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Day 705 – Remarkably Accurate

After my chilly Steens trip i decided to see what that part of Oregon looks like in X-Plane, so I loaded up my Piper Super Cub and headed southwest from Ashland Muni. After about one and a half hours i arrived over Roaring Springs Ranch and turned north toward Frenchglen. Once approximately over Frenchglen, i turned east and put in a 500 ft/min climb as the wedge of Steens Mountain began to rise below me. Once up to the ridge the scenery is remarkably accurate.

X-Plane is a real-time simulator… so my Cub is now sitting where i left it at Roaring Springs Airstrip. Unless i cheat and alter my starting airport the next time i start up the sim, i’ll be starting out from Roaring Springs. The sim is also real-weather, too, and the cub is a VFR aircraft. With winter coming on getting back to Ashland might be a bit tricky.

Steens, looking north

Looking north - Note Mann Lake, the only permanent lake in the area of the Alvord Desert.

Looking southeast

x-plane-steens-looking-south

Looking south

 

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10.28.11   Author

Day 698 – Steens Mountain Visit

Big Indian Gorge - Steens Mountain

Big Indian Gorge (I think)

The urge to travel got the better of me this week. I elected to do a commando raid on Steens Mountain… a large ridge in south central Oregon. Steens rises over 9,000 feet above the Alvord Dessert and is notoriously difficult to visit at many points during the year. The ridge is a cloud-catcher bringing feet of rain/snow especially in spring. The weather up the slope of Steens can vary mile by mile: mist, rain, snow. The copious warnings about lightening ground strikes is particularly worrisome.

While Steens benefits from this moisture with over five distinct ecosystems, the Alvord Dessert receives less than 6 inches of rainfall per year and is amongst the driest areas of Oregon.

October is definitely not the time to visit in “light and fast” mode with electronics. Already cold upon my arrival, the temp dropped to about 15 before morning. The GoPro camera battery failed within minutes of sundown. My Nikon batteries were a bit more robust, but handling the camera was akin to handling a block of ice. Gloves you ask? Why yes, i should have brought some beyond the ones i use to handle firewood.

A slide show and video await you after the jump.

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10.23.11   Author

Day 693 – Up at the Crater

crater lake looking north

The big viewpoint on the south rim

In many ways Crater Lake is the Niagara Falls of Oregon. Undeniably striking, one can visit a hundred times and the first glimpse from the rim drive still evokes a sense of awe. This old-school one-trick-pony National Park remains a favorite destination. A high point of this latest trip was the look of happy surprise on the Ranger’s face at the main entrance when we asked if we could re-do our annual pass. I can only imagine how many people bitch at the $10 entrance fee. When i inquired “can we renew our annual?” the response of “sure! i’ve got those here” was a bonus.

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10.14.11   Author

Day 684 – What is Noir?

bookwag

I took some photos at a reading by an SOU prof this evening on the occasion of the publication of New Jersey Noir. A question of “what is ‘noir’?” was asked. For a myriad number of reasons i feel particularly able to answer that question.

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10.5.11   Author

Day 675 – A Moment of Silence, Please

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