The mountain fires of 2017 chased me from British Columbia to Vancouver Island! Smoke then followed me to Seattle and to Portland.

Purple (mountain) Haze

I headed to Bend Oregon and central Oregon. I then battled the Eclipse-Prepper crowd, so I escaped south to Crater Lake.

What did I find? A fire!

I have a new appreciation for all of the firefighters and those that battle smoke and flames to direct traffic. It can’t be easy making the evacuation and road-closure decisions.

Lightning is the number one culprit to forest fires. It’s natures way of causing new growth that the forest needs. Fires control the pine beetle (the critter that burrows into lodgepole and kills them, leaving millions of acres of vertical firewood).

Amazingly, the flames causes pine cones to burst, unleash their seeds, and start the new growth process.

Man has done his part with carelessness but has also kept our towns safe (and helped me navigate my way home!)

Once again the truth is in the middle.

Smoke on the Water

How’s your summer? Feely hazy?

There’s nothing like a long ride (or even a walk) to clear your mind.

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