This is the first re-edit of an old photo of the day that I’ve posted, but I wanted to enter this one in a contest, so I thought I’d kill two birds with one stone. Not a lot to say about this one, other than the fact that there was a lot going on with this boy back when the photo was taken, which I feel is strongly suggested by this image.
A different edit of this image was originally posted as my photo of the day on March 25, 2011.
Thawing after the ice storm. Orient, Oregon. February 9, 2014.
Just a quick one I threw together yesterday… An opportunity to familiarize myself with some of the Premier Pro CC changes, to do some side by side work with some different cameras (used my lousy Android phone for some of these shots), and to play with some more complex audio mixing than I’ve done so far.
Partially made to give myself something to do instead of going stir crazy on Christmas Day, but also to practice with Premier for work on my One Day On Earth videos over the next couple weeks.
We know it has been a long wait, but 10.10.10 DVD's are finally here and shipping! From now until October 24th, you can buy the DVD at the pre-sale price of $14.99. We have beautiful posters and photo prints for sale as well.
Your purchase will help keep One Day on Earth alive for a third collaboration. In order to launch 12/12/12, we must reach our funding goal of $50,000 by October 24. This is just a fraction of the production cost, but will ensure that we will have enough producers on staff and technology updates in place.
Please consider purchasing a DVD and making a donation to help keep One Day on Earth alive for another year!
The 11/11/11 movie that I submitted some clips for is still in production. Here is my edited submission for the geotagged archive.
Today is the first time I’ve watched it in awhile. Put a lot of work into it and, unfortunately, I still have a hard time listening to that poor Walkabouts song. It used to be one of my favorites. But I like it. I am happy with what I was able to put together considering the limitations of gear I struggled with at the time, from camera to computer.
This year, for 12/12/12, I’ll have a better camera, more experience working with video, and I hope to focus more on film than on stills. Also, I hope to have more of a topic to focus on, rather than some vague thoughts about transportation, Veterans’ Day, early Christmas decorations, poverty, Occupation, and fall colors. I like the way those themes weave through the video, it feels like a nice little journey to me, but I’d like more of a specific topic this year.
I’ll probably only have a few days to prepare after NaNoWriMo for this, but it is a project I am looking forward to.
“One Day on Earth” is the culmination of a film and social-networking project started four years ago by Kyle Ruddick and Brandon Litman, two graduates of the University of Southern California. Mr. Ruddick has said he came up with the idea of documenting every corner of the world on a single day after attending a world music festival and watching various sonic styles mingle.
As Mr. Ruddick finished the feature-length movie, compiled from over 3,000 hours of video, in California, Mr. Litman worked from New York to secure financial and logistics support from charities and humanitarian organizations. Over 60 such partners signed on.
The 105-minute film includes rare footage from places where American filmmakers aren't exactly welcome--including North Korea, where a military parade was secretly shot. "We had someone who basically shot covert with a DSLR camera that was rolling video," Ruddick told Yahoo News. "It was harrowing to watch--you never want someone to put themselves in danger, or get hurt."
Footage from South Sudan, North Africa and Tunisia--which in 2010 was on the brink of igniting the Arab spring--was just as difficult to obtain. The pair also partnered with more than 60 NGOs, including Oxfam and Human Rights Watch--"people who know the logistics on the ground," Litman said.
If this all sounds familiar, last year’s Ridley Scott-produced documentary Life in a Day pulled off a similar feat by gathering video shot by YouTube users. But One Day on Earth, the brainchild of first-time filmmakers Kyle Ruddick (director) and Brandon Litman (executive producer), was initially set in motion four years ago. And unlike Life in a Day, which was backed by YouTube and Scott Free Productions and was distributed by National Geographic Films, Ruddick and Litman turned to nonprofit partners including the United Nations and World Wildlife Fund.
I’m a big fan of Life in a Day, but I see no reason why we can’t have two of these crowdsourcing “Earth in a single day” films. And if this Beirut-scored trailer is any indication, One Day on Earth seems to have the goods.
Took a quick stroll on Sunday with the big one, a friend of his, and the dog out to “Dog Beach” on the Sandy River. Nothing much to report. Very busy, many dogs, great weather. The river is very low right now and warm enough in the shallows for some wading and swimming.
One thing I might note is that it looks like they will be removing the old dam along the Thousand Acres Road, permanently re-routing the Sandy to its historic channel, turning Sundial Island back into an island, and eliminating foot access to that part of the park.
According to the Friends of the Sandy River Delta, while the comment period is still open on the dam removal, it looks like it is pretty much “a done deal.”
I plan on spending some time out there while I still can.
…flow will be restored to the historic main channel of the Sandy River at the delta to provide year-round access for fish to this channel while eliminating stranding potential by providing continuous flow. This will be done by removing a dam built in the 1930’s and excavating a pilot channel within the historic main channel. The Corps and the Portland Water Bureau will fund Dam removal. Upon project completion, Sandy River water will flow year round through the historic main channel and the present-day main channel.
To help funnel smelt up the Sandy River each spring, the Oregon Game Commission in 1938 finished a huge rock and wood dike to close off one of two river channels. The result was a single channel to the west of a large delta of low-lying land where the Sandy flows into the Columbia River.
And it appeared to work. Commercial and recreational fishing for smelt prospered for years.
But now, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with help from the Portland Water Bureau, wants to remove the dike and reopen more than 1.4 miles of the old channel through the delta to restore habitat for endangered salmon and steelhead.
Photo from Oregon Live / U.S. Army Corp. of Engineers: “This photo from the 1930s shows the 750-foot-long dike that dammed off the east channel of the Sandy River near its mouth. The structure today is not readily recognizable, as it is covered in silt with rock laid on top. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is proposing to remove the dike next summer.”
Historic Sandy River Channel and Dam (along 1000 Acres Road).
The dam removal is likely a done deal, despite public comments, and our deep desires to somehow preserve access to the island. We do expect to hear from the Army Corp regarding the public comments they received and their final plans by the end of the year, but the feedback we've received so far from the Forest Service, is that the plans are likely to move ahead. Needless to say, we still are advocating for some means of continued access.
This hike explores a piece of 1400 acres that the state calls a "dispersed recreation site", north of Interstate 84 and east of the Sandy River. There aren't any official trails here, but the place abounds with old roads and footpaths. This hike is a perfect getaway for those without a lot of time. It's also a great place to exercise your canine buddies. On my last trip there were more dogs than people!
Within quick driving distance of Troutdale, Gresham and Portland, this is a recreation paradise. Great views, extensive trail system, bird blind and easy mountain biking make this site a quick retreat from the city. Also known as Thousand Acres. The Sandy River Delta is a multi-use recreation area open to a variety of recreation uses including equestrian use, hiking, biking, and hunting in the allowable area.
Not that I have returned there, just that I didn’t write much in the first place and this walk (not so much a hike) has become something of a benchmark… Though not, necessarily, in a good way.
First, let me say, the fact that this park exists is awesome. We need these sorts of green spaces and too many of our buttes are covered with houses, not trees or meadows.
Let me also say, this butte and its trails must be awesome for those who live near by. We hit our stretch of the Springwater Trail at least once a week, most weeks. Dog walks, transportation, just getting outside… We have several such places within walking distance or a quick drive, including Powell Butte. If Talbert was this close, I am sure I would spend a lot of time on it.
However, as a destination… Well, I am pretty spoiled living right down the road from Powell Butte, which is, quite simply, spectacular.
Since taking this hike a little over a year ago, Mt. Talbert has become the standard of dull, viewless walks through humdrum second or even third growth woods. As I am putting together some new posts on some other hikes, walks, and parks this fall, I realized that, before I start referencing Talbert, perhaps I should revise this old post to reflect what I am writing about these days.
So, in June 2011 my son and I made a quick loop over the Summit Trail from the Mather Road Entrance. It was pleasant and close to home. Being the middle of the summer, there were no views, though some may be visible through the trees in the winter.
Actually, I remember thinking that this would be a much better winter hike than a summer hike, not only because of the faint possibility of a view or two, but mostly because it is close enough to home that I could sneak a decent little walk in before the early sunset shuts my preferred trails down and it, obviously, will not be buried under feet of snow 99.99999% of the winter.
In the summer, this is about the best I can say for it… It was fun as a little hill climbing workout but, by June, I was in decent enough shape that I was barely winded by the time we reached the 750 foot summit, though for my son it was pretty tiring (see the photos in the original post below). I tend to have a collecting streak in me, so getting to the top was worth an afternoon and exploring a new park was fun. As I told my son, at the very least, it was worth it so we can say, “Been to the top of that one.”
But, bottom line… All things considered, I’d rather be on Powell Butte. There is nothing terrible about the walk up Talbert. Just nothing terribly exciting, either. Perhaps I am spoiled.
I grew up spending my winter afternoons and summer days wandering through second growth woods just like these up near Seattle. At least the woods of my youth were filled with little hidden lakes and other secret spots of interest (interesting, at least, to a pre-teen boy). There may be some great secret spots on Talbert, but we didn’t find them on the first trip and my interests have, alas, probably grown more jaded over the years.
One of the problems (what a problem!) of living in the northwest is that we are very spoiled. It takes me about ten minutes longer to drive to the Gorge than it does for me to drive to Talbert. And far less time to drive to Powell Butte.
But, I will say this to wrap up… The meadows on Powell are spectacular, but they aren’t natural. They are an artificial environment. Rocky Butte and Mt. Tabor? They are not wild places, ur… Well, they ain’t wild in the environmental sense. At least we have one butte in the area that is relatively untouched, at least for the last 100 years or so, and that will remain undeveloped for the future.
On Talbert, we are not talking about a pocket of a park surrounded by a desert of housing developments, or graded meadows and abandoned orchards, we are talking about an entire butte slowly reverting to its natural state, as it was for ages before this area was developed. And that is very cool. While it might not make for the most interesting of walks or hikes, the Park itself is a real treasure.
Especially considering how Powell Butte is currently being torn up by the water bureau and how most of Jenne Butte’s summit looks doomed to development as soon as the housing crisis resolves itself, having an entire butte that will remain untouched forever (hopefully) is a real win for Metro and for all of us who appreciate such things..
So forgive me if I am a little hard on the place, I really do appreciate Mount Talbert. I am glad it is there and I am sure that I will spend some more time on it this winter. But, for the most part, it is like a museum piece. It comforts me to know that it is there, safe and preserved, but if I am looking for fun times and exciting adventures, I’ll probably head elsewhere…
A Cave?
Just one final note… Glancing through the comments on one of the articles below, I discovered that there may be a cave on Talbert. Now that is a secret cool spot that I am not too jaded to get excited about.
According to the Development Master Plan from 2000:
Long time neighbors of Mt. Talbert have described a natural cave located in the northwest quadrant of the study area. This natural feature is currently on private property and has not been explored by NCPRD staff or the consultant team. It has been described as a small cavern (inundated with poison oak) no more than 100 feet long with limited headroom. Caves are often associated with early Native American shelters and have been found to have archeological significance. This cave may also be used by bats. If this feature is to become part of the publicly owned park, a thorough analysis and record will be required. Until a comprehensive study is completed, any disturbance to this area should be avoided. (39)
A large chunk of land in the northwest quadrant was added to the park after the report was written. However, I am not sure if this is where the cave was rumored to be or not. Also, I have not been able to find any other references to this cave, so perhaps, it was just a rumor… Or is it waiting to be rediscovered?
I wrote recently that, wandering through the lava flows and buttes in Newberry National Volcanic Monument, I couldn’t help but to get the feeling that the landscape looked a lot like what my neighborhood might have looked like at one point in the distant past. Towards the end of the Lava Cast Forest trail, I found myself looking across a small valley that reminded me of home, with a small butte across from me that looked remarkably like Grant Butte in Gresham, surrounded not by flat wetlands, but by a flat, geologically recent lava flow.
Out on that lava flow, I started wondering what hidden volcanic features we might have in our area, including lava tubes. While any evidence of lava is long buried around here, our volcanoes preceding the Missoula floods by a fair bit, it still doesn’t mean that there might not be some lava tubes buried deep down beneath our feet.
This is an ancient tube and no surviving caves have been discovered. The tube was discovered during the construction of the hospital, and it was filled with rubble. Further research turned up five collapse depressions and no access to any possible surviving caves.
Still, if there is one, might not there be another around here some place? I actually have my suspicions about some curious depressions I’ve seen on my end of town, but further research is required… Again, this would be an old, collapsed tube like the Catlin Gabel tube, but it would be cool, nevertheless. It’s something I plan on looking into more this winter.
Of course, the cave described here might not be a lava tube. Heck, it might not even exist at all, or any more...
Mount Talbert is an volcanic cinder cone in Clackamas County, Oregon. It is part of the Boring Lava Field,[3] a zone of ancient volcanic activity in the area around Portland. Its summit rises to an elevation of 740+ feet (226+ m).
The butte remains undeveloped and is the location of a nature park of the same name which is managed by North Clackamas Parks and Recreation. The park has several interlinked hiking trails, along which there are several interpretive signs about the area's natural resources.
The largest undeveloped butte in Northern Clackamas County, Mount Talbert rises as a forested green sentinel overlooking the web of development that surrounds it and the busy I-205 and Sunnyside Road interchange.
Stretching from Portland’s Rocky Butte southward to the Clackamas River, a group of extinct volcanoes and lava domes lend unique geographic character to the region’s east side, providing important wildlife habitat and panoramic vistas. Mount Talbert is the largest of these undeveloped buttes in northern Clackamas County.
The nature park includes the top of the former lava dome as well as the west facing slopes visible to the tens of thousands of people that travel I-205 every day or shop at the Clackamas Town Center. The park offers miles of new hiking trails, information about the cultural and natural resources found there and greater access to nature close to home.
This area was logged in the early years of the 20th century, but has been relatively unspoiled since then. The forest has matured into an open stand of Douglas-firs. The understory is dominated by sword ferns and trilliums are common in the spring.
The Park Loop Trail once circled the mountain, but somehow part of it was built on private land and it's been closed.
… you'll enter an area of oak forest. Crews have recently logged the fir trees in this area to create a oak forest ecosystem. Things are still pretty chaotic looking, but hopefully nature will soon heal the landscape. Look for Oaks Toothwort and Stream Violets here. In the evening a small herd of tiny blacktail deer can often be found grazing here.
An interesting and worthwhile ecological experiment is underway at the park involving the native Oregon white oak woodlands. This sun loving tree casts a very light shade beneficial to other plants. Douglas-fir seedlings are able to thrive in oak woodlands, but the fir grow 3 to 4 times higher than the oaks, and cast shade too deep for the oaks to tolerate. So in the natural forest succession the oaks will die out. It is thought that the Native American population in this area used fire to improve hunting and for other purposes, which kept the firs from growing, while the thick-barked oaks survived.
The experiment is to favor the oaks artificially by eliminating the competing firs, maples and shrubbery. About 19 acres of oak woodland has been treated in this way, out of 183 acres of parkland here. Firs and other trees in the selected areas have been girdled, topped or cut down, while allowed to continue thriving in the large areas with few or no oaks. This should result in a much more diverse ecology in the park and show us how different the tree cover types will be in terms of understory.
I'm curious to know if anyone knows where the cave is: "Longtime neighbors of Mt. Talbert have described a natural cave located in the northwest quadrant...It has been described as a small cavern (inundated with poison oak) no more that 100 feet long with limited headroom."
Judging from the volcanic nature of Mount Talbert, and the description, this is likely to be a lava tube cave. These occur when a flow partially cools but the still-liquid inner portions manage to break out, leaving the hardened outer portion behind to form the walls of the cave. Another one exists in the West Hills of Beaverton and Portland, extending from Providence Hospital a good ways uphill. It was actually broken into during construction of the hospital. Evidently no opening exists but a talus slope known to only a few people 'breathes' with air from underground. [See: More fun with Boring Lava & the Catlin Gabel Lava Tube System in West Portland]
…
I do not know the exact location of this privately-owned cave on Mount Talbert. The northwest side includes some very steep terrain.
Mt. Talbert has been subject to the impacts of natural resource harvest. Historic aerial photos dating from 1936 indicate that different sections of Mt Talbert have been clear-cut for timber over subsequent years into the 1950’s. [sic] Nearly every face of Mt. Talbert has been cleared at one time or another. Over time, the resulting second growth forest has reclaimed the dome with a diversity of native plant species. Remarkably, there is very little evidence of exotic or invasive species taking root here. (25)
Cave Long time neighbors of Mt. Talbert have described a natural cave located in the northwest quadrant of the study area. This natural feature is currently on private property and has not been explored by NCPRD staff or the consultant team. It has been described as a small cavern (inundated with poison oak) no more than 100 feet long with limited headroom. Caves are often associated with early Native American shelters and have been found to have archeological significance. This cave may also be used by bats. If this feature is to become part of the publicly owned park, a thorough analysis and record will be required. Until a comprehensive study is completed, any disturbance to this area should be avoided. (39)
This short loop to the top of this extinct lava dome in Clackamas County is perfect for the whole family. The trail winds through beautiful forest and is filled with interpretive signs about the environment you are walking through and the flora and fauna you may see along the way.
Found this spot while playing around with Google Earth and decided to drive up and check it out. This is a very nice spot, with decent views and nice meadows to wander through. There is at least one trail wandering through the parks woodsy “Natural Area,” but I didn’t have time to check it out today. I guess that forces me to plan a return trip. Shucks.
This post is, what Wikipedia would call, a stub. I’ll expand it later.
Clatsop Butte is an upland butte lying directly south of Powell Butte in southeast Portland, Oregon, United States. Clatsop Butte City Park, which occupies part of the butte, is at coordinates 45.47456°N 122.50676°WCoordinates: 45.47456°N 122.50676°W at an elevation of 571 feet (174 m).[1] Johnson Creek, Southeast Foster Road, and the Springwater Corridor Trail pass between Powell Butte and Clatsop Butte near Southeast 152nd Avenue.[2]
The City of Portland acquired about 16 acres (6.5 ha) of land on the butte for a park and natural area in 2000.[3] Other land acquisitions increased the park's size to 102 acres (0.41 km2) by 2007 but led to controversy about public expenditures. A 16-member oversight committee was to review the purchases in 2008 to decide whether the money had been wisely spent.[4] As of 2008, Metro the regional government in the Oregon part of the Portland metropolitan area, included 49 acres (20 ha) of the acreage on its list of protected natural areas.
The natural area, comprising densely forested hillsides and creek frontage, supports wildlife including deer, foxes, coyotes, Northern Flickers, Pileated Woodpeckers and other local and migratory birds.[5]
Clatsop Butte is one of several dozen volcanic vents or domes that make up the Boring Lava Field, dating to the Pleistocene. The rock is Springwater Formation basalt. The soil on the Butte consists of windblown silt deposits from the catastrophic Missoula Floods. (15)
The high point at the southern end of the open area of Clatsop Butte has dramatic views in all directions. Looking east is an iconic, virtually unobstructed view of snowcapped Mt. Hood. To the south, Mt. Jefferson’s summit is visible on clear winter days. Larch Mountain and the western end of the Columbia Gorge can be seen in the northern foreground, with Silver Star Mountain, Mt. Adams and Mt. St. Helens appearing on the horizon. The towers of downtown Portland and Forest Park’s long ridgeline are seen to the west, with other high places such as Mt. Scott, Mt. Tabor and Willamette National Cemetery in the western foreground. Views from the park are outstanding and will be a significant draw for local as well as regional users. View destinations such as the Clatsop Butte Park are highly desirable and should create an incentive great enough to draw users from the Springwater Corridor and from Powell Butte. (22)
The park property was purchased by PP&R from a private developer in 2000. It encompasses several tax lots and several vacated street rights of way. Clatsop Butte Natural Area encompasses three tax lots, all owned by Metro but managed by PP&R. The open space tract to the north of the property is owned by Multnomah County. There are three neighborhood Homeowners’ Associations surrounding the site, all of which control private tracts of open space: Emerald View to the east (including a long sliver of land that separates two parcels of the natural area), Lexington Hills to the south and McGregor Heights to the north and west. (25)
Two large mounds have been created on this site, from topsoil bulldozed off the property in preparation for development. Standing atop one of the mounds offers a unique viewpoint over treetops and rooftops. These mounds could be removed and their topsoil could be redistributed on the site. One of these mounds could be reshaped or retained near the highest part of the site as a new artificial hill, shaped to offer an overlook of surrounding natural features. (35)
Not far from Powell Butte Natural Park— one of Portland's larger parks— Clatsop Butte Park is hidden away in the Pleasant Valley area of southeast Portland. Don't be fooled by the spare hillside when you pull up; walk down the hill to get a small trailhead and sign. It's removed from the road and nearby development, and a good…
Clatsop Buttes Natural Area is made up of five adjoining parcels at the edge of the city limits -- including a 43-acre grassy meadow called Clatsop Butte Park with spectacular views of Mount Hood, Mount St. Helens, Mount Adams and downtown Portland --and an adjoining 49-acre sloping, forested area popular with hikers and equestrians.
Additional wooded parcels and open spaces have been cobbled together in recent months by city and Metro officials to form the 150-acre natural protected area crucial to the environmental health of the Johnson Creek Watershed.
Officials from two Canadian companies said Thursday that they want to turn a shuttered dog track east of Portland into a complex with a casino, hotel, movie theater and pool. They hope voters will approve their plan in November, two years after a similar proposal was overwhelmingly rejected at the ballot box. ... The casino approval will appear on the ballot as Measures 82 and 83. Developers are calling the $300 million project "The Grange." drjeff: Here comes Rusty!: Travel back with me in time, if you will, to the halcyon days of Murray Kemp Park, now known as the Giant Useless Stadium Formerly Known As The Multnomah Greyhound Track. We always used to wonder exactly who Murray Kemp was. I used to speculate that he was the winningnest jockey at the track. Sure, horse jockeys have to keep their weight down, it's a tough life, blah blah blah. But imagine the strain of staying under 40 pounds in order to ride a winning greyhound! That is the stuff of legend, my friends. Be that as it may, and it may well not be... the greyhound track was where the action was. The routine was simple: round up a few friends who shared your status of not having a life, hop into the appropriate car (late-70s American tuna boats were the choice at the track... nothing gained you greyhound cred like showing up in a dented 1974 Buick Electra 225), and stop at the liquor store for a few pints of something that would make you forget that you were hanging out in the equivalent of a smoke-filled barn with degenerate gamblers wearing pinky rings and Aqua Velva.
V. Gresham, Oregon. June 14, 2012. Photo of the Day by A. F. Litt: June 17, 2012. Happy Father's Day.
It’s been a little while since I have had time to post. Now that the boys are done with school, hopefully this will be a photo of the day post again for a while as opposed to a photo of the week.
But who knows?
Prepared this earlier and posted the photo elsewhere, but barely making it by midnight on Rubble! Busy day, busy week, busy month…
