Henry rides the White River rapids at the White River Sno-Park.

During my little road trip on Tuesday, I made a stop at the White River Sno-Park to let the dogs out, run, play and swim in the tiny White River.

Every time I go to White River, it is never the same. Every year it’s different because the fall and winter storms can re-engineer the streamflow.

Henry decided to brave the ten-foot overhangs and lunge towards the water and go for a swim. Then he’s frantically swimming back to shore as the current takes him through the waves and hole.

He’s out of the water and running along the overhangs. He’s lost sight of me, so he’s now barking to call for my assistance.

Owen, my black Lab mix, hears Henry and tries to assist him, but he can’t find a way down. Soon Owen’s down on the bank, guiding Henry back to higher lands at the parking lot.

And you always wondered how dogs survived in the wild. They call it teamwork.

Emergency crews at the scene of a pedestrian-train hit at the 2700 block of SE Olsen St. in Milwaukie. Photo by Bryan Dorr, July 22, 2007.

I just wrote about an event that happened close to one year ago, the Ball Point Fire. That event made it to the local television stations. At the same time, I came across a photo that I shot one year ago that was somewhat depressing.

One year ago from today, an 18-year old man was partying at a residence on the 2700 block of SE Olsen St. He was intoxicated with alcohol. He passed out on the nearby railroad tracks. He was struck by the train.

The amazing part of the story is the man survived. He was not so fortunate to losing his leg. It was the news I heard at the September 2007’s Ardenwald-Johnson Creek Neighborhood Association meeting from Milwaukie Police Officer Kevin Krebs.

I spoke with Officer Krebs at the Ardenwald Christmas party last December. I asked if there were any follow-ups on the incident. Everything seemed to have gone quiet since. I was even curious if any charges were pressed since a minor was provided with alcohol. Nothing new to report on that either.

It’s a tragedy to the man at his young age learn life’s hard lessons the hard way. Many teenagers and young adults think the idea of drunkenness and risky behavior is cool and mainstream. When tragedy strikes at such a young age, that’s a very long time to live with that mistake.

Ball Point fire (on far right of image) on July 17, 2007.

Last year, I went on a small drive that took me through Forest Road 44, a connector between Oregon 35 and Dufur. On the return, I drove back on forest on Road 48, a road connecting Wamic to Oregon 35 near White River. I stopped at a pullout and shot some photos of the Ball Point Fire near Wamic. This was July 17, 2007.

One year later, July 22, 2008, I drove on the same Road 44 through Dufur and returned on Road 48 through Wamic, stopping yet again to photograph another fire a few miles south of last year’s Ball Point Fire. This new fire started recently. As I drove along road 48, I passed many Forest Service emergency vehicles. I take it this was a new and developing fire.

An unnamed fire at or near Bonney Crossing Campground just south of last year’s Ball Point fire, as seen on July 22, 2008.

I could not get confirmation on this fire’s name. I pulled out my Benchmark Atlas to determine what is near the plume. The smoke appeared to be at or near Bonney Crossing Campground. Fortunately I had wireless Internet data at the pullout. It’s amazing how fast news can get out these days!

Editor’s note: I contacted the Mt. Hood National Forest on July 23, 2008, for more information about the fire since there was nearly no coverage from the media and the agencies. The official name of the fire is Badger Fire. The Bonney Crossing campground was unscathed.

After I purchased a Satellite Personal Tracker yesterday, I tested it right from my home.

Today, I put SPOT on the spot with test transmits from various locations in remote areas of Mt. Hood National Forest.

All check-in/OK transmits were successful. Then came the actual coordinations on the Google Maps satellite images. All five transmits pointed my location right on within the 20-foot tolerance.

What affect did the weather have to do?

Milwaukie and Lolo Pass transmits took place under cloudy conditions. The Ramsey Hill (west of Dufur), Wamic (west of Threemile Rd.) and White River Sno-Park transmits took place under clear skies.

All messages were received after downloading the email after my return from the trip.