.
Central Patrol Road, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Vultures on Peter French homestead tower, Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
My Midnight Date on the Bundy Militia Sentry Lookout Tower
The refuge's manned watch tower: photo by Rick Bowmer/AP via Vanity Fair, 14 January 2016
I
asked where Bundy was, and Payne explained that he was already “racked”
for the night, or in bed. It was 10 P.M. Sensing my disappointment, he
suggested another activity.
“Want to climb the tower?” he asked.
“Absolutely,” I replied.
The watchtower has been a much-photographed feature of the standoff, both because it can be safely viewed from a distance and [because] it’s a tidy symbol of the insurrection, with a gunman manning it around the clock. It looks like it belongs on an oil field rather than a nature preserve, what with its shaky metal scaffolding exposed to the sleet and freezing wind, but it’s typically used to spot fires. Now it is the militia’s strongest defense asset, offering a clear view for miles from its lofty cab. But first you have to get there. The climb starts on a slippery metal ladder and ascends eight sets of stairs in vertiginous switchbacks. Up top, a trap door opens into a room with windows that swing outward. There, you’ll find yourself in a small enclosure, 150 feet above the ground with two heavily armed men.
When we reached the lookout, Payne opened the window so I could see the view, but the night was cloudy. I got the feeling that this wasn’t working out exactly as he’d hoped. I put my hand on a narrow window ledge where five boxes rested.
“What are these?” I asked reflexively, as I realized they were magazines of ammunition.
“Candy,” Payne said.
There was a rifle in the room, and a piece of equipment that they were trying to hide from me, so I shone my cell phone on it. It was a long-range surveillance scope, engineered to make it possible to see a target from far away -- a sniper setup. “We don’t want to talk about that,” Payne said. “It’s really cool though, right?”
The guard, who went by Captain Moroni (a reference to a military commander in the Book of Mormon), had been in the watchtower for six hours. He had a canister of trail mix, some Windex and paper towels to clean the window, and a radio, which wasn’t working. Payne picked it up and tested it.
“This is Rogue in the tower,” he said and handed the radio back to Moroni.
“Check the channel and make sure it’s on 150,” someone replied.
“I hear you loud and clear. It’s on the right channel. Thank you. Over,” Moroni said politely, only to receive static in return.
The radios were “soup.” Part of the problem, Payne said, was that people were taking them but not recharging them. For now, there wasn’t a functional radio in the tower, which seemed pretty important. Payne said it didn’t really matter. Moroni could just yell -- everyone below would hear him.
-- from That Night I Spent with Ammon Bundy’s Armed Militia: Marnie Hanel, Vanity Fair, 14 January 2016
Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Sanctuary
Sandhill Cranes, Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Sandhill Cranes, Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Sandhill Crane, Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Coyote in a hay field, Benson Pond, Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Great Horned Owl, Benson Pond, Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Great Horned Owl, Benson Pond, Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Great Horned Owl, Benson Pond, Central Patrol Road, Malheur Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jennifer Rowan-Henry, 24 September 2015
Protected
Clark's Grebe with young, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jim Maloney, 31 May 2011
Black-necked Stilt, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jim Maloney, 31 May 2011
White-faced Ibis, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jim Maloney, 31 May 2011
Burrowing Owl, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Jim Maloney, 16 March 2011
Pronghorn Antelope, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Daniel Barton, 2015
Embracing Your Constitutionally Protected Freedom To Toot Your Own Antelope Horn While the Whole Dayyum World Waits for God or Somebody To Intervene
Occupier Brand Thornton blows a antelope horn while reporters wait. "It's for God to intervene." #Oregonstandoff#OregonStandoff
Ammon Bundy caricature: composite image by Donkey Hotey, 14 January 2016
Some guy just sent the Oregon militia 55 gallons of lube to go with those dildos: Image: Mashable composite: Rick Bowmer/Associated Press via Mashable, 14 January 2016
Cornelia Retweeted Mashable: Some guy just sent the Oregon militia 55 gallons of lube to go with those dildos:
Cornelia added,
Oh no! He didn't! Hahahahaha! Americans have got to be the funniest people on Earth! #OregonStandoff #HarneyCounty: image via Cornelia @CorneliaPaladin, 14 January 2016
The Bundys Have A Vision For The West, and You Aren't Included #OregonStandoff: image via Hatewatch @Hatewatch, 14 January 2015
So…everyone in #HarneyCounty who wants Bundy to go home please raise your hands #OregonStandoff: image via Cornelia @PaladinCornelia, 14 January 2016
For all of you who've never been here, just FYI #HarneyCounty is a stunning place. #OregonStandoff: image via Amanda Peacher Verified account @amandapeacher, 14 January 2016
I update a Venn diagram every few months to track which groups are gaining, which are shrinking and a degree of overlap #OregonStandoff: image via JJ MacNab @jjmacnab, 14 January 2016
Pronghorn Antelope, Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Oregon: photo by Daniel Barton, 2015
Indian villagers take part in a community fishing event during the Bhogali Bihu celebrations at Goroimari Lake in Panbari: photo by Biju Boro/AFP, 14 January 2016
Indian villagers take part in a community fishing event during the Bhogali Bihu celebrations at Goroimari Lake in Panbari: photo by Biju Boro/AFP, 14 January 2016
Flock to one of these 2016 bird festivals for an unforgettable #WildlifeRefuge experience: image via US Fish and Wildlife @USFWS, 13 January 2016
I'll post a picture of mine of Malheur NWR a day until the illegal occupation ends #supportmalheur @PortlandAudobon: image via Nathan Cooper @Nature_Is_Grand, 13 January 2016
I'll post a picture of mine of Malheur NWR a day until the illegal occupation ends #supportmalheur @PortlandAudobon: image via Nathan Cooper @Nature_Is_Grand, 14 January 2016
Rally to #SupportMalheur and America's #publiclands next week in Portland: image via Center for Bio Div @CenterforBioDiv, 14 January 2016
An armed guard from the Bundy Militia stands watch outside the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge: photo by SIPA/AP via Vanity Fair, 14 January 2016
Maybe the most picturesque scene I've ever experienced. Photo doesn't do it justice. #Oregonstandoff: image via Elliot Njus @enjus, 14 January 2016
4 comments:
"Let us not talk falsely now, the hour is getting late"
"Outside in the cold distance two riders were approaching, the wind began to howl"
Neil Young: All Along the Watchtower (live at Rock am Ring, 2002)
Jimi Hendrix: All Along the Watchtower (live, 1968)
Richie Havens: All Along the Watchtower (live at Mountain Jam, 31 May 2009)
Bob Dylan: All Along the Watchtower (live at Woodstock, 1994)
Wildlife experts have recently discovered a new, invasive species in the Malheur Wildlife Refuge. (Malheur, by the way, is French for bad luck). The dipwadus americanus has made a sudden and unwanted appearance in the Federal preserve in Oregon. Authorities say the animal’s chief characteristic is its stunted growth; it’s behavior is aggressive but confused and it’s vision myopic and poorly resolved. It is known for digging holes from which it cannot extricate itself. It’s call resembles a distress signal, even when the only danger present is the dipwadus itself. Experts believe that dipwadus americanus will soon grow tired of itself and go extinct.
Tom,
#SupportMalheur . . . Great Bird Photos . . . Bundy's Bumblers ("there wasn’t a functional radio in the tower") . . .
Not to worry, ol' Dipwadus, we've got your back... but that's only because it takes us so much longer to get around to the front... still, just sayin', like.
And about those radios, we've managed an amazing overnight technical upgrade in our communications system: we've brought in a new server in a funny outfit, formerly an author of... er, what was it again, Book of Mormon... Declaration of Independence?
Wild Visitations
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