Only 34 days remaining in my 2010 fire season (DIAL-UP WARNING)

[DemoTex]

It is time to start packing for the trip back home. It is getting cold
and snow will be here mid-week. The weather will definitely slow down
packing.

This morning was 28-degrees with high winds and heavy mist before the
fog burned off. The north face of the lookout got a good glazing of
ice. The ice was gone by 10 AM.

Tonight will be colder, probably near 20-degrees here. I'll be headed
into Bend tomorrow morning for two days off.


Sunrise yesterday (Saturday 9-4) with drift smoke enhancing the sky color.


Late afternoon sun-painted clouds on Friday 9-3.


King-of-the-Snags - bleached bones in the forest.


A friend in Bend hiked the near no-name butte last Sunday with her guy-friend. She also hiked up Fox Butte and then they finished the day at my butte (but I never heard them because I was on the phone and the guard dog - Nick - was asleep on the job!). I took this photo for her and clarified it with the two maps that follow. I refer to the butte on the near side of the power lines as the "near butte" (Doh!), and the butte beyond the power lines as the "far butte."


The "near butte."


The "far butte."


Sixteen Butte - one of my favorites.


Sixteen Butte is to my southeast.


Sunrise over the Maury Mountains yesterday (Saturday 9-4-2010) with drift smoke from - most likely - the Phoenix Fire (Crater Lake) coloring the sky.

[MrScorpio]

1. Simply beautiful

Thanks for showing us all

[DemoTex]

3. Thanks MrScorpio

Most of this and last fire seasons' photos are chronicled in my DU Journal pages:

http://journals.democraticunderground.com/DemoTex

:hi:

[Morning Dew]

2. Those photos are just stunning.

Thanks for sharing your experiences and photos!

Enjoy the time off.

[Luciferous]

4. Beautiful. Thanks for sharing!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

5. My dear DemoTex!

Ah, these are wonderful, as they all have been!

I will miss your fire season posts so much...

But you will have more than earned your rest!

You still planning to drive down the coast? Keep me informed!

Hugs to you and Nick!

:hug:

[DemoTex]

18. Hi Peg!

I'm still planning a Pacific coast drive in Oregon and NoCal. Somewhere north of San Francisco I will cut across to Reno, then US-50 to SE Utah and the Canyon-lands. Then down to I-40 and Amarillo. I'll slide across N. Texas above Dallas and down to I-20 near Tyler. I'll take I-20 to the Alabama line, then US-90 through Selma to Montgomery. Then I-85 to LaGrange, Georgia, and the back roads to visit my 90-y/o dad in Griffin for a couple of days. Then back home through Athens - avoiding Atlanta. Greenville, SC.

:hi:

[Odin2005]

6. Purdy Pics! That last one is AMAZING!!!

[BrklynLiberal]

7. Literally breath-taking sunrises..and the sun painted clouds....there are no words...

Thanks for all your pictures..both visual and verbal.

I cannot thank you enough for sharing your summers with us.

I am sad that it is ending, and yet happy that you will be able to go home and relax.

I hope that the universe allows us all to do this again next summer..

Please give Nick a couple of extra ear scratches for me.

Take good care...Safe trip.

:hi:

[DemoTex]

22. I will be cruising the NC Appalachians for photos this fall and winter.

Different venue - same or better quality.

:hi:

[BrklynLiberal]

27. Wow! i spent some time there and it is magnificent. Looking forward to your pictures and words.

[depakid]

8. Do you get the same place every year, or do they rotate you?

[DemoTex]

11. I "own" this lookout until one of two things happen ..

1. I screw up.
2. I elect not to come back for a season.

If 1, then that's it for any USFS (or BLM) lookout gig. But it is hard to screw up, and I have almost two stellar seasons under my belt.

If 2, I would have absolutely no problem getting another lookout, or this lookout if it were available.

The great thing about coming back to the same lookout is that I do not have to fill out any applications. And I can leave some of my gear here. That is a real plus. BTW: I am opting back in for the 2011 season.

Among the four Deschutes lookouts in the Newberry Group (East Butte, Spring Butte - both batallion 31 - and Lava Butte and Round Mountain - both batallion 42), my lookout - East Butte - is probably the most isolated. East Butte is also in the desert portion of the Deschutes NF, which creates hardships - but I love it! It is a well-equipped, comfortable lookout tower.


It does know how to get cold here!

[depakid]

15. Leaving some gear for the next season certainly sounds like a big plus

Bit of a haul from SC to Central Oregon.... ;)

[DemoTex]

19. 10-4!

3100 miles - statute type!

[stevedeshazer]

9. Great stuff. These are the best days if you live in the Pacific Northwest.

Late August to early October.

Mrs. D and I always vacation this time of year. Both of us are lifelong Oregonians.

Enjoy these awesome days. They are truly the best.

And thanks for all your great posts from East Butte, Bend, Bath and beyond.

[Booster]

10. Wow - just wow. I envy and admire you all at the same time.

Thanks for all that you do and for sharing it with us. I always look forward to your posts. Bet Nick will be happy to go home too. Enjoy your rest - you've certainly earned it.

[A HERETIC I AM]

12. Spectacular as always, but I'm confused by the maps...

Where is your tower on any of those maps?

I apologize if you mentioned it in another post but I don't recall.

And I know this is early yet, but have a safe drive back east and enjoy shopping for your new Porsche and Pickup when you get home!

[DemoTex]

13. The lookout tower position is not plotted on the maps.

The "shot line" is the azimuth of the target from the lookout. I usually try to orient the viewer with a little info. I think I did with the Sixteen Butte presentation (Sixteen Butte is southeast of my location - six miles). The other two maps plotted no-name buttes to my east (6.5 and 8.75 miles respectively).

If you understand the Jeffersonian Survey System (PLSS), look at the center of the map reproductions for the Township/Range info. The map below shows my position in Township 22S Range 14E Section 13 NE/SE (black square).

[A HERETIC I AM]

16. Gotcha, Thanks. (Edited) Not only do I gotcha, I think I gotcha!....

http://www.wikimapia.org/#lat=43.6670179&lon=-120.9960151&z=18&l=0&m=b

Is that it?

Zoom out and tell me if that is your tower.

[SeattleGirl]

14. I always enjoy your pictures. The last one in this post is

just breath-taking!

[janx]

17. I don't always reply, but I have been keeping track.

:hug:

Great pics!

[Jamastiene]

20. I sure am going to miss your fire season photos.

I love these pictures you have been posting. Thank you for posting them. :thumbsup:

[DemoTex]

21. Look-it, folks - I have to say this to and for the DU Admins.

Last season it was suggested that I often attribute Earl G for permission to post in GD. This year that never came up. But I should have thanked them more often than I have, because I am truly grateful to Earl G and all the other ADMIN-Types for this fantastic forum.

I try to work in news of the fire season, to make it legit. But sometimes, it is just photos. I strive to take, process, and post only the best photos for this forum - DU. I feel, sometimes, that I am working for you. No, I am convinced that I am working for you - the DU mainstream. If you approve of my work, anybody will approve!

Thank you so much!

Mac


Bend, Oregon (8-30-2010) - Back Alley

[BrklynLiberal]

28. ...

:thumbsup: :hi: :loveya: :hug: :pals: :fistbump: :yourock:

[zeemike]

23. Love those pictures.

you always take some good ones....but a little disappointed that there is not one of Nick in this batch.

[Born_A_Truman]

24. Mac, did this season seem shorter??

Sure did to me. I'll have to find out the name of my butte right behind my place; our home is built right at the base and we own 10 acres of it to the top.

Question: With the temperatures (freezing) and the fact I don't see water lines, do you have to haul your water?

Would love to hear more about your day to day living there with Nick.

[DemoTex]

25. This season has gone by much faster than last.

I do have to haul water up the sixty steps to the lookout. Right now I have about 20 gals of wash water and 30 gals of drinking water (in 1 and 5 gal containers) on the lookout catwalk.


Drinking water

[BrklynLiberal]

30. When you say "HAUL" do you mean actually carry it all yourself up all those steps???

[Born_A_Truman]

31. I hope your hoist is working this year ...

I seem to remember it being out of service last year so you couldn't use it.

[unhappycamper]

26. I love the pics you post.

I k&r every time you post from your lookout.


on edit: I recommend every time you post from your lookout.

[lunatica]

29. Always a delight to see your photos

[blue sky at night]

32. Hey Demo....

I am still so waiting for you to have a Pano in your shots...the Sunrise over the Maury Mountains would simply kick ass as 12x60inch image. Keep on posting and we will keep on saying ooooooohhhhh and aaaaaaaaahhhhh! Oh, and give that Nick a quick pat too! Have fun getting out of Dodge.

[LWolf]

33. Beautiful, as always.

Here's hoping your final 34 days are uneventful, fire-wise.

[Shining Jack]

34. Beautiful !

:)