Eclipse 2017!

Bend Oregon was very close to the 'Path of Totality' for the Aug 21, 2017 total eclipse of the sun that was crossing the entire United States.  By staying home we would have seen 99+% coverage, but hey, we were less than 20 miles from being in the direct path.   I thought it was worth it to brave whatever traffic issues there might be to see a complete 100% total eclipse.  Everything I had read also indicated there was a BIG difference between partial and full.  Kelly wasn't so sure, and when I was rousing everyone at 6 am to get ready to drive, she definitely wasn't sure.  

So off we went!  Left the house at 7 am, and took some back roads over to Prineville.  There were lots of people out and set up to watch but no traffic issues...  I had staked out a local park with a grassy field that might be a good place to go.  No camping so day use only, and we got there and it was all clear!  Great spot - big grassy area for the kids to play on until it was time.  We road-tripped over with the Lovejoy's.  Sue (Kelly's mom) was also visiting as was a friend of Abbie's - Aislyn.  

While we were waiting for the event to start we cooked breakfast on the camp stove.  Coffee, eggs, bacon and strawberries.  

After breakfast we started getting geared up for the eclipse.  You can see my elaborate contraption to take a photo with my Iphone utilizing a pair of the eclipse glasses as a solar filter.

Here are a few shots from my Iphone as the Sun moved through partial phase.  As we got closer to totality the temperature dropped - probably 10 degrees.  

Here is a video that shows how it went from light to dark.


We were in the path of Totality for about 1:07 seconds based on our location.  It was so worth it to see the full coverage.  Watching the moon fully blot out the sun through the eclipse glasses, and then being able to take the glasses off was probably one of the most amazing natural events I have ever witness.  Everyone agreed it was amazing.  All the wildlife was off kilter.  No bird sounds and then they started flying around after it started getting light again.  

Here are some shots that do a pretty good job of showing what we saw during totality and just as it started coming out.  This has not filter or adjustments on it.  Hunter actually used the camera and got the cool shots as the sun started coming around again!


BBQ with friends

Sunday night we had the Curry family along with the Delamarters and the Hoerleins over for a good old fashioned bbq. Tina's parents, Ken and Joan brought their ATV's over and gave the kids rides on them around the neighborhood. This may have been the highlight of the evening. We had a fun relaxed evening with great friends.


Hunter Summits South Sister

Hunter reached a new high point this weekend by reaching the summit of South Sister - 10,358 ft!  It took us 9 hours car to car including a nice lunch on the summit.  The hike is 11.8 miles and gains 4,878 ft of elevation from the trailhead to summit.  While not technical, it is a tough hike!  I am really proud of him, and he is super excited about the accomplishment.  The original plan was to train over the summer and maybe try it before it starts to snow again but he decided he would give it a go sooner and it went great. 

This is my 3rd time up there.  First time was in 2011 with Red.  Second time was in August 2014 with some people from where I worked at that time.  This year, for mid July, there was a lot of snow still on the mountain at pretty low elevations.  I had hunter practice some ice axe techniques on the mid mountain snow fields where it was steep enough you didn't want to slide a long way, but also not any risk of injury.   The snow also made for some fun on the descent!  

This first set up shots is from where we broke out of the forest to a point on the mid mountain snowfields were we stopped for a snack. 


These shots are from the upper snow fields where Hunter has the ice axe up to a sandy saddle at 8850 with a beautiful cirque lake at the base of the Lewis glacier.   The video is from the way down but taken from right around the saddle area.

 From here the climb gets steeper util you get to the crater rim.  You can see from the shots the cirque lake getting smaller and smaller as we climb.

Some shots from the summit!  First is of Hunter actually on the highest point. 

On the way down we stopped at the saddle and went down to get a better view of the cirque lake at 8850ft.  Notice Hunter in the top of the first shot walking down to give you an idea of scale.

Some fun sliding on the way down.  When there is snow the way down is much faster than the way up.  It took us over 5 hours to summit and we were down in a little over 3.