Winter Everywhere: The Recap Part 1

Bear with me as I travel back in time. Back in time to when the thermometer was reading in the single-digits, the snow was everywhere and no matter where you drove it was treacherous. Ahhhhh, that was just a few weeks ago, when Sara and I made the drive over the pass six times, put on more than 1,800 miles, and saw first-hand how the other side of the mountains dealt with real snow.

Bring it on!

Friday December 19th
I departed Bend on Friday December 19th, which was a snowy day with a serious storm on the way. I left early enough, so my worries about having to drive in snowy darkness were mostly put to rest. I made decent time as I headed north towards Mt Hood. Of course, I knew there would be snow on the pass, but I was surprised how soon after passing through Warm Springs the road was snow packed and the truckers were lined up with chains in hand.

For the record, my car doesn't have ample clearance for chains, so armed with my studless snow tires, I was ready to take on another winter. Last year they performed like a champ, so I really wasn't worried. The roads were plowed and the scenery was gorgeous.

After making it through the pass, the snow thinned out on the roads. Portland had not yet been hit hard by the upcoming storm as I passed through on I-205 heading north. When the road merged into I-5, traces of snow began to show up as it was snowing. This was really my first taste of driving I-5 with light snow, and yes, most people were still driving 70mph. A little surreal.

I reached Longview in good time, and made my way back towards Oregon across the Lewis & Clark bridge. Winter quickly returned as I exited onto HWY 30 heading West and rising in elevation. This was a quick lesson in what a road that isn't prepared for snow does when it happens: very little. The drive towards Astoria was slow, slippery and scenic.

Saturday December 20th
The snow hit Oregon, and hit it hard. Time for the winter experience coastal style.

Let's just say that winter on the beach is interesting.

And cold.

Yes, that's the beach. I had never experienced snow on the beach before, and this was serious snow. Add in the fact that the wind was blowing like normal and the snow/sleet was going horizontal and stinging like hell. I stepped into a drift near a dune and it went up to my knee. Yep, knee-deep snow on the beach. Amazing. If you want to see what the jetty and the ship wreck look like sans snow, look here.

Things certainly looked different. The roads were covered with swirling snow that moved like snakes as the wind did it's normal gusty coastal thing.

Sunday December 21st
The snow didn't melt, in fact, it snowed more and more. Portland was buried and it only made sense to head in that direction. Well, actually, we were heading back to Bend, so it was in our direct path. First up was HWY 30, which was very snowy and slow going. Thankfully, it was a Sunday and traffic was light, mainly due to the snow.

The Lewis & Clark bridge was packed with snow and getting onto I-5 didn't see the snow let up either. This was beyond trippy, as traffic was moving at about 45mph, the lanes were not visible, and the sound of chains came from everywhere. This was a major Interstate Freeway and it was plowed worse than 3rd Street in Bend. Crazy.

As we reached Portland, traffic was so light that we practically owned the road. Crazy. We stopped by IKEA, but it was closed. I loved the sign over the road to the airport that read "Drive Careful, Winter Conditions". Really? I had no idea. Of course the roads off of I-205, were hardly plowed at all, so while Portland had less snow than Bend, it felt much worse.

We made our way over to Burgerville for lunch and getting in the parking lot was a serious challenge. This was the main reason so many businesses were shut down as well. People were afraid to drive in the snow, and the city had little ability to plow the roads, let alone businesses.

After lunch, we navigated towards HWY 26, which meant taking I-84 (which was closed just past the exit we needed to take). It was surreal, being the only car on the road mid-day. Seriously. The drifts along the road were deep, and roads that you normally cruised in 15 minutes, took twice as long, if not longer.

HWY 26 was a mess up to Sandy. It was crazy thinking this way, but I knew once we made it to Government Camp, it would be much easier. Indeed it was, despite the fact there was snow packed on the road all the way back to Bend. Seriously, solid snow packed roads from Astoria to Bend. Now, that's what I call Winter. The first day of it in-fact.

The Wife "BOR" said: