Occupation of Independence

 For the first time this summer, I am camping in a spot I camped last summer.  In general it is fun to find new places, of course.  But in the heat of summer, novelty doesn't matter so much; getting to higher elevation  does.   So I am camped at the same site as last year and am confronted with the same problem: camping at higher elevation (in order to cool off) means starting bike rides downhill and then returning back up the hill.  Not fun! There is no profound or clever solution to this except shortening the ride, or at least shortening your expectations when you start the ride.  This technique at least overcomes your reluctance to go. There is less snow on Oregon's Blue Mountains than I seem to remember from last year.  But the flowers are better.  If this were Colorado I would be surrounded by ten other campers here.  But I have it all to myself. My camper is hiding in the shade, in the background.

"It's only a dry heat."  That is what they say.  Perhaps today will be the hottest day of summer here in northeastern Oregon.  But it shouldn't get over 85 F in the shade at my campsite.  So far this summer I haven't used a water bladder to cool off at night, because my 7-year-old refrigerator isn't performing so well. Instead, I have used an inexpensive battery-powered fan, available online.  (Its blades are only 8" in diameter.  It has a lithium battery that charges up via a USB cable.)  I am surprised at how well this works, when aimed at the upper torso or head at night.  And it is so quiet! If a person were perfect, they would redirect their thoughts away from any source of annoyance in their life.  If you are not particularly good at that, the alternative is to add something to the background that distracts your thoughts away from the annoyance.  That technique has usually worked with noise, and it also works with heat and this little fan.

Watching these guys work will make you feel better than just about anything.  "Guys" also means machines.  On You Tube you can watch "timber harvesters."  They are quite impressive. It had quite an effect on me to see them making progress close to the road.  It is too expensive and too steep to thin much of the forest.  But it certainly helps to thin close to the road.  The road then becomes a barrier to fires.  And it makes the forest look more attractive. Most of the logs are moderately small in diameter.  I wanted to ask somebody what they will be used for, but nobody was walking around. It is hard to keep yourself from getting discouraged in thick, impenetrable forests.  You have to settle for open views at an occasional meadow or bald ridgeline.  Well, that is the name of the game for a couple months in the heat of summer.  

  It is easy to preach the forbearance of discomfort, but it is hard to put it into practice.   The last day of the heat wave wasn't really that hot at 5000 feet, in the mountains of northeastern Oregon.  But there was no air, that is, no movement of air, no wind.  The lifelessness of the air made the whole forest seem disgusting.  (I need to read up on the linguistic confusion over words or etymologies such as pneuma, spirit, soul, and wind.)  And then some cold air moved in. The next morning seemed like a new world, not because it was that  cool, but because the forest was once again experiencing the breath of life.  Every square inch of your skin grins.  But it doesn't get glamorized or even mentioned a lot, probably because it is difficult to photograph.  Hopefully people will take it as a challenge, rather than photograph one more red sunset.   Maybe this would be a great place to use video rather than still photography. How wind savages a brown carsonite signpost in th