Deadly Highway 97

I started this project in January of this year without being sure what it would become, what I would learn, and what I would gain as a photographer. I’m still unsure on the first and third points, but I have definitely learned one thing:

Driving on highway 97 in Central Oregon is dangerous.

The map points above are mostly from highway 97; the red markers are individual desconsos and the green circles groups of them. Especially in the more rural sections of the road, my chances of finding memorials to photograph has proven to be very high, almost frighteningly so.

Consider that I am only finding memorials put out by families of a particular faith and who are motivated to spend the time to build and maintain the descanso. How many families are there who lost a loved one on highway 97 that weren’t similarly motivated? And how many families are there who would never build something like this?

I suspect the numbers are quite high.

This post is largely cathartic for me: a reminder to be careful when I am driving for this project, my sports cars, and in general, especially on deadly highway 97.