Music, in that sense, is like travel. You cannot plan adventure; you cannot micromanage what will happen. You cannot wait for a better day. You can only open yourself up to, and prepare yourself for what may or may not happen. 'Classical' music, perhaps the most well-prepared of any style, was at its best articulated instantly in Mozart's or Beethoven's head. Mozart, as it were, could visualize an entire song instantly. The act of playing it out as an orchestrated piece was secondary to its creation. The orchestra is all craftsmen, but Mozart is the traveler into the mind. That rare ability for us to have all 'come together' that night had something to do with the view of Metlako Falls, or Darin in the Upper Clackamas.

For that, music not only resembles travel, but mimics it. Is it no wonder that music from the banks of the Nile mimic flowing dunes with those long-drawn oud notes, or that music from central Brazil is bouncy and rhythmic, like the jungle, and music from the Himalayas is majestic and bassy? On the airplane back, I looked out and could now see those scars on the Earth; miles and miles of clear-cut hills. It takes no explaining, it's like a pretty woman with cut-lashes on her face. Oregonians endure months of rain and fog for summer's like this. But they also endure the rape of the land because it feeds their city, which certainly makes Portland sound enough to be the future of America, not of Cascadia.

Maps and Journals Oregon Map

Pacific Northwest Kalaloch, Washington The Barnacles of Kalaloch This narrative explores the role of that ancient animal, the barnacle in the tidepool waters of Kalaloch beach on the Olympic Peninsula. Neah Bay, Washington The Artist and the Whale Hunter forever shrouded in a thick fog and a light drizzle, as if from a plane you could never know it was there. Portland, Oregon Bluegrass in Cascadia An adventure through Portland and its rapidly changing view of itself and the outside world. Cental Coast, Oregon Umpqua Dunes Genesis Part III of the Oregon Testament. My attempts to learn about Oregon's native prehistory begins with an explosion, and some success. We discuss the origins of Native Americans in Oregon, and why the coast is the perfect place to begin this project. Coastal Ranges, Oregon Foraging Nehalem Valley Part IV of the Oregon Testament. Glowing Mushrooms, deer-meat, stone and a Portland underworld creating a world based on old ways. Columbia Valley, Oregon River Civilization Part V of the Oregon Testament. Caged bears, salmon spears, and very old poo.