As The Ticker mentioned in July, the cottonwood tree as the mouth of the Boardman River needed to be taken down because it was mostly dead. We can remember the old tree standing proudly next to the bridge over the river, watching slow-moving tourists as they got in my way on my drive back from Costco:
A few months later, it reminded me of The Giving Tree, the classic children's book, a stumpy shadow of its former self. If you haven't read it, don't - it's sad.
But the tree is getting new life, sort-of. Local artist Scott Chupp (guys named Scott are great) is working to transform the ugly tree cadaver into a work of art, a sculpture of a trout and a sturgeon. He has made good progress, and soon tourists will have a completely different reason to drive slowly in front of me on the parkway.
