Columbia Gorge... part 1 1/2

Stardate 2007. Saturday, October 20. Bonneville Dam. Columbia River. Oregon.

(Sorry, I couldn't resist.)

I can't really call this entry "Part 2", since I'm not actually able to get out and explore the Gorge. The rain has been constant since last night, so I'm catching up on my research, and taking advantage of the internet connection while I still have a sky unblocked by trees or mountains.

I shot at the Bonneville Dam all morning yesterday, taking my time, composing, thinking… being creative as opposed to reactive. As I might have mentioned, I've been slowly drifting away from my artwork and find myself shooting more and more "picture postcard" images to help illustrate my blog. But, since Fine Art is what I'm best at, I'm trying to turn that creativity around and focus more on my artistic images.

I was getting some great shots at the Dam (finally!), but around 1:30pm, a slight storm (slight for Oregon) began to move in, so I took shelter in the RV. As I sat there writing, a howling wind was rocking the bus back and forth, like a sleeper car on an old cross-country train. It sounds scary, but it was really no big deal, and very soothing. I couldn't put up the satellite dish because of the high winds, so took a brief nap while I waited for the storm to pass by. After things cleared up, I headed across the freeway to the Old Historic Highway where there are old remnants of the 1930s-era highway: stonework, bridges, trails, tunnels, etc.

And, if the weather holds out this weekend, I may make it to Mosier, near the Hood River, where there are highway and train tunnels with some great history -- two of the tunnels were used as shelter by travelers who got stuck in a snowstorm. Some even left inscriptions on the walls (sort of an historic graffiti).

While waiting out the storm, I finished checking the shots I took at the dam. Great compositions! Boy was I happy. But wait, there's more... Unfortunately, many of them had motion blur due to the high winds. They look great at 5x7 or smaller, but when they get larger than that, you can begin to see the lack of detail. Now, I'm shooting with some of the biggest and best gear available, but even the best of tripods can’t stabilize the heaviest of cameras when the wind picks up. So, it looks like I may have to go back and reshoot. And, reshooting was what I was hoping to do today. But the rain hasn't let up since last night, so I doubt I'll be getting out of the RV.

Yesterday, after the rain stopped, I drove under the freeway to the Toothrock trailhead parking lot and hiked up the trails to find the remnants of the old highways. There were several trails to choose from, but no directions or maps, so after a little wandering around and exploring just like I did back in Alpharetta as a kid, I came back to the RV to do a little research on the trails. Unfortunately, I couldn’t get a satellite signal there in the lot, so my research had to wait until I got back to the Dam today, where I sit awaiting a clear sky.

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So, that's what happened yesterday.

Today, Sunday the 21st, it finally cleared up enough to get my tail out and shoot. And shoot I did! I finally found the right trails, met some great folks, and thoroughly enjoyed my day of hiking, riding, and shooting. I have to edit the images tonight, but I'll post them either tomorrow or Tuesday.

Columbia Gorge... Part 1

What a beautiful place!

Even in the rain with dark, heavy clouds in the sky, the Gorge is a sight to see. I got a late start today, so I only made it as far as the Bonneville Dam (about an hour East of Portland). It's a major operation, providing not only electricity to the surrounding cities, but also providing a series of locks for river-bound freight travel, and "ladders" to help the salmon navigate upstream to spawn.

Now, you may be saying, "What does a dam have to do with Vanishing America?" Well, I'll tell you...

There are many different opinions about this dam, ranging from its effect on the salmon run to the "construction" techniques used to add a new "island" to this part of the Columbia River. Some of the opinions are positive, and some are negative, (and I'm sure this holds true for numerous other dams around the country), but I'm not going to get into that. I'm here to take pretty pictures, tell stories about my trip, and whenever possible, provide enough information from both sides of an important argument so that my readers might be able to form their own opinions. Right? So, here are a few pretty pictures...

I'll be going back to the dam tomorrow for more shots.

Columbia Gorge

Just a quick update...

Not much happened yesterday. I spent the entire day taking advantage of the rain and working inside on images, video, blogs, etc. It seems my progress moves in bursts -- several days of shooting, then a few days of post-production. Well, you have to take advantage of the opportunities as they come...

Last night I had dinner with Ron and Lynn Dusek, friends of my folks for over 30 years. They took me to a fantastic Italian dinner at a little place in Oregon City called Bugatti's Hilltop. Excellent food. (I had the cioppino. Mmmm.)

Today, I head out to the famous Columbia Gorge. The coast is expecting gale-force winds up to 70mph, so I'm hoping I'll be far enough away that I won't be affected. A big rectangular box isn't exactly the best shape to be driving through a windstorm.

See ya soon...

Oregon Weather...

The weather report for Northwestern Oregon today... cloudy with a chance of rain. But, be prepared for that 10 minute window of sunshine!

And, that's exactly what happened. It seems to be a recurring theme as the area approaches winter. It rained on and off, and when the sun peeked through, you'd best get your butt out there and take advantage of it, because it will be gone in 10 minutes. That pattern went on all day long... rain, clouds... sun! Rain, clouds... sun! Rain... well, you get the idea.

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to get an interview with Dave Heick, the owner of KCYS 98.1FM in Seaside, the only locally owned Country station in the U.S. (This was another one of those serendipitous events that keep gracing me on this trip.)

I went to see Dave was because I heard the station mention that fact on the air, and I thought it fit in perfectly with my project, seeing as how so much of American radio is owned by a few monopolies whose main priority is the financial bottom line as opposed to the listener. I called the station that morning, and within an hour, I was sitting in Dave’s office videotaping him for my project. He's a great guy. Very knowledgeable, and as honest and straightforward as they come. Not only did I get a good interview for my project, but I learned a lot about the radio business as well.

After the interview, I drove in to Astoria and set up camp in the Safeway parking lot. Astoria is a small town, and the Safeway is kind of like their Costco – full service fuel station, drug store, and grocery store (all in the same lot). Rather than find an RV campground, I just picked the Safeway lot because it was easy and convenient, as I was scheduled for an interview with their newspaper, The Astorian the next morning.

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This morning I met with Pam, a reporter for The Astorian. A fellow artist, with a penchant for sculpture and multi-media, we got along very well. However, our meeting was too short, as are a lot of my visits through Oregon, but I it was worth every second. She even took the time to send me an email with great places to visit when I make it up to her home state of Washington.

After meeting with Pam, I drove to Portland to have lunch with my friend Sara. We had a great time, and a great lunch. Afterward, I made a quick trek to a local factory for some sunset photos, and popped in to a local camera store called Blue Moon. This is a gem of a shop, run by Jake Shivery, who started the business only 6 years ago, and who has built it into Portland's premiere photo resource. Being one of the few privately-owned camera stores left in this country, Jake's shop is truly part of a dying breed. And, with a traditional optical processing lab, classic camera gear, and a staff of fantastic photographers, Blue Moon is one of the last bastions of genuine craftsmanship to be found in this ever-changing world of photography.

After visiting with Jake and his staff, I went back to see Sara's newest project – the restoration of her 1920s era house in St. Johns, just north of Portland. What a great house! Wood floors, a fireplace, a landscaped yard that she did herself, and a floorplan that invites you to just grab a cup of coffee and meander lazily from room to room, breathing in the home's character and charm. I can't wait for her housewarming party!

After hanging out with Sara, I came south of Portland to Oregon City (the last stop on the old Oregon Trail). I got some night shots of another factory, and I’m currently at a riverside campground for the night.

It was a busy day for me, but not an adventurous day, so the exciting stories will have to wait until next time...

Meanwhile, I think I'll use this extra space to show you all some images I've shot along the way...

This next image is of Fort Stevens, a military post built in 1904 and used through WWII to protect the mouth of the Columbia River (click on the image to enlarge it). This particular image was shot simply to show a different side of Vanishing America: namely, the respect that people have, or used to have, for our country's history. The entire weapons battery is covered in this kind of graffiti. Now, I'm not condoning vandalism of any kind, but, the graffiti scratched into these 100 year-old concrete walls could have been someone's political comment against war or the politicians who profit from war, but, instead is merely names of kids who couldn't quite find anything better to do. I know vandalism of historic treasures has been going on for years, in our country and abroad -- just take a look at the ancient walls of Pompeii -- but for some reason, this particular assault struck a chord with me.

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It's almost 1am. I'm going to bed.

Don't forget... you can click on any of these images (even the ones above) for a larger preview.

Oregon -- from High Desert to Rocky Coast

Busy, Busy, Busy...


Lots of great things have been happening since I last wrote...

I've done two television interviews, visited some quaint little towns, seen some snow-capped mountains, hiked through logged forests, and toured the rocky Oregon coast. Along the way, I've taken pictures of covered bridges, shipwrecks, sand dunes, and abandoned towns. I've talked with local fishermen and loggers, rangers at the Forestry Service, biologists at the Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, and even some fans who saw me on the news and stopped by to say Hi. It's been a very busy week.

My most recent interview was with KEZI, Eugene's ABC affiliate based in Coos Bay. Here's what they had to say about Vanishing America...

I'm only in Oregon for about two weeks, so I've been incredibly busy shooting, editing, and trying to cover as much of the state as I can before I have to go back to Redding. And, there are definitely some places I'd like to go back to (and some people I'd like to see again). While in the small coastal town of Yachats, I shared some stories, laughs, and wine with my new friends, Tim, Pam, and their cat Daisy. They're living the life in a beautiful silver Airstream -- the very trailer I'd originally envisioned taking this trip in.

But, since I don't have the Land Rover with me yet, I had to pass on visiting some of the small towns, tiny fishing villages, back roads and trails because the RV is just too big. In addition, I'm so pushed for time, I could only spend a few hours (or a day, at most) in any particular location. And, the longer I stayed, the more I learned, and the more I wanted to see. There is definitely another, longer, trip to Oregon in my near future.

As I mentioned before, I've met a lot of folks on this trip. And, not only are people interested in my project, they are friendly and willing to help out. While I was in Coos Bay/Charleston, on the southern Oregon coast, my friend Scott Groth, who works for the Fish and Wildlife Department, took me around the bay and gave me the low-down on future development and endangered species. We even went out to look at a shipwreck on the beach. According to records, the freighter New Carissa ran aground in 1999. Before it could be salvaged, it was beached even further by severe storms. After the storms subsided, the Coast Guard attempted to minimize damage to the coast by setting fire to the ship to burn off all the oil and fuel that was leaking out. Unfortunately, the burn caused severe damage to the hull and the ship broke in two. And, after another series of storms, the bow of the ship was swept almost 80 miles up the coast, where it was later towed out to sea and sent to the bottom. The stern of the New Carissa still sits on the beach where it ran aground almost 10 years ago.

Scott not only gave me the tour, but he also gave me yet another perspective on what is happening to the fishing industry, the logging industry, local flora and fauna, and the fate of the southern Oregon coast in general. With a mix of personal opinion and job experience, Scott helped me understand that there are several sides to every story. By talking with the locals, the environmentalists, the politicians, and members of the government agencies in charge of caring for the environment, I've learned that every opinion is valid, and every opinion needs to be heard. Only by taking every perspective into account, can we make the best educated decision on any issue. Granted, that's a lot easier said than done, especially when hearing each of those opinions takes so much time and because we live in a society where the loudest voice usually wins. But hearing them all is the goal. Even if we can't reach it, we should strive for it. I, myself, am guilty at times of basing my decisions on only a part of the story. But, I've learned that I don't know squat until I've heard all the sides. No matter how educated you are, or how long you've been in your particular field, the only way to be fully prepared to make a decision about what's going on in regards to our environment, is to see the story from all sides.

Another example of the conflicts of interest becomes clear when discussing the Oregon Dunes. These dunes, formed over 50 million years ago, are home to numerous flora and fauna, but are in danger of disappearing over the next 50 to 100 years because of the proliferation of non-native plant species. In addition, the dunes are constantly moving. Winds shift them, carve them, and push them into the tree line where they smother nearby sections of natural pine forest. They are a beautiful sight to see, but they are destroying the surrounding vegetation.

And, not only are the dunes a spectacular sight to see, they are also a fun place to visit. For years, the dunes have been a playground for dune buggies and ATVs. And numerous businesses have sprouted up along Highway 101 to take advantage of this government-designated Recreational Area.

So the conflict isn't just over the plants and wildlife... the conflict exists for those that make their livings off the dunes and those that want the dunes protected at all costs. It's another classic case of Nature versus people and Nature versus Nurture. Do you protect the dunes at the cost of a community's livelihood? Do you eliminate one species of plant so that another can thrive? Who gets to make these decisions? It's full of controversy, and the only way to come to a valid solution is to take all these perspectives into account. I know I must be rambling, but I've learned a valuable lesson, and I truly believe that people need to hear about it. Too many important decisions are being made by people who simply don't have all the facts. And that needs to change.

On a different note...
I have to apologize for the small number of images I've been posting. I've been trying to keep the images relevant to the blog's text, and that means a lot of great images are being left out. But, not to worry! The website will be completed by the end of this month, and I'll have gallery after gallery to showcase what I've been doing while on the road. And, I'll let everyone know when it goes live. So, if I don't have your email address, make sure you get it to me!

So many stories to tell. So little time...

Oregon at Last!

(Don't forget -- you can click on any image to enlarge it!)

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...

RAIN!

Finally!

Since I left San Diego in May to travel through California, I haven't seen a single drop of rain. Not one. Now, I know it's rained in California since I left... I just haven't seen it.

But today, it's raining. And, it's been raining all day. I love it. The ground needs it. It helps even out those 100-degree temperatures. It's wonderful.

So, I'm spending the day in the RV working on images, listening to the beautiful sounds of rain falling on my roof.

Vanishing America Videos

I'm back.

It's been a while since I've updated the blog, and I apologize. No real excuses. Just not much about which to write.

The time has been spent wisely, though. I've intentionally taken a week or so to get my business organized. Since May, I've shot well over 2000 still images, and over 10 hours of video that have to be uploaded, cataloged and edited. And, that takes a lot of time.

But, I've run into a snag... I can’t upload (capture) video to my computer. I have a $3500 Canon XH-A1 Hi Definition pro camcorder, a firewire connection, and the top of the line Mac dual quad core Xeon maxed out with 16MB RAM, almost 4 Terabytes of hard drive space, and the best video card available. When I try to transfer video from the DV tape in the camera to Final Cut Express HD or iMovie HD editing software, the program quits -- without warning or error messages. It just quits. Every time. And, in random places during the capture.

I know that's more information than most of you wanted to read, but I included it in this blog entry because I actually need some help.

I’ve been on the phone with both Canon and Apple tech support for a total of over 4 hours. I've reinstalled the editing software, deleted the software's Preferences file, reinstalled the computer's Operating System, tried a different camera… nothing works.

Canon told me that there is no reason there should be any incompatibility between the camera and the software, and that they’ve had no complaints about problems capturing video from this camera. Apple told me that the Canon XH-A1 isn't on their "approved" device list and that I may have to upgrade to either the $8000 Canon XL-H1 camera or the $1200 Pro version of Final Cut's video editing software. That may allow me to upload video, but it still doesn’t answer the question of why the problem occurred in the first place. And, I'm not sure I'm ready to drop $1200 (much less $8000) to find out.

I’m at a loss. I've done everything I know to do, but I still can’t upload my video. Can anyone help me?

Beautiful sunsets and Birthday girls...

Sunsets and Lava Rocks,
Champagne and body shots...

Last night, just before sunset, I drove over to Hwy 36 to get some shots of the rolling fields bathed in that lovely golden evening light. I had a little trouble finding a place to pull over that gave me a good angle of what I wanted to shoot, and I didn't have time to set up my big cameras, but I brought out the next in line in my arsenal, and I made the best of it. I'll go back tonight with the big gear and make sure I get there in plenty of time to set up.

And, all those rocks and boulders you see in the images... Well, I've been told, that a long, long time ago, Mt. Shastina (Mt. Shasta's twin) blew its top and scattered volcanic rock for hundreds of miles. The whole area of Redding, Lassen, and others I haven't been to yet, are strewn with millions of these rocks from the mountain.

After shooting, I figured I'd head out to dinner, and as luck would have it, I got to spend some time with 5 beautiful women at the Market Street Steakhouse in Redding. Craving one of their signature steaks, I went there for a quick dinner (by myself, as usual) and ran into my friends Nicole and Cami. It was their friend, Darcy's, birthday, so they asked me to join them and their two girlfriends Chris and Katy (did I spell that right?) for a toast... One toast turned into two, two in to three, and the night carried on from there, with singing waiters, 80s music on the jukebox, champagne, and colorful shots with fancy names. (I tried to talk the girls into doing body shots, but nobody was brave enough.)

I had to leave early to go catch up with my friend Lindsey, who was working over at the Sundial Bridge, before it got too late and I turned into a pumpkin. I wound up chatting with Lindsey and her boss, Linda, for over an hour. And, let me tell you... Linda can tell some great stories! If I weren't so tired, I could have stayed there listening to her all night.

Wild Horses... Icons of the American West

(Remember, if an image is too small to see the details, you can always click on it to enlarge it.)


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.