Dan Kistler Studios

Spokane

Had a chance to go down to the Riverside State Park and the river. Watched ospreys dive on the river and catch fish. Watched rafts shoot the rapids and hiked around on the rocks.

Posters of the day.

Eastern Washington

For the past few years I have come to Washington state to visit my dad in late September. And at that time of year Spokane is drier than 100 year old newspaper left in the desert. Feels like if you think about fire you could start one and the entire place would go up in flames. I am here in June this year and it is green here. Green and wet. Strange but great. So there are flowers and green stuff all around. So here are the posters of the day.

July 4th

I spent the 4th of July in Vancouver Washington. This city allows fireworks to be shot off over a period of four days and I think everyone in the city spent all their money on fireworks. Looking south toward the city at night the entire horizon was one big fireworks explosion. I think the neighbor spent at least $1000 on fireworks and started shooting them off on the 3rd of July. And these weren’t just little sparklers these were something that sounded like bombs. One after the other up to 2 am. If we want to get the economy going just have the the 4th of July once a month in Vancouver and they will spend all their money blowing things up in the sky.

Poster of the day.

A short hike in Central Oregon

The area around Bend offers all kinds of outdoor activities. Hiking is one of them. On this short hike we saw a deer with a magpie on its head and back. Don’t see that too often. Ducks, birds, gophers, golfers, a small clear and clean river, caves, rocks, and flowers. It was a cool day for a hike with clouds in the sky which seemed unusual after many days of no clouds and heat. The Eagle Crest resort area is well planned and offers all kinds of quiet places to get away from everything. Perfect place to spend a week.

Posters of the day.

Oregon 6.30.2010

A hike up Pilot Butte in Bend, Oregon is how everyone in Bend stays in shape. In fact it is the place to go to hike or run. On our hike up and down we were passed by a couple of people who seemed to go up and down the butte four or five times in the time it took us to do one hike up. A great view from the top of the surrounding mountains in all directions. What a great place to live!

Poster of the day.

Riding in Eastern Oregon

I don’t have a clue as to why I live in the midwest. And after riding the roads of eastern Oregon I really must leave the mid as soon as possible. Drove from Baker City, Oregon along Highway 26 to central Oregon near Bend through the most beautiful country possible. It was like riding through one long parkway through one forest after another. Snow capped peaks on the left and the right. Twisting, winding roads that are smooth as silk. Long straightaways where you can see the road ahead of you for miles. And no trucks. And very few cars. Passed more people on bikes than anything else on a Sunday drive. Sunshine, warmth and no humidity. Not much out here but that is the point.

So here are the posters of the day.

Summer motorcycle trip

Day three of the ride west has been filled with all kinds of images. Lots of dead deer that have been crushed by the big trucks. Plus a dead moose. Have you ever seen a dead moose on the freeway before? For a second I thought it was a cow or a small furry car.

The ride through Wyoming and into Utah and then into Idaho is so much more fun than Nebraska and Missouri. They have a thing out west called mountains, something the midwest has forgotten about. The area around Rock Springs Wyoming is something else with the rock formations. No time for photos so I will just have to remember them in my head. But all along the way we were driving in and out of hills and valleys, up and down and around all kinds of rivers and mountains. This is what driving and riding is all about.

Since I had no time for photos I decided to make the poster for the day out of words. All the words that come to mind and relate to the ride. Enjoy.

Heading west

After two days on the road and 12oo miles I finally feel like I have left the midwest behind and arrived in the west. Wyoming feels so big. Peering through my helmet at the vastness ahead of me reminds me of how small a speck I am on the face of this earth. The landscape of Missouri is that of small fields and trees. The landscape of Wyoming is of huge fields and no trees. Plus framing the landscape are mountains some with snow on them. Once you see that you know you are not in Kansas anymore. Good thing!

So here are a couple of posters for the day. A view from a rest stop in southern Wyoming.