By now it’s probably old news that a powerful arctic storm and cold air blew through much of the West in the past couple of days. This was unlike anything we’d ever experienced here on the mild western side of Oregon. We get the occasional snowfall, usually wet and heavy and gone within 24 hours or so. But this time, it was like being transported to Montana or Utah: the most perfect light powder snow, about seven inches or more, and freezing temperatures in its wake. It was -10 F (-23 C) last night, only two degrees from shattering the all-time record low ever recorded in Eugene.
And since snow removal is a bit of a relaxed affair here, and salt is a strict no-no, the best and smartest way to experience it was to leave the Forester sit, and head out on foot, skis, or snow shoes. So we set out for Skinner Butte, to document the great arctic winter of 2013 as well as the CCs along the way.
The first car worthy of fumbling out the camera from the pocket is this ’66 LeMans. Guess which car will be the first to eventually venture out?
This diesel VW pickup’s yellow paint job really stands out against all the white.
A frigid Panther.
Don’t old Volvos just always look right at home in the snow? I’m not familiar with this one, and from the looks of it, it has been out and about already.
Will this start as readily as the old Volvo?
Rectilinear meets curvaceous.
Some more snowy Swedes. And the second box-Panther Lincoln so far, back there against that shed, where it’s been sitting for over a decade. A boxy theme is developing on this walk.
One of my favorite three-somes in Eugene. That ’72 Cadillac was the subject of the first CC I ever wrote, almost five years ago. It’s still there.
Our destination. This is just a couple of blocks from downtown, and the streets are almost devoid of cars.
The exposed basalt columns on its western side are enhanced by the snow. Nobody climbing today.
Eugene Skinner was the town founder, and in its earliest days it was commonly referred to as “Skinner’s Mudhole”. Not today.
To the east, the Cascade foothills rise, and two of the Three Sisters are just barely visible on the horizon.
Our “grandson” (younger son’s dog) is staying with us for a week. His drool has frozen into a swinging pendulum.
Wow, it must have snowed a lot more in this neighborhood, from the looks of this VW bus.
This is not an ideal vehicle for the snow.
This former object of my musings has been tagged.
The third Volvo box and the third box-Panther Lincoln.
Waiting to cross Sixth Avenue, the busiest thoroughfare in the downtown area. Still packed snow, and very few cars. But what’s that one, the second one? A Subaru BRAT, no less.
After walking some two hours, we would have stopped into the Falling Rain Pour House for their killer home-smoked pastrami sandwiches and a brew, but I forgot my wallet. Someone in the parking lot is well prepared for the conditions.
And who are you kidding? Not me, despite that emblem looking so authentic.
(Cold) air cooled (and heated) VW lovers live here. Looks like the double-cab pickup might have been out already.
Time for a late lunch at home and some hot tea. The view out our back windows to Spencer Butte is a winter wonderland. In a couple of days the rain is due back and this will all soon be a distant memory.
Nice walk, Paul! That Subaru is a Brat, not a Baja though which I know you know…I love the pic of the dog with the drool-cicle.
Yes I do…but my fingers didn’t, apparently. I find myself doing that all-too often, especially if they start with the same letter.
Wow, a lot of Lincolns and Volvos. I can dig it 🙂
We could sure use some digging here; did you bring a snow shovel? 🙂 They don’t even sell them out here.
Funny. We got snow here too, but only an inch or so, though it snowed near all day. Very dry, powdery snow, like confectioners’ sugar. The big problem was that there appears to not be many native Midwesterners in Rock Island, Moline etc. People creeping along at 15 mph, or driving as if there was no snow, like the teenage girl in a circa-1998 Grand Prix coming down the hill near my folks’ place who did a 180 upon turning onto the highway. Fortunately I was still a quarter mile off and no cars, persons or mailboxes were injured!
We got about the same here… Took it real slow and easy to church and back – it’s all too easy to forget to brake early for stop signs. Thankfully, it’s usually only a cornfield across the intersection…
My parents live in extreme southern Illinois, below where the snow transitioned to ice. They had about a 1/2″ of ice and sleet. I despise snow but find it preferable to ice.
We escaped any snow here, but fifty miles south got hammered.
Other than the CCs (and mountains) this is what Kenosha looked like this morning. A little warmer though, mid-teens. It’s going to be an interesting winter, with Oregon getting Wisconsin weather.
Hmmm… up here in Kenmore, WA, it’s very cold, but there’s no snow at all. I’ll admit to being a bit jealous. I’ve got a set of chains waiting in the trunk, and I’ve already got the studded tires on my mountain bike, but I got no snow…
Turns out there was little even in Portland; the snow hit mainly to the southern part of Oregon and into Northern California.
Yeah, we’ve had the cold dry weather – not so cold as you got but with lows in the high teens and low 20’s. It’s exceedingly rare here to wake up to 20-degree weather and see absolutely no frost on the cars. And of course the snow completely bypassed us, which is fine with me. I can easily drive to the mountains if I want to see or play in snow.
All those cars, within walking distance of your home? Guess I really do need to go west one of these days!
I’ve acquired a couple of vehicles that were transplanted from out that way (Washington, Oregon, etc) – nice, clean bodies with nice, non-baked paint and interiors. I was impressed enough that I decided, should I ever find enough time/money simultaneously to go on vacation, I’m loading the camper and hooking up the flatbed, and aiming myself for the Northwest.
I say it every year – but maybe this summer…
That’s just a sampling 🙂
Indeed it is – a great many of the cars that get featured on CC are still common enough around this area that I don’t pay much attention to them or bother to photograph them.
I wonder if this is the same storm that hit us? It was even cold by Canadian standards: -30C, with -40C wind chills, so unfortunately no walking around for us. Since snow removal tends to be relaxed here as well, our Forester is wearing Blizzaks and sleeping inside so it’s ready when we need to venture out.
That black two door Volvo reminds me of a very clean black Amazon that’s street parked just down from my house, and is currently covered by snow also. It looks a bit to nice to be kept outside, but it is street parked Winter and Summer.
Given both malaise-era GM B-bodies’ and malaise-era Toyotas’ propensity for rust, I have to wonder- how many more years of melting snow can the cars in pic #9 withstand before they turn into tetanus-inducing, unrecognizable reddish-brown heaps?
At the rate they’re going (they very little actual rust), a very long time.
That cold at the coast? Ouch. Having lived all over BC, I’ll take -40 in the Rockies or North Peace over -10 at the coast any day. All that moisture plus a bit of wind makes it feel a LOT colder than it really is. Not to mention infrastructure that just isn’t designed for extreme cold, and people that aren’t prepared for or used to such conditions. I lived on Vancouver Island, probably the most benign climate in Canada, for a number of years and was always amazed by the panic that set in when a few days of real winter hit. It was always fun to watch the neighbourhood kids though.
One thing about extreme cold, you really appreciate a fireplace and a cup of hot chocolate! Not to mention Subaru’s excellent AWD system…
Eugene is about 55 mile inland from the coast. It was cold there too, below freezing, but not as cold as here in the valley.
They let us go home from work early on Friday due to the heavy snow fall. I had to drive home in my 21 year old 2wd Toyota pickup with semi-bald tires. I think I averaged about 10 mph in and never got into third gear even though I was on a four lane highway. My pickup, even though it’s uber reliable, has about zero traction in the snow and even mild inclines were challenging. I should’a listened to my wife that morning when she mentioned the word “sand bags.”
It started sleeting here late Thursday night/early Friday morning and then changed over to snow about 8:00 AM on Friday. It ended up snowing for most of the day; there was about 8 inches at my house and some areas near here got over a foot. I didn’t even attempt to go to work on Friday, I actually took a vacation day because I didn’t want to have to deal with the snow. That is one advantage of being a peon, the world continues whether I go to work or not. When I came into work this morning the major streets had been cleared but not the side streets. Here in southwestern Indiana we do not get enough snow to justify extensive snow removal equipment; basically (except for main routes) the snow stays until it melts.
I live in Portland we got less than an inch. So weird, I’m actually bummed.
Me too. But it’s more common for Portland to get more snow than Eugene, so they’re the lucky ones for once. We’re envious, Paul!
I especially like the pictures of the landscapes.
Is the dog a Staffordshire ?
American Bully. A fairly new breed. http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/a/americanbully.htm
I thought he was some sort of bully…with his evil Grim Reaper face… 🙂
We had 2 Rottweilers, males (not at the same time). They looked vicious and were as strong as a bear. But in real life they were very calm and friendly. My personal experience: the smaller the dogs, the sooner they bite. Little creatures from hell clinging on your pant leg….
Yup, that’s the face alright. And he gets very polarized responses when he’s out on walks. Some folks move well out of the way and grab their dogs or kids. Others instantly exclaim what a beautiful dog he is (he is a fine specimen).
He’s the gentlest dog I’ve ever met. My son can’t take him to the dog park, because he’s gotten bitten twice! He has no idea of what he’s capable of.
It’s not the kind of breed I would chose, but he’s a very sweet,gentle and loyal dog.
Nice write up, Paul. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed this little arctic blast. So rare here. My Tercel did great driving around town. Just had to feather the throttle a bit to find traction and it did great. I have the heater at the studio at full tilt keeping the instruments safe.
You’re welcome to take as much snow as you want. Here on Canada’s East coast, we have only gotten a couple of inches so far this year. Of course we will more than catch up with all of you in the coming months. 2 Inches tonight to start. 🙂
I’ve got the Blizzaks on my 4WD F-150 and X-Ice2’s on my Taurus. I’m all set. 🙂
Those pictures look like any given day between mid-December and early April around here.
We were able to get out of our Springfield neighborhood fine the last couple of days – with the ’81 Safari and the HHR (without snow tires or chains). No go today. Made it 3 blocks in the Safari before I decided it was not safe. The layer of powdered snow on the road surface is now gone – bare ice. I was slippin’ and slidin’ all over the place. Took it back to the house. I’ll have to put the chains on the HHR…..
God! What a bunch of pussys!
These are great photos Paul – that Panther in the 4th photo looks like some weird caricature of itself – like a too-tall clone riding on a too-small-wheeled
It hit 31.9 Celsius here yesterday (Sunday 15 Dec). I hate the heat, and your photos served as a reminder that winter and all its beauty is but a few months away!