Another foot of snow, another snow day

The title of this post says it all. There's more than a foot of snow on the ground and it's still snowing. It was windy last night, so of course everything is drifted. The sun is trying to come out from behind the clouds, so perhaps this snowstorm is winding down.

I didn't really want this evening's events to be canceled. Oh, well.

The Palmer Divide creates interesting rain-shadow effects. The area to the south of us didn't get as much snow as we did.

Most of last week's snowfall is melted, at least in the sunny areas. We did have above-freezing temperatures, which helps. Even with sub-freezing temperatures, the strong sun combined with the dry air leads to rapid snow disappearance. Some of it is melting and evaporation, and some is sublimation. Areas in the shade stay snowy for a lot longer.

Oregon Photos

Here are a few photos from our trip to Oregon this past fall.


The above photo is from Macleay park, one of the parks that makes up the Forest Park system. It's a small stone structure at the point where the Wildwood Trail intersects the Macleay trail. It's called the Stone House (duh), and was originally built by the WPA in the 1930's as a public restroom. It was seriously damaged in the Columbus Day windstorm of 1962 and never repaired. These days the building looks like some kind of otherworldly ruins in the forest, something out of a fairy tale. Ferns grow on the railings and walls and roof. Kids (and adults) love wandering around in it and on it.

The WPA and similar Depression-era projects were considered to be frivolous even at the time. But I'm glad they happened. They've left us a treasure trove.

Here's a photo of the ferns on one of the stone railings leading upstairs.


The small room behind the door show in the top photo often has interesting graffiti on the walls. I have no idea what this example means, but I thought it was both aesthetic and enigmatic.


The Macleay trail is a nice one for fall and winter hiking. Ditto for the Wildwood Trail and all the other trails of Forest Park. They are pleasant at all times of the year, but especially when snow and ice cover the high country trails. Some of the Forest Park trails can get astonishingly muddy, but that's about it.