Stormy

It was a wild ride home tonight, but not the worst I've been in.  I went into Portland this afternoon to take my cousin into the Doctor (it turns out she has walking pneumonia).  I then took her to the grocery store and pharmacy before finally getting her back home and then stopped by my brothers.  It was 6:30pm and dark when I headed home and the storm was hitting a little earlier then predicted.  It was already getting pretty windy and pouring rain, but my route wasn't too bad because at least all the lights were still working.  I could hear on the radio that several roads around the Portland area had lights out and trees falling.  They predict 60 mph winds through the night and the coast was already having 100 mph winds with 30 foot waves.  It's supposed to let up by morning. 

Having lived here all of my life I can say that it's pretty much normal to have this happen a couple of times each fall or winter.  Every few years we have one that's a doozy and causes a lot of damage.  November set a new record for rainfall.  The previous record was set back in 1942.  Needless to say the rivers are high and there's been some flooding.  Tillamook (along the coast) always seems to get the worst of it.  It's a low lying area and has a lot of dairies and they had quite a bit of flooding and lost some cows.

Oregon's terrain and winter weather is definitely demanding respect right now.  There are 3 experienced climbers missing on Mt. Hood and this latest storm is continuing to hamper rescue efforts.  A California family got lost on a forest road (wrong turn) while traveling through Oregon and got caught in a snow storm.  They had been missing for about 10 days before they were found and the father had tried to walk for help and died.  Two other families got stuck or lost while Christmas tree cutting and were found safe.  Last month a little boy went missing in the Crater Lake area just as the snows had started and I don't think they found him.  We don't like to hear it or think about it, but it happens every year just as the drowning's do in our lakes and rivers.

Thanksgiving weekend brought that home to our family and friends.  Our nephew bought his first house this summer and wanted to host the family get together.  His mom & dad and the rest of us brought the food and we had a good time.  He proudly showed off his home and his new fishing boat.  On Saturday my brother-in-law, nephew and two of their friends went fishing on the Willamette.  The boat capsized and they hung on to the little bit of hull showing above water.  The water was only 47 degrees and the river was running high, fast and full of debris.  My brother-in-laws best friend let go of the boat in an attempt to swim for shore and did not make it.  They still have not found his body.  The other three were rescued after about 30 minutes and my nephews core body temperature was 93 degrees.  They were all sent to the hospital and warmed up and checked out.  The friend that was lost was a great guy and very well liked.  He will be missed.