall down go boom" will anyone come to your rescue?

It doesn't matter if you're only a mile or so from a road. If your goal is to rough it without help, then for all practical purposes, you're in the wilderness.

Now, to be honest, I did have to leave the "wilderness" at one point and tend to some domestic errands in town. But, it wasn't to go get a burger or to take a nap in the air conditioning. No, it was an urgent, quick errand, and the remaining 90% of my time was spent with the horses... in the wilderness. That's my story, and I'm sticking to it!

And, I'll admit, my stay with these incredible creatures was both exhausting and exhilarating. It's hot out there. And dry. But the horses made it all worthwhile.

On my first day, Diane took a few moments and showed me how to get around the property on a photocopy of a topographic map she had. We had a little bit of difficulty finding the correct streambed on the map, but once it was located, I was off to find the watering hole. According to the map, the watering hole was only about a mile from the road, so it shouldn't be too difficult to just strap on my full complement of gear and set up camp all in one trip.

Well, I still managed to follow the wrong streambed (it being dry season, there were several from which to choose), and take the wrong turn on the path (I went left when I should have gone right), and I soon found myself almost to the far edge of the property almost 3 miles from where I needed to be. After having lugged 100lbs of camera and camping gear 2 miles in and another mile up the hillside, I picked a spot, dropped the gear, and scouted the territory around me hoping to find signs of the watering hole.

Another mile of hiking through dusty, rocky terrain and all kinds of scratchy scrub and manzanita, I neared the top of the ridge and still wasn't anywhere close to water. Fortunately, I brought plenty with me. Having reached a nearly impassable stretch of dense foliage, I retraced my steps and made my way back down the ridge toward the road where I parked the car.

I was exhausted. I began my hike around 9:30am and it was now after 2pm. My legs were trembling from carrying so much weight, and my spirits were crushed because I couldn't find such an "easy to find" watering hole.

I had totally given up on my idea to camp and track the wild mustangs, and was about 10 minutes from the car, when I saw an angel.

No, I wasn't hallucinating. On her way to the watering hole to change out the memory cards in her cameras was National Geographic photographer, Melissa Farlow. She was there on assignment, and had heard I was there to photograph for my Vanishing America project. (Word does get around!) Boy, was I glad to see her!

She told me we were very close to the watering hole, and she had me put down my gear and follow her. And, she was right. Not more than 100 yards from where I stood was the dried creek bed. The correct one this time! And another 100 yards beyond that was the triple set of shallow pools, fed by a trickle of a mountain stream where the wild horses went to drink.

From there on, I was in my element. I set up camp amongst a grove of trees on the east side of the creekbed, far enough away from the watering hole so as not to spook the horses when they came by for a drink.

I set up two video cameras in varying strategic (and hidden) locations to get footage of the bands coming in and out of the area, and I took to various hiding spots with my still cameras to get the best vantage point for some great horse portraits.

It was a lot of work to do on my own, but for now, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Now, Wild Horses are a skittish bunch, and even though these guys were used to seeing humans occasionally, they were no exception. Any move I made could send them running off in another direction, ruining any chance I had of getting a decent shot. And, sometimes I wasn't the only one to send them running. Since the horses tended to group themselves into small bands of anywhere from 3 to 15, the arrival of another band could be enough to cause them to turn tail and head for the hills.

But, through patience, persistence, and keeping an ear out for the sound of hoof on rock, I managed to have at least one camera in the right place at the right time, and came away with some successful shots. And, even though some of the shots are just "documentary" and don't meet the high standards I have for my artwork, they are great images nonetheless. This image, for instance, of the horse that had had just about enough of the heat was fortunately captured both as a still and as hi-def video. And, he was doing exactly what I had wanted to do since I'd arrived -- go for a swim!

Unfortunately, there wasn't enough water for me to take a dip. There was just enough for the horses to come by for a drink and then mosey back to wherever they came from so they could attend to whatever business horses have to attend to.

It's a little surreal when all you see are full-grown horses. But on occasion, I was fortunate enough to see a momma with her little foal. Life out on the Sanctuary is protected, but it's tough. And it's real. And these horses are living life just like they had for millions of years... playing, fighting, mating, and having babies. And, the babies are as healthy and playful as anyone would expect a foal to be. But, they're obedient, too. They know that they'd better not get too far away from mom and dad, lest they become lost, or worse yet, lunch for a hungry mountain lion.

All in all, it was a tiring, but wonderful experience. And, although much of what I've come back with is documentary, I've learned a lot about how to photograph horses in the wild. Granted, the herds in Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming may be more difficult to track, much less get close enough to for pictures, but I at least have an idea of how to approach them -- and, more importantly, how to set up the next shoot so that I can obtain some truly great images.

Sleeping with the Horses...

I'm back!

Once again, I'm beat. Three days of camping and shooting in the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Shingletown has flat out exhausted me. Damn, I'm out of shape! I was camped only about a 15 minute walk from the road, but it was tough terrain. The whole area was hot, dry, rocky wilderness (and, yes, for all practical purposes, the Sanctuary IS wilderness terrain).

And, I got some great pictures. And some great video footage, as well. But, you'll have to wait. It will take me a couple of days to go through it all and post some images for you. I'm resting today (or should I call it "recovering"), but I'll try to write a good piece and post it tomorrow.

After that, I think I'm headed to Oregon (finally).

And, the Land Rover conversion is coming along nicely. Pretty soon I'll have my own 4WD and won't have to keep using rental cars.

Sleeping with Wild Horses...

Well, okay, not really sleeping with them, but I will be sleeping near them. The folks who run the Wild Horse Sanctuary in nearby Shingletown just gave me permission to spend a couple of days on their ranch while I work on getting images and video footage for my Vanishing America and Untamed projects.

I'll be hiking around their 5000 acres and camping at least one night anywhere I see fit. Damn, they're good people!

And, as luck would have it, there is someone from National Geographic out there already doing some video footage for one of their specials. I couldn't have planned it better if I'd tried! :-)

All I have to worry about is finding the herds, getting good images, and watching out for Lions and Tigers and Bears. Oh my!

Well, not so much the Tigers, but mountain lions and bears have been spotted in the past. And there are plenty of rattlesnakes to cuddle up with, so I don't expect I'll get too lonely.

And, of course, I'll bring back some fantastic images! So stay tuned...

Wild Horse Sanctuary

Yesterday I drove to Shingletown to scout out the Wild Horse Sanctuary. Great place! I just went to check it out for a later visit with all my cameras, and found it to be not only a sanctuary for the horses, but a beautiful place to just wander around and explore.

I wandered around for about an hour (I didn't bring adequate water to stay longer), coming across numerous beautiful horses of all shapes, colors and sizes, including several young foals and a couple of newly minted babies.

This particular little fellow was so new that he hardly had the energy to do more than nap. But his momma made sure she kept a close eye on him.

I'll bring you some more images when I go back for the "real deal".



From the Wild Horse Sanctuary website:

In the spring and summer months, to raise money to support the horses, the Sanctuary offers 2 and 3-day weekend pack trips to the public. We also offer a 4 day cattle drive. Each day ride the trails created by the wild horses and burros through pine and oak-studded hills--a bit of paradise dotted with meadows, woods, creeks, and ponds. Bordering Vernal Lake, our base camp consists of frontier style sleeping cabins: a "cook" house featuring a main kitchen, a wood-burning stove, hearty meals, and bathroom facilities, complete with hot shower.

About the Sanctuary:

Rather than allow 80 wild horses living on public land to be destroyed, the founders of the Wild Horse Sanctuary made a major life decision right then and there to rescue these unwanted horses and create a safe home for them. And just as quickly, they launched a media campaign to bring attention to the plight of these and hundreds of other wild horses across the west that eventually led to a national moratorium on killing un-adoptable wild horses.

The Sanctuary is located near Shingletown, California on 5,000 acres of lush lava rock-strewn mountain meadow and forest land. Black Butte is to the west and towering Mt. Lassen is to the east. The current location features better accessibility for the public, a milder winter climate with more natural cover, and other benefits for the horses.

Lassen National Park

Yesterday was my day off. But, today kicked my butt!

Maybe it was the altitude. Maybe it was because I hadn't been on a horse in 6 months. Or, maybe I'm just out of shape. Whatever the reason, my trail ride up into Devil's Kitchen in Lassen Volcanic National Park (part of Lassen National Forest) wore me out.

But, it was worth it! As the cowboys say, "That there's God's Country."

My friend, Carrie, and I were guided up the path to the geothermal vents and springs by a cute, sweet, young woman named Kelsey from Drakesbad Guest Ranch. It was a relaxing ride, our horses were terrific, and the views were phenomenal.

We stopped the horses at the top of the ridge about 100 yards from the sulfur pools and hiked the rest of the way in. Almost immediately we could smell the sulfur, and combined with the lush forest and bubbling streams, it made for a somewhat ethereal experience. You could actually feel the sauna-like heat steaming from the vents as you looked over the rocks at the bubbling mud pools and sulfur-stained rocks. It's just one more spot that deserves a lot more time than the three hours we spent.

Lassen is one of those areas that has, up to this point, actually been saved from development by its weather. When winter hits, just about everything shuts down. The roads become impassable and snow socks in the whole region.

However, with improvements in home building, road building, and man's desire to fulfill his "Manifest Destiny", it's only a matter of time before the quaint little villages in and around Lassen National Forest become bustling towns, complete with a Burger King and Wal-Mart. You can see the signs already, as old establishments are being torn down and newer businesses take their place. The town of Chester, just outside the National Park, is seeing the biggest development with more people moving in to permanent homes and more lodges and businesses being built to cater to the rising population of visitors on vacation.

One sign that the slow, lazy days of living in the mountains is starting to fade is the arrival of fast drivers in new cars. Now, don't think I'm going on a rant about driving fast or spending good money on a fancy car. Heck, I love to drive fast, and I love nice cars. But... there is a time and a place for them, and a quiet mountain road ain't it!

On the one-lane gravel road leading to the Ranch, we missed being broadsided by about two inches by a guy in a brand new Land Rover doing 50mph around a blind curve that should have been taken at 25mph. A few minutes later, two new Jeep Cherokees whizzed by us at the same speed. The hustle and bustle of the big city is here, and it doesn't look like it's going to stop for any wildlife, including the old-timers in their rusty pickups.

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As gorgeous as Lassen was, my artistic eye was astonished by the vistas along Hwy 36 as the sun dropped low in the sky. In a few days, weather permitting, I'll show you some fantastic images of yet another ethereal landscape.

Tomorrow, I head out to the Wild Horse Sanctuary in Shingletown to scout the place for good images for my Untamed series and for some good Hi-Def video footage for the documentary.

As always, I'll keep you posted...