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William Sullivan Lecture
September 3, 2019
$65 – $75Popular travel writer William Sullivan will be presenting “New Hikes for Exploring the Natural Wonders of Eastern Oregon” on Friday, August 12th, 7pm in the Pozzi Education Building at the Sunriver Nature Center & Observatory. This event is free and open to the public, but donations are warmly welcomed.
Sullivan, a fifth generation Oregonian, is a travel author who feels keenly about the need to walk a fine line between promoting the state’s wild and scenic areas and working to protect them. After describing a particularly beautiful part of Eastern Oregon he has said, “There is absolutely nothing keeping a corporation from China or Russia from buying one of these places and turning it into kitty litter.” Consequently he hopes encouraging people to explore these special places will motivate them to urge protection.
He has also written about Sutton Mountain, a 58,000 acre stretch of land surrounding the John Day Fossil Beds that could become Oregon’s next Federally protected wilderness area but “only if Congress ever gets its act together.”
While perhaps best known for his “100 Hikes” series which has provided detailed information about all corners of the state, he has also written four novels and several non-fiction books about Oregon. Some of his best known works are
The Case of D.B. Coopers Parachute, Oregon’s Greatest Known Disasters, Hiking Oregon’s History, and Listening for Coyote, his journal of a personal 1,000-mile hike across the state, which was named as “one of Oregon’s 100 most significant books” by the Oregon Cultural Heritage Commission.
He has spoken frequently in Bend and Sunriver and is known for his fascinating anecdotes and audience-pleasing sense of humor. Sullivan and his wife, Janell, live in Eugene, but spend summers in a rustic cabin they built by hand in a roadless area of the Coast range. The challenges they faced are chronicled in his memoir, Cabin Fever. Additional information about Sullivan’s books and favorite adventures can be found atwww.oregonhiking.com