And so ends this thrilling (well...), enthralling (not really) and engaging (pfffft!) video tour through Eastern Oregon.

Labels: off topic, Oregon, sojurns, YouTube

Labels: off-topic, Oregon, sojurns, YouTube

Labels: off-topic, Oregon, sojurns, YouTube

I've been out in Black Rock City since Monday enduring heat, windstorms and several members of the "Too Cool for School" crowd. I arrived early to help out with an art display that's been put together by a group from the Portland area and I'll be working as a cub reporter for the Black Rock Beacon beginning this weekend.

As friendly and welcoming as some of the Burners have been, there's a somewhat nasty social hierarchy out here that places artists at the bottom of the pecking order. "Crew members," as they're called, are given special bracelets and are allowed to eat free meals in a large mess tent. Artists, meanwhile, are mostly left to fend for themselves. This is hard to fathom since the 40K+ people that attend Burning Man are all here to take in weird art displays ranging from the "fire chapel" I'm helping out with to the tower pictured below. Although, a new group has come together to help "feed the artists."

Anyway, here's a Flickr gallery of shots from out here in Black Rock City.

Updates here on the blog might become sporadic in the coming days once the festival officially starts on Sunday night at 12 AM and once Center Camp's limited wifi service becomes overloaded with users. Cheers...

Labels: art, burning man, sojurns

Labels: off topic, Oregon, sojurns, YouTube

Would you take a car down this road?

Ok, better question, would you take *your* car down this road?

Labels: off-topic, Oregon, sojurns, YouTube

Can I pronounce "Imnaha"? As these videos prove, no, I sure can't!

Labels: off-topic, Oregon, sojurns, YouTube

In part 3, I argue with Lars Larson (on the radio) while cruising to Hells Canyon in the middle of a thunder storm. Along the way, I encounter a family of deer, break them up and then attempt to reconcile the situation.

Labels: off-topic, Oregon, sojurns, YouTube

I don't think this video needs any further context. The picture quality isn't the best but I think the audio makes this one worth posting.

Labels: off-topic, sojurns, videos, YouTube

Did you know that there's actually stuff in Oregon beyond the Cascade Range and east of the Willamette Valley? It's a fact!

I know, I was just as surprised as you are now when I first learned this after 22 years of living in this state. While studying at the University of Oregon, my friend "Dangermoose" and I ventured out to the Alvord Desert and the little town of Fields, which sits in the bottom, right-hand corner of the state. At the time, Fields boasted a population of eight people and eleven dogs.

I regret to inform y'all that, despite having lived in Oregon for almost all of my 31 years on this planet, I had never set foot anywhere near Hells Canyon until a few weeks ago. I had a long weekend to kill so I decided it was time to mosey out that way. I tossed a tent in the trunk and aimed my car in the vague direction of the canyon and Joseph, OR.

A bit of a digression here. Have you heard of these places called "Walled Mart"? I think that's what they're called. I stopped at one in Pendleton and...It. Had. Everything. Tacos. Every cereal ever created in history of man. Denim shorts. Mud-flaps. Davenports. Wide aisles too. And super-happy elderly people that greeted me at the front entrance. Yes sir, good ol' Walled Mart where I doubt anything bad ever happens, everyone is always happy and the staff are well-groomed, well-treated and enjoy reasonable hours, high pay and quality benefits.

So this is the first installment of a series of short videos I put together about Wallowa County and "the wilds" of Oregon. Over the course of the trip I encountered dumpster-diving deer, irritated cows, thunderstorms, strange towns, fire service employees and more. In this video, I explore the front entrance to Joseph, a town that likes to brag that it's "heaven on earth" and that it sits at the edge of the "Swiss Alps of Oregon."

In addition to numerous art galleries and a corner filled with Swiss chalet-style shops and an "Arcade of the Dammed" (I'm still angry that I couldn't get "TMNT: Turtles in Time" to work and that the "Addams Family Pinball Machine" locked-up), several shops sell "What Happens in Joseph, Stays in Joseph" bumper stickers. I know, right? But do the residents know? They have to be on this gag.

Also: my father now has one of these sitting in the back window of his Camry and he has yet to notice it. Anyway, on to the video...

Labels: off-topic, sojurns, videos, YouTube