My "host" Jim Rosenback invited me on a ride up the Columbia River Gorge, not something I expected, and then he told me we were headed to the town of Cascade Locks, a small town that was built on a site that has a history from the Lewis and Clark expedition.

As we went, Jim began to tell me of part of his life story and the fact that for the first 30 years of his life Cascade LocksCascade Locks was his home town, his parents and his grandparents all lived their lives there, and he had plenty of stories to tell!

And then, after a quick stop at a local establishment, we went on, to the Cascade Locks Cemetery, another unexpected surpise. I pulled photo gear out of the back of his SUV and then he reached in and fetched small flags to place on some graves.

It wasn't until I caught up to hime at the first grave that I realized we were dealing with the graves of his family members. First he "planted" an American flag on the grave of his dad, then as I took some photos he headed down to plant an American flag at the grave of his grandparents, and then a Finnish flag at the grave of his "grand-uncle", all three were born in Finland, came to America, and who had died there in Cascade Locks.

Wow, by the time I was done I realized that this was a "special occasion", where I was actually photographing/capturing "memories", both of the people of Jim's family, and of this visit where he could show some honor to them and their memories!