Inventory Trip #1

Eastern Oregon, 12/7-12/10/09

This year our company sent us out to all the corners of the northwest to count inventories. My first trip would be to the Northeast Oregon area - Bend to Enterprise. I was assigned this area because I don't mind driving in snow and there's several passes I would need to go over along my way.

I flew into Redmond/Bend airport late in the morning and stopped by to pick up my rental car. The customer service gal mentioned I'd be driving an H3 and I wondered if I was supposed to know what that code meant. It took me a few seconds to realize that what she meant was an H3 - Hummer. OH S***! I'd be driving a Hummer! My boss & I had been joking about my needing a Hummer for Michael to allow me to go but I really didn't expect to be driving one. But I was glad to have it. Bend had been hit with a snow storm the night before I arrived and then sub-zero temps. The roads were slick. I slipped a little in the H3 but generally the beast handled the conditions rather well. Our manager & I actually had a little fun tootling around town in it.

The next morning, as I stepped out to load the car, the snow crunched beneath my feet. The night had been so cold ice had formed a thick layer on top of the snow. As I tried my best to scrape the ice off my windshield (my arms are too short to reach enough to make a difference) I noticed the temp was -11 degrees. YIKES! Glad to be in a well-heated car. But the sun was coming up, a rosy sky greeted me as I drove to Prineville. It was promising to be a marvelous day. It was -5 when I stopped to take pictures of the steam coming off the lake - my finger quickly froze and I quickly retreated to the warmth of the Hummer.

After Prineville, I made my way to the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument. Last time I was here was spring a couple of years ago. I wanted to see the painted hills unit with snow on them. Again I was happy to have been driving the H3 - the road over Ochoco Divide had several icy miles and the road leading into the Painted Hills unit was nothing but compact snow & ice. But the hills were as amazing in snow as I had hoped. I was having so much fun shooting the shapes & lines I almost didn't notice the cold. Almost. Next time I'm out here in the winter like this I need to stop at Blue Basin - if the painted hills look this cool, I can just imagine how the Blue Basin will look.

I stayed the night in John Day and the next morning made my way to one of my favorite areas in Eastern Oregon - the Wallowas. The day was so cold the cows standing out in the their fields had a bright shimmer of frost coating their hairs. The cold was becoming torturous. I was luxuriously warm in the Hummer. I toured around the Wollowa valley after the inventory count was finished. Drove to the end of Wallowa Lake and hoped for a sunset but there wasn't one happening for me. Explored a couple backroads and came across a stream with unusual ice formations - the ice had a rippled effect underneath the stream. Was so cool I had to get a couple of shots.

The next morning as I started my drive back to Bend and the airport I was stopped by steam coming off the Wallowa River hoarfrost forming on the branches and rocks, the sun streaming through to create a golden mist. I was enthralled. A To me, a marvelous send-off to my trip.