2/27 A Little Cleanup & Some Damage Photos

The campground owners and a lot of volunteer neighbors started cleaning up during the storm, but that was mostly trying to move RVs and cars that were parked under trees in safer places.  This is mostly a long-term RV park, but they have about 8 pull-through spots they use for daily campers.  Several of the undamaged RVs that were under trees were able to move into these spots, but that took a lot of shoveling to just get them out.  

Luckily, the campground owners have a small tractor with a plow on the front, so even while it was still snowing, they were plowing the roadway.  The campground is shaped in a big oval, so there is a lot of roadway to keep clear.  They also helped get some of the rigs free so they could be moved. 

 These two photos were taken later on the day it snowed. 

The power came back on late yesterday afternoon, so I filled my water tank since the pump was now working.  I'd have taken more photos but I do not have snow boots and my shoes keep getting wet.  Brrrr.   

Yesterday, I was able to find someone to push the snow off my roof, so at least I don't have to worry about all that extra weight. 

The next few photos were taken today, but the big news is that we had another 4" of snow last night!!  Luckily, after some plowing, the temps are high enough to melt the roadways, so people have been pulling rigs out. 

These were the some park employees and volunteer neighbors who were trying to get the trailer out that had several branches on it and in front of it.  They had a chain saw and so far have been able to cut a lot of it up and put it in piles, but this is just a small amount of what really needs to be done here. 

 

The damaged trailer is parked far to the right, almost out of view.  It has a broken sunroof and vent cover.  Owner is staying in a hotel. 

The red circles indicate branches that have fallen, and the yellow one shows a branch that is barely hanging on and like to fall if it gets windy. 

I went for a walk to take some more photos, and here is what I got.  First, they shoveled my site out so I can go out on Friday to get some propane and groceries.  Things are melting a little because it was 38 today.  Going to get below freezing again tonight, but high will be 44 tomorrow. 

This is the trailer that was buried in limbs that they worked for several hours to get free.  The owner has moved out, and I imagine it will get towed out for repairs soon. 

This is a better photo fo the branch that is hanging by bark next to his trailer.  These are all oak trees, by the way, so they are very old and have large branches that have never been tested with more than a couple of inches of snow. 

And a similar branch next door.  Both of these branches are at least 10" in diameter, so could cause some real damage if they fall. 

On the left is the short-term stay area where some people have moved their rigs that were underneath trees.  

The next few photos show damaged rigs that need repair.  

The RV that was here has already been moved out, but look at the size of these tree limbs!  

This trailer got hit bad.  They have moved out, obviously. 

 Ouch!  It must have been rough to be inside this place when that limb fell!

Another view.

Another ouch!   This owner was outside and watched this happen.  Look at the other branches on this tree that had already fallen.

This is fairly minor damage, but still damage. 

2/25 A Really Big Snow in Eugene, OR

Yes, I am still in Eugene, but hoping to head south on Thursday.  In fact, I was going to head to physical therapy this morning for my back and to get some more strength in my legs and arms, but nature intervened.  

It started to snow yesterday--big, wet, heavy flakes with no wind.  I figured it would be gone by morning, just like the couple of other times it has snowed here this winter.

 

 It was beginning to accumulate, but the daffodils were trying to bloom. 

 

So, I went to bed last night thinking we'd get maybe a couple more inches.  Except the power went off at 4:30 am, and I kept hearing a lot of talking outside.  I finally looked out and discovered that we had a LOT more snow than that and my neighbors were outside. 

Plus, one of my neighbors had moved his 5th wheel into the empty pull-thru spot next to me. I found out later, he had moved up because his next-door neighbor had had a huge branch fall on his trailer, damaging the roof.  Notice the snow on the patio table and chair. 

That is at least a foot of snow that fell overnight!

This is an extreme amount of snow for this area, so the trees have been breaking huge branches.  It sounds like gunfire, and you look around to see where it is coming from. It is dangerous to walk under a tree so people are avoiding certain areas and looking up when they hear cracking noises.

These are my buried steps.  I finally got dressed and went outside to take some photos.

This RV park is set up so the sites on the outside all back up to trees.  There are some trees in the middle of the loop, where I am, but they tend to be smaller and younger.  This small trailer had two big branches fall on it. 

Another view of the same trailer.  The corner of the roof and the skylight were damaged.

The owner in red is on top trying to move the branch away from the roof.  Later, they were able to hook a chain on it and move it off.

Here is my rig.  The tree behind me is close but not overhanging my motorhome.  My satellite dish is covered with snow, so I can't get a signal.  And the power is off anyway, so not much sense trying.

The snow is so deep that I cannot even pull forward in my spot.  And there is no way I am getting up on the roof to brush off the snow.  And notice that it is still snowing very heavily. 

Looking down the campground roadway.

There are several big branches blocking the road, but they cannot be moved right now because more branches keep falling from the trees above.

This branch or branches look ready to fall.

And they fell about five minutes later.

Back to my rig.  No boots so my shoes are wet, as is my jacket.  No gloves either. 

You can see that I am close to this tree, but it does not look like any branches will hit my vehicle if they fell. 

The thing is, Eugene is not used to snow, so there are no snow plowing companies that will come around and plow, nor does anyone staying here even have a snow shovel!  Who knew?

 

2/4 Snow in Eugene!!

No, it does not often snow in Eugene, Oregon.  

However, this is winter, and although temperatures are milder than a lot of surrounding areas, it can get below freezing at night here in the Willamette Valley.  Mostly, it just does a lot of raining here--in fact this time of year, it rains almost every day and the ground is always wet.

So, on this morning I woke up early and peeked out of my curtains to see a lot of white stuff on the ground.  This was about an inch of very slushy snow, so I got dressed quickly and went outside to take photos because it was already above freezing and I knew it would not last long.  The colors are all grayish because the sun had just risen.  

Notice that the trees, even the small tree next to my driveway are covered in wet snow.  And because the branches are covered with moss, the snow sticks much better than it would on bare branches.  There are two nests in this little tree--a larger one and a smaller one just above it. 

I even had some snow on the top of my motorhome!  First time, ever, because I make a point to avoid cold weather and snow. 

The trees in the distance are pretty in the snow!  My next door neighbor, to the right, left his awning open all night, so it filled up with snow.  A younger man who is also a neighbor is on the ladder sweeping the snow off.  Not quite sure why he bothered because it will all be gone in a couple of hours.  High is going to be 42 today. 

 So, how do I stay warm when temps are close to or below freezing?  Motorhomes and all recreational vehicles are notoriously under-insulated. That why nearly all of us are "snow-birds."  We head to warmer places when it gets cold.  

I have been trying to find ways to keep the cold  air from my living space. This is how my cab area looks during the day.  There is a queen-sized bunk up here, and a privacy curtain to the left that is usually kept tied open. The problem with this big front open area is that there are horrible cold air leaks in this area, and the vehicle windows do very little to keep cold air out.  

Notice that I also have a small electric heater on the floor to the lower left. I have two of them and keep them both running constantly during cold weather.  I also use my front and rear built-in propane furnaces, but they use up propane fast and my propane tank is built into my motorhome.  That means I have to unhook my motorhome and take the whole thing to a place to have it refilled.  Lately, I am been having to do that every 12-14 days, so I try to conserve propane as much as possible.

On the top, over the bunk, you can see the privacy curtain that can be used by the person sleeping in the upper bunk.  My grandkids love sleeping up there with the curtain closed because it makes kind of a little house.

At night, I put up a small curtain over the cab area that prevents anyone from seeing in through the front windshield and side windows.  I greenish pillows fill in the spaces to the side of the drapes. 

The problem, as you can see, is that it leaves a huge open area for cold air to come in from the cab!!  Pretty useless as an air barrier.

So, a couple of weeks ago, after staring at this area for an hour of so, I decided to do some experimenting.  I had this extra drape provided when I bought my RV, but I think it was a mistake as it is long, but too narrow to fit anything.  I also had some very large safety pins, so I decided to pin the extra panel in the middle with the safety pins.  MY TV is on a swing arm, so I just had to pull it forward and fit the curtain behind it.  


The problem is that the panel is too narrow to go all across, so I may end up trying a sheet or finding a cheap drapery panel to fit across.  In the meantime, I stuck a yellow bath mat in the area on the left where air was coming in next to the driver's seat.  

My solution is not ideal, but it helps.  And I will be here only another three weeks and then heading to warmer places in northern California and the Las Vegas area.  

I have not been posting, but that is because nothing is going on right now, other than getting some medical things taken care of and working on the class I teach online.  I also have been planning out my spring and summer travels and making reservations for the busy summer times.  So, that has kept me pretty busy.  

When I head south, I will be going through the passes along I-5 in Southern Oregon and then in the far north parts of Northern California.  I will have to make sure the roads are dry when I drive through, but i expect there will be a lot of snow in the area.