One of the advantages of residing in Portland, Oregon is its central location from many interesting parks, preserves, and natural curiosities. A couple of weeks ago, amidst a break in the clouds, I made a weekend gateway for the Painted Hills Unit of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument in central Oregon.

Located about 75 miles east of Bend, “Painted Hills is named after the colorful layers of its hills corresponding to various geological eras, formed when the area was an ancient river floodplain” (Wikipedia).

One thing for sure, there is a bottomless well of very interesting people in Arcata, California. I decided to start documenting many of the more colorful people I come across. With the waining days of warm sunshine, and my busy fieldwork schedule, I can only spend a couple of hours each weekend roaming around downtown Arcata, looking for people to photograph. Here’s my first attempt.