I LOVE OREGON!!!

This is going to be a loooooooooooooooong post, FYI... Jenny and my adventures this weekend are nothing less than spectacular.. Let's just say, we are a sort of local celebrity. haha. only cuz we made the news. but let's not get ahead of ourselves. we'll just start from the beginning.

It was decided long before that Friday we were going up to the mountain. There had to be snow somewhere, and we were determined to find it! A long trip up to Timberline proved to be not quite worth our time, but we saw snow! And we embraced it!! A snowball fight and some time later we decided to check out the scene at Mt. Hood Meadows. That was a bust!! What little snow there was you couldn't pack into a snowball. it was like ice.

Friday night was a bad night for the mountain, and it showed in our spirits as we drove home. The hope of the mountain trip was flakes falling from the sky and a light dusting of snow on the ground. We got nothing of the sort, and depressed as we were, we made the best of it the ways we knew how!!

Saturday went by with nothing to speak of -- nothing eventful that is. Jenny worked while konnor and i played. We just went about our business, of course checking the ski reports from time to time. We saw the possibility of snow that night and the following day, but our hopes were not something we were willing to give up.

It all happened so fast on Sunday. I got up, Eddie left to play frisbee golf ((big f-ing surprise)) and i got online. You know, just to check it out. I couldn't believe my eyes!!! Where there was no snow the night before on timberline, i could see white patches!! Watching the live cam, i saw the snow.. it was FALLING!!! i texted jenny as fast as my little fingers would let me. Of course, she checked right away, and the excitement began to brew. We made plans of the mountain, and talk of how what and where began. Of course we'd have to wait until she was off work ((6 p.m. -- yuck!))

I left the computer for a few hours ((i did not want to)) to get some shopping done and to pass the time. Kelly had come back into town, so we spend some time out and about. I was so excited -- it was raining soooo hard on the valley floor, and i could only dream what it was like at the mountain at each precise moment!! I couldn't wait for jenny to be off of work -- i wanted up there!!!

When i got home around 3 ((to do laundry and clean the car)) i checked again.. There was a SERIOUS amount of snow!!! This storm wasn't playin around! i was a tad bit scared of the hills to get to the mountain, and how bad they'd be, but hey, we had done it all last snow season with no chains or traction tires, so all should be well.

Ha, that's where i was wrong. Jenny got to my house, we got our shit together, and left for the retreat of a lifetime!! Or maybe the adventure of a lifetime. Yikes! As we were driving up, we got higher and higher in elevation, and realized that the water on the road was becoming slush. And then, it was becoming snow. Uh oh. No plows yet. This storm had taken Odot ((our "trusty" department of transportation)) completely by surprise. We pass a semi who is pulled over, then a truck, a car, and then.. we start to slide. Yeah, we aren't going ANY further!

We pull over, a feeling of defeat whooshing over our high hopes to sled at ski bowl. Of course, we aren't giving up -- you'd hafta be dumb to think that. Jenny takes the wheel, and tries her luck, with nothing. Damn. Now, mind you, there have been cops EVERYWHERE and an occasional ambulance storming up the mountain. A little afraid of getting a ticket ((and dying)) we take a brake from trying to get back on the road. So we got outside, and started playing in the snow. Ok, just throwing snowballs at my stupid car, and wishing we could cry without our tears turning to ice cycles.

Odot came up to check on all of us there were in a line, stuck, a few minutes after we got there. After hitting everyone else up, a nice guy asked us how we were. We lied, telling him that we were just waiting for a couple friends to bring us chains, and that we thought we had them, and didn't. We made nice with him when he saw our Oregon Ducks beanies, and struck up conversation. He left us with only a warning about chains, and went to check on another driver. Phew.... Thank goodness.

We continued panicking, wondering what we were going to do, and throwing snowballs at my car out of frustration. Meantime, cars were coming up and down the mountain, not a care in the world. An SUV pulled over in front of us 10 or so minutes after Odot left, and we thought he may be in the same predicament as us. Haha, what a joke.

As soon as he stepped out of the car, huge video camera in hand, we knew he wasn't stuck. A snow plow came by ((finally)) and he filmed it go by. Then he came up to us, asked us how we were, and confirmed that we were stuck. That's when he asked if he could ask us a couple questions on camera. ((NOOO!! i thought in my head)) all that came out was "sure". So here we were, embarrassed beyond belief, and going to be on TV!!!! Here's a link to the segment. We're the ones that they considered to be stranded. http://www.kptv.com/video/14637274/index.html

Watching the man from fox 12 leave, we formed our game plan. We would wait until Odot wasn't looking, and then head up the rest of the way to Ski Bowl to PLAY IN THE SNOW!!! yeah! So, again, Jenny hopped in the driver seat, and me riding shotgun ((i trusted her more to do it -- haha)), we waited patiently, and then were OFF!

We found Ski Bowl 10 or 15 minutes later, and both let out a huge sigh of relief. Stupidly, we parked in a lot across from Ski Bowl, and not only found ourselves stuck but face to face with a police officer. He asked Jenny about the chains, to which she replied that we forgot them, and he told her that we park here or get a fat ticket. Well, if he was letting us off with a warning, we were gonna take it!!! NO DOUBT!!

After dodging Odot and a cop, and getting unstuck, we got back to Ski Bowl and had ourselves a few hours of pure bliss letting the snow fall around us, making a sled ramp, and eating fresh powdery snow that was untouched. It was a night to wash away our worries, even if only for a couple hours. It was well worth the wait, and all the hassle it took us to get up there.

On our way back down, jenny turned her phone back on ((it was almost dead, and we needed to preserve the battery since mine was dead)) and saw that she had a couple text messages from various people who saw us on TV!!! THE 10 O'CLOCK NEWS!! AHA.

I can honestly say that i am in love with the mountain. I'm just glad my best friend is too. :-)