July 30, 2020

My Past Life; My Current Life

I have pulled a contrail across the sky, westbound into the setting sun flying a Boeing jet; and now I sit and watch it all in a wilderness fire lookout post. There is something poetic about that.

Pinyon Peak Fire Lookout
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness
Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho

July 27, 2020

COVID-19 hit my family X2 today.

My nephew’s wife, who is a professor of pharmacology at Auburn University, and who is pregnant, is positive for COVID19.

And my dear youngest brother, who is a medical doctor treating COVID19 patients in Atlanta, is sick .. presumptively with COVID19.

July 24, 2020

Hundreds of Lightning Strikes in the District Today

No fire starts detected .. yet. The storms were very wet. That is good.


Looking south from Pinyon Peak, Idaho
(Photo ©2020 BO ZARTS STUDIO)

July 24, 2020

My fire season home on the top of the world (elev. 9945 feet)

Pinyon Peak Fire Lookout - Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness
Salmon-Challis National Forest, Idaho
(As always, ©2020 Bo Zarts Studio)

July 22, 2020

If I Never Take Another Photo in My Life ..

About sixty seconds from clouds obscuring the comet Neowise on Sunday night. I was just setting the camera up for what I thought would be an hour of shooting around the lookout environs on the tiptop of Pinyon Peak (9945' elevation). The lookout interior was illuminated with a single 6" ChemLight lightstick. Camera was a Sony A7-R4 with a trusty Canon 24-105 adapted lens. About two hours later I was jolted by a 3.0 quake about 7 miles away.

Pinyon Peak Fire Lookout
Frank Church River of No Return Wilderness
Salmon-Challis National Forest
Idaho