Laurent Fignon, a Frenchman who twice won the Tour de France but was defeated by American rival Greg LeMond in arguably the event’s greatest race, died Tuesday after a battle with cancer, the French Cycling Federation said. He was 50.Fignon announced in June 2009 that he had advanced cancer of the digestive [...]
The town of Lyle, Wash., escape the Highway 8 Fire, a major fire that burned over 2,000 acres and filled the Klickitat River canyon with smoke last week. On Monday, not long after I left the Balfour-Klickitat day-use area near Lyle and headed up State Route 142 to Goldendale, traffic was stopped at milepost 8. [...]
Fortunately, the Highway 8 Fire didn’t scar the Balfour-Klickitat day area. This is a nice easy paved walking path that takes you through a field of grass, thistles, and a few Osage Orange trees. A stone and mortar remains of an old shelter stands under a tree. The Balfour-Klickitat day-use area has a couple of [...]
McKenzie Pass Highway (Ore. 242) is closed to public travel between milepost 61 and 77 to allow emergency crew safe access for fighting a wildfire. The Oregon Department of Transportation advises motorists to use an alternate route. The highway is access to several hiking trails, campgrounds, and the Dee Wright Observatory.
These photos of the Lyle Fire in the Columbia River Gorge were shot on August 29th, shortly after midnight from Rowena Crest, which is on the Oregon side of the Columbia River. The not-so-full moon illuminates the landscape that makes these nighttime images possible. The fire now mostly smolders, but you can see in some
The first stop was at an old Pioneer Church located along Ore. 206 at milepost 11, just west of Wasco. Many of these old churches exist throughout the area. You can find another abandoned church in Grass Valley. At the small town of Kent, located along U.S. 97 south of Grass Valley, I shot some [...]
Location: Willamette National Forest, Oregon. Several wildfires are burning throughout central Oregon, but I came across two. I spotted the first fire from Forest Road 46 at the Mt. Hood and Willamette National Forest boundary north of Detroit. The second fire is near Mt. Washington, the Scott Mountain Fire, appears to be m
This is a sure sign that summer is fading and fall is approaching when your shadow becomes longer earlier in the afternoon.
Location: Sherman County, Ore. (U.S. 97 and U.S. 197 intersection) I thought Oregon was becoming a smoke-free state? Or at least trying to. Really this sign was warning motorists and bicyclists of wildfire smoke ahead near Maupin and in the Deschutes River canyon.
Location: Prineville, Ore. I eat at Subway often, but this is the one Subway where “eat fresh” may take on a whole new meaning. I don’t think straw is on anyone’s diet. This must be a special store for the horses.
Location: Grass Valley, Ore.
Location: Hwy. 216, Grass Valley, Ore.
MAUPIN, Ore – A grass fire burning near Maupin continues to smolder after a few days since it started last week. Lightning from a severe thunderstorm that passed over the area on Aug. 17, ignited several brush fires. A couple more smoke plumes are visible south of Maupin high up on the ridges as of [...]