Paulina Falls, Oregon

Salt Creek Falls, Oregon

Watson Falls, Oregon

Another one from Shaniko, Oregon

There's really something (what?) about this ghost town (that's not a ghost town), especially in the evening, when the sun hangs low, way off behind the shimmering endless fields and the silhouette of Mt Hood, which is out there, somewhere west. Maybe I can't even see it. The sun keeps getting in my eyes. And up here in this nothingness, off the highway, the trucks roll by and the wind blows and the cold air feels so opposite the light. Everything looks so warm, but goddamn that wind is cold on my bones.

The Painted Hills

This is looking over part of the Painted Hills sector of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, in Eastern Oregon. You can guess how they got their name.

Big Skies in Eastern Oregon

Best Use of a Burro So Far?

Check out this story in the NY Times about a guy in Colombia who transports books to villages on his two burros, Alfa and Beto. (Story here)

One for the Road

A series of small buildings #3: Whole in the Wall, Mitchell

A series of small buildings #2: Shaniko Post Office

Shaniko is a ghost town, but people live there - about 26 of them. It's odd that a place can be a ghost town but still have living inhabitants. I guess at some point a town goes from being a "historic town" to a "ghost town". The post office is certainly well kept. Letters to the dead. There's a beautiful old hotel here, too, but it shut down. Not enough business, I suppose.

A series of small buildings #1: Dayville City Hall

For some reason I get the feeling bureaucracy is kept to a minimum in Dayville. I stopped here on my way east from the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument, and attempted to go inside and take a peak. It was closed. I think it was a Tuesday.

Sandra Bao on Buenos Aires, Guidebook Writing & Travel

Here's a great interview with Sandra Bao in South American Explorers Magazine.

SAE: You recently finished working on the latest Lonely Planet for Buenos Aires, as well as part of the latest edition of Lonely Planet Argentina. Did you notice many changes since you were last in Argentina in 2005?

Sandra Bao: Buenos Aires (BA) has changed dramatically every time I’ve been there since the peso collapse in 2001 but especially since 2005. Tourism has rocketed sky-high - it took a few years for things to settle down enough after the crash to attract travellers, and then the good word got around. I think this stellar rise caught many porteños [locals of Buenos Aires] by surprise, but it was a pleasant one since so many have benefited from it.

Read the rest of it here.