Georges Cuvier. When we think of scientists that changed our world view fundamentally and forever, Newton, Darwin, Galileo, Einstein, and a host of others come to mind but we never learn about Georges Cuvier. Cuvier was a naturalist in the early 19th century who worked to compare fossils with living creatures. He essentially created the …
Author Archives: colindotpdx
Memorial to the Abolition of Slavery In Nantes there is an almost invisible but moving and eye-opening memorial, built into the quays along the Loire, to the abolition of slavery. The memorial is deliberately intended to help Nantes come to terms with its past as the largest home base for slave trade boats from France, …
There isn’t an App for this. It is easy to get blasé about your experiences in life and find it harder and harder to be truly impressed, but the Steens Mountains in Eastern Oregon possess the ability to blow your socks off. In fact, nothing prepares you for the view from the East Rim Overlook. …
Finally home after a great ride across Oregon. As I am traveling with Mick Sumpter, we had to visit Sumpter just outside Baker City. Then we took off across the Blue Mountains to Granite and Ukiah; out into the high desert cattle ranches around Heppner, then the wheatlands to Condon and Wasco. Over two hundred …
Moab Long Canyon On the last day of our little trip to Moab, we took the opportunity to ride up Long Canyon. From the Colorado River the trail winds up the canyon and climbs about 1500 feet to a fallen rock that makes a natural tunnel. The views coming back are just stunning with monumental …
Riding in Moab Moab is at the centre of a spectacular area of red rocks – on the Colorado River and wedged between Arches National Park and Canyonlands National Park – and has a cornucopia of roads and trails. Here is a sampling of our experience this weekend. The panorama is a view of the …
The Mecca for Speed Freaks So the journey to Moab from Portland continued from Frenchglen down into Nevada and along the most boring 400 miles of freeway you can possibly imagine. No photos of that my friends. At the end of that nightmare, however, you end up in Mecca – The Bonneville Speedway – place …
Oregon is a Wonderland I’ve said it before but here we are again. I started a motorbike journey with my old friend, Mick Sumpter, from Portland to Moab, UT and cut diagonally across Oregon. From Portland across the base of Mount Hood – burst out of the forest to Maupin – across the Deschutes and …
Oregon’s got Talent … end Enterprise and Hardman. As I was circulating around the Northwest these last couple of weeks, I noticed how many “Dictionary Towns” we passed. Not “Adjective+Noun” towns like Silver Lake or New Bridge or Christmas Valley but single word names that can be found in Webster’s. A casual study suggests that …
California Coda As we were in the neighbourhood, we decided to dive into California from our circumnavigation of Oregon. From Klamath Falls to Mt. Shasta, then across the Trinity Alps from Scott Mountain, alongside Trinity Lake and west to Fortuna. Then down and back along the Avenue of the Giants and up the Pacific coast …
Colin's Travel Journal 