Introverts have no trouble social distancing. It’s the reverse of that which tends to make us uneasy. Still, while we shelter at home, cringing every Sunday when our iPhones notify us of the amount of our lives we have wasted in the past week, we gaze longingly out the window just like extroverts do. The pandemic is not necessarily the introvert’s dream, because some of us are landscape photographers, and we missed the entire Spring.

Oregon is slowly opening up. This means that getting out is easier. I have made it into the Columbia Gorge twice in the last two weeks.

The pitfalls of pandemic photography are thus:

1. Most state parks in the Gorge, and on the coast are closed, as are restaurants. My wife and I are well over 50. WE NEED BATHROOMS.
2. Most smaller towns that we are interested in visiting have told visitors to stay away.
3. We need wheelchair accessible trails, most of which are closed within striking distance of the Portland area.
4. Introverts can have ADHD, like me. OUT! LET ME OUT OF THIS HOUSE! AAAAAAAIIIIGGGHHHHHHH! Oh. I could pick up a deadly virus. Let me think about this.

So, now we go There and Back Again, like Bilbo did, but without orcs, rings, and wizards. Today, we hiked up the Mosier Twin Tunnels Trail, stopped at the Mosier Market for sandwiches, and the came right home. In pre-pandemic times, we would have continued east to The Dalles, or even over to Washington, stopping at various spots to take pictures, before having lunch at a favorite spot like (yes, these are plugs. If you live near, eat at these places if you get the chance) Apple Valley BBQ or The Blue Canoe in Parkdale, Trillium Café or Three Rivers Grill in Hood River, Locks of Dogs and Treats in Cascade Locks, The Baldwin Saloon or Rivertap in The Dalles, or Molly B’s in Tygh Valley. We may have stopped for groceries at The Farm Stand in Hood River, or for ice cream at The Old Trunk on the Dee Highway near Odell. We may have stopped for wine tasting at the Wy’East winery, The Gorge White House, or 15 Mile Creek Winery, for fruit at Draper Girls Farm or Hood View Orchards, for antiques at Breezeway Antiques in The Dalles or Antiques and Oddities in Bingen, Washington, before driving to the Maryhill Winery where we are club members. We may have even stopped at the Stonehenge Replica at Maryhill before heading to Goldendale for some natural groceries at The Grist Mill, or to take a pleasant drive along the Klickitat River to Lyle, where we would take Old Route 8 on the bluff overlooking the Columbia River before stopping at the Dalles Mountain Ranch to photograph the wildflowers. On the way home, we may have stopped at the East Wind Drive-In in Cascade Locks for a massive ice cream cone before catching a sunset at Crown Point.

These things are unavailable now because we want to do our part to not spread the virus, and because we can’t find public bathrooms. Note: the Memaloose Rest Stop on I-84 is open. We stayed home for all of March and April while the balsamroots and lupins blossomed on the high plateaus and along the Historic Columbia Gorge Highway as it pretzels from Mosier to Rowena. We missed the storm lighting over Mount Hood from Trillium Lake, and sunrises from Rowena Crest.

Oregon is a landscape photographer’s nirvana. The house is mundane, and the cat is annoying. Let me out.

So, we were out in Mosier today. It was there and back again (as foretold by me earlier in this post). I packed lightly, with just the infrared camera and my Nikon D810 in a single camera bag. The rainshadow (see my earlier post on the subject for explanation) was straining at its leash, and dark clouds gathered overhead. There was sun to the east, though, and I had an infrared camera. We made it to the top of the hill, just before the trail headed down to the Twin Tunnels (old highway tunnels with windows looking over the Columbia River) before raindrops splatted around us. We made it back to the car just in time for the promised rain storm to fizzle out completely, leaving us to wish we had continued to the tunnels. Ah, weather.

We had weather the previous weekend as well. We wanted some peaches for a cocktail that my wife wanted to try. So, we headed out to Draper Girls Farm. Yes, we could have went to the local grocery store, but I never would have gotten these pictures:

I took these pictures in Sherman County along Route 206 near the Fulton Canyon. The cusp between rain and sun is where the good stuff hides.

The pandemic has changed everything. I postponed a photoshoot with a model, as well as the opening of a photography studio. These things will still happen, but only after the threat is passed. I will try to get out when I can to take pictures, but only if it’s safe, and if bladders permit. Stay tuned.