Just got back from a 10 day Costa Rica trip .. a beautiful country for sure. I can no longer carry large and heavy camera kits while traveling .. I took only one camera .. the Leica X Vario.. I missed a few shots for lack of a strong telephoto, but overall I was able to shoot most of what I wanted with the 28-70 Vario Elmar.
Last wednesday I realized my schedule was clear for two days. So I took a little road trip to a very isolated place thats been in the news alot lately:
FYI Burns was very quiet on this day. Everyone who passed me in cars waved. People said hello on the street. The only sign there was anything out of the ordinary was a military occupation of the Courthouse and an old Junior High behind, complete with blast barriers to prevent car bombs. There was a similar military style encampment at the airport, also heavily guarded. Several times I saw unmarked cars and armored vehicles patroling.There was no sign of "the militia" anywhere, from dawn till night. 4 "occupiers" remained at the Wildlife Reserve, now cut off from cell phone communication. Oregon Public Radio featured hourly reports.
Burns and attached company town of Hines are one of the most isolated populations of their size in America. For about 30 years a 153 mile railroad connected the great ponderosa pine lumber mill to the main Idaho Union Pacific line. Heavy rains in 1984 submerged the line near the Malheur Reserve for several years and it was dismantled for scrap.
Charlie, interesting info about Burns and I've enjoyed the photos as well. I had no idea what was going on there but I've read a little about after reading your posts, it's all a little scary in a way.
Charlie,
A similar thing is happening all across the South; little towns are slowly drying up, giving way to highway bypasses, job exportation, and textile mill closings. My small hometown was once a thriving little country community - the county seat, but now most of the storefronts around court square have been boarded up, and the few people left are there because they have to be; not because they want to be there.
I try to take every opportunity to capture the remnants of that time and sense of place that will someday be forgotten - perhaps to be replaced by something better; perhaps not.
Great PP, 'Like' them both.
Love the snowbound car too uhoh07, I've followed the story and its inevitably depressing endgame over the months in the papers here. The original guys still doing time as well I guess, doesn't look like an easy part of the world to live off the land.
