It's snowing! The weather people didn't scare the you know what out of us this time, so naturally it's here!

Monday night, Jan. 15, 2007, I said to Mama after the 11 p.m. weather forecast on KGW, Channel 8, the local NBC affiliate: "You wait and see. We're gonna wake up with six inches of snow on the ground." Well, not exactly, but between 5:30 and 6:55, this is what happened on the vehicles parked to the left of our apartment entrance. I took this one with available light; I like the effect. How about you? That's snow in the air, making those streaks on the windshield and the dark side of the SUV. Click on the photo to enlarge it, and you can see it in the air. Unreal. Fun. I couldn't believe I was calmly walking up the street to wait for a bus! To take me to work! What a hoot, I thought. I had on my YakTrax and felt relatively sure-footed for an old lady. I did wonder about the buses and other vehicles in this hilly city, though.



I took this photo looking up 23rd, towards Burnside. Both of them are heavily traveled all of the time. The cross street here is Flanders, a block from our street. Once again, you can really see the snow if you click on the photo. It looks like rain falling, there's so much of it. I used the flash here.



Just south of the bus stop shelter, this truck idled at the curb. See the snowflakes pick up the light from the headlights? What about that snow between the camera and the truck that I focused on? I could hear it pelting the hood of my rain jacket.

The 15 came along pretty soon, stopping about five feet from the curb. Since the slope up to Burnside is noteworthy here, so the bus driver was being smart not to pull over to the curb.



This is the first photo I took this morning, looking out one of our living room windows, around 6 a.m. The snow wasn't too heavy yet, nor had much fallen at this point.



Now I'm off my first bus, the 15, that brought me from the northwest into downtown. We only slid twice, once all the way to the curb on Burnside when the driver tried to stop to pick up some people. The other time was just out in the street, going Salmon as he slowed down. Right now I'm standing on 3rd, between Salmon and Main, waiting for the 4, my second bus, to take me over the Hawthorne Bridge. I get off that bus right across the street from my building every weekday morning.

The first hint of how much of a mess the morning would turn out to be for so many people can be seen as I looked to my right, towards Main. A thoroughfare full of traffic, hardly moving a half inch. I saw later that 70 buses had some sort of trouble. Looking to the left after I shot this one, I could see so many buses that I thought surely one of them would be mine. They just weren't moving, though, so I looked around and saw the beautiful park.



This is where the beautiful golden ginkos were, in the fall. Remember those pictures? Here's several photos of the park as it continued to snow.







No bus came; nothing was moving on 3rd, so I decided to walk around to 2nd and Madison, to see if a 4 bus was sitting there, waiting to cross the bridge. From that vantage point I could see the Veritable Quandary, at the foot of the Hawthorne Bridge's west end, on 2nd. It's where Mama and I watched the 4th of July fireworks in 2004, with Lamont and Leland. We sat on the sidewalk, at a little table situated just to the left of that red car.



Portland Fire & Rescue, on the j-o-b, in the snow. Still no bus.



I still cannot get over the volume of snow! You can barely see the VQ sign through it in this closeup. And I'm still waiting for that bus, but now I'm thinking maybe I ought to walk over the bridge. I've been thinking about it for months, really, wondering if I could be brave enough what with my fear of heights and fear of bridges.



OK, I knew that it wouldn't be that long before I'd need to heed the call of nature, what with the amount of water I'd had to drink to take all of the Shaklee vitamins that Mama puts out for me each night. The vitamins help my overall health and my creaky old joints, but I was second-guessing myself.

Necessity became the mother of motivation.

I thought to myself, why not just do it, just start walking? (This was after I asked a man who had just walked westward across the bridge how it was. Slippery? Just fine, he told me.) So, this picture is of the VQ from the entrance ramp, heading eastward on the Hawthorne Bridge. I had walked that far in 2004 to take photos of the fireworks. I felt OK. I kept going.



Here's photo, out of sequence of course, of what I saw when I looked the other direction on 3rd, towards the north. See what I mean about nothing moving? As far as I could see, buses lined up, to go no where. I decided to walk around the corner to the next stop for the 4. Hope springs eternal at this point.

I think I can, I think I can, I think I can

Here's the sidewalk that heads up 2nd on Madison and continues on over the Hawthorne Bridge. You can tell it's snowing quite a bit. See the yellow sign that says, "Steel Bridge Deck." That means that a good portion of the bridge is that metal surface that makes one think the car is going to have a mind of its own and go sideways at any moment. For that reason, I always drive across this bridge on the outside lane, going east or going west. That allows me to have all sorts of steel bridge parts between me and any oncoming traffic. I like that. Notice the street lights are still on, and it's around 8 a.m.



I've just about made it to the steel bridge deck, with its open grating. How about that "Slippery When Wet" sign? Comforting. Nope. But I was not having any trouble with the snow, just stepping slowly and carefully, thinking about where I was putting each foot. I believe it was just past that person on the sidewalk, where the steel part starts, that I noticed a rather wide gap in the snow. Fear sent a shudder through me. I just knew that if I looked down, I'd see the river through that space. So, determined at all costs not to look down, I stepped out slowly, took a giant step over it and breathed a sigh of relief. All across the bridge, smaller gaps showed up, but I just kept on stepping over them without looking down. Another thing that helped me not to be as afraid as I thought I'd be was the plentiful snowfall. It kept the river sort of blocked from my vision, not that I looked down at it at all, but I felt a comfort in knowing that if I accidentally looked, the distance down to the water would be broken up by the snowflakes. How irrational is that? It worked for me.



As I made my way up the sidewalk towards the bridge proper from 2nd and before the photo above, I noticed these men pushing a car up a slight incline on the Naito Parkway, which used to Front Street. Just last Saturday, I think it was, this thoroughfare reopened after a lengthy closure for construction and remodel. I was glad I was on foot.



A lot of people ride bicycles in Portland, even in deep snow it seems. In the background is the River Place Hotel where Lamont used to be the sous chef until he regained his senses and returned to 3 Doors Down Cafe. The guy on the bike is in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, a very popular park, almost 30 acres, along the Willamette River.



Here's a wide shot of Naito Parkway a few seconds later that the closeup above. Nothing seemed to be slowing those helpful guys pushing the car.



This is close to the middle of the bridge, looking west, back the way I'd come. Those two trucks are where I like to drive. You can see why. Look at those big beautiful steel bridge parts, that wide sidewalk and that railing, all between me and the river, and me and the traffic! How comforting.



Here's a blatant out-of-order mess. That red and white barricade on the left of the bridge is way before the middle of the bridge when you're walking westward. It marks the spot where all eastbound traffic has to stop and wait when the bridge is being raised to allow big ships to pass up river.

Here's what Wikipedia has to say about the Hawthorne Bridge (I left out the citations--shame on me, the ex-librarian):

The Hawthorne Bridge is a truss bridge with a vertical lift that spans the Willamette River in Portland, Oregon, joining Hawthorne Boulevard and Madison Street. It is the oldest vertical lift bridge in operation in the United States[1] and the oldest highway bridge in Portland. It is also the busiest bicycle and transit bridge in Oregon, with over 4,800 cyclists[2] and 750 TriMet buses daily.[3]

The bridge consists of five fixed spans and one 244 ft. long vertical lift span. It is 1,382 feet in total length. The 880,000 pound counterweights are suspended from the two 165 ft. tall towers. While the river is at low level the bridge is 49 feet above the water, causing it to be raised an average of 200 times per month. As of 2001 the average daily traffic is 30,500 vehicles. The bridge was designed by John Waddell, inventor of the vertical lift bridge and also designer of the Steel and Interstate bridges.

The current bridge was built to replace Madison Bridge No. 1 (1891) and Madison Bridge No. 2 (1900), which was destroyed by a fire in 1902. It cost $511,000 to build and was opened on December 19, 1910. [4]

The deck was changed from wood to steel grating in 1945. In 1985 the lift span sheaves, the grooved wheels that guide the counterweight cables, were replaced. The bridge went through a $21 million restoration from 1998-99, which included replacing the steel grated deck and repainting.[5] The original lead-based paint was completely removed and replaced with 3 layers of new paint that is estimated to last 30 years.[6] During this upgrade the sidewalks were widened to 10 feet, making it a thoroughfare for bicycle commuters. In 2001 the sidewalks were connected to the Eastbank Esplanade. The estimated cost to replace the bridge is $189.3 million. [3]

Hawthorne Boulevard (and thus the bridge) was named after Dr. J.C. Hawthorne, the cofounder of Oregon's first mental hospital and early proponent for the first Morrison Bridge.[7]



Now I've made it past the halfway point. Hooray. That red and white barricade is to keep westbound walkers, runners, and bicyclists from continuing on when the bridge is about to be raised. You can see one of the towers that house the counterweights that raise the bridge.



Here I'm at the almost middle point, looking east. There's a good look at the steel deck if you click on the photo to enlarge it.



I wonder how many people work in just one of Portland's big downtown buildings? Just a few of them are here in this shot, along with a portion of the snow-covered Tom McCall Park. I like the way the snow looks on the railing, don't you?

Talking about this bridge reminds me I need to tell you about a great book I got the first week of January at Powells Books. "The Portland Bridge Book" and its authors Sharon Wood Wortman with her husband Ed Wortman made an appearance on a Wednesday evening. What a good time I had as both of them talked about all of these wonderful bridges that join the west and east of Portland together, over and over again from the north to the south. The book is great; if you love bridges, you should look at it at www.powells.com. The photos are splendid, both old and new ones. Sharon takes people on bridge walks, something I want to do to help me overcome my fear of heights and bridges. Her Web site is www.bridgestories.com.

My goodness, I'm just reading about the Hawthorne Bridge in my new book. It says that 800 TriMet buses cross it every day (a part of 30,000 vehicles.) I usually ride two of them, Monday through Friday. Neat. And 5,000 bicyclists use it daily. My word.

Oh, the beautiful railing, it says in the book, was that high to keep horses from jumping off the bridge. The Hawthorne Bridge opened in 1910. I'm going to be at the 100th birthday party that Sharon and Ed are planning.



I'm almost all the way across the bridge. Wowsers. Notice the pedestrians on the other side of the bridge? (When I got to work, folks who'd been watching out the windows told me that a westbound bus got stuck trying to go up the entrance ramp to the bridge, so all of the people got off and started walking.) That bridge deck up above is the lower deck of the Marquam Bridge which also has an upper deck. The Marquam Bridge carries Interstate 5 north and south through Portland.



Now I'm am all the way across the part that goes over the river. I can breathe a little bit better although I can still easily see that I'm up above streets and rooftops. There comes some more people from that stuck bus, (They're walking were I was to walk that afternoon when a bus didn't come and didn't come once I got off work . . . more later.)





Look at that snow falling! It shows up really good against the Marquam Bridge's two decks. In no time at all, I was off the bridge and its ramp that connects it to Hawthorne Blvd.

I had made it to work (and the facilities) because I knew I could.

After all, I had recently driven both directions across the Fremont Bridge, another story in itself. Once I get some photos of it, I'll go into detail. (I know you're all waiting with baited breath.) Suffice it to say that the lower deck is 175 feet above the water; it's upper deck is even higher, naturally. Just looking at it from other bridges filled me with dread. But a couple of days after I'd driven over it (sort of an accident of planning thanks to Mapquest), I thought, "I've driven over the Fremont Bridge; I can do anything." And today I did!

The winter wonderland from windows at work

Snow-covered sweet gum balls.



The 10 bus, the Harold that I used to ride from our other apartment, slides as it tries to make its way up the Hawthorne Bridge entrance ramp from Grand. Those three people are walking west, across the bridge. The bus finally found traction and made it onward.



The 5th floor roof garden shows just how much snow fell, plus how it was impossible at times to see the buildings across the river.

Over the bridge, through the park, to catch the 17 bus for home.

When I left work and didn't see a bus, I decided to walk west over the Hawthorne Bridge--I'm a veteran of that now! This is a street between Grand and the Willamette River--I don't know which one, but I loved the colors and shapes.



I'm thinking right about now, whew, this is a wide bridge. Total length according to Wikipedia--1382 feet. Those two tall things sticking up are the vertical lifts that raise the bridge when tall ships need to continue upriver.



How about this sidewalk! That's on Grand, right beside my building, headed towards the bus stop. It was not snowing when I left the building.



I wish these three photos of this guy cross-country skiing had loaded in order. This is the second one, as he approaches a pedestrian ramp at the west end of the bridge.



Here he is when I first noticed him--in the Tom McCall Waterfront Park.



There's the Willamette and the building on the west side. It had started to snow again by then.



Be sure to click on this one so that you can see the unique way in which the needles trapped the snow. I found the pattern fascinating. The whole tree comes up later, with a bus I could have caught sitting beside it before going slowing down to the intersection. If I'd been riding, I would not have had such a good time, and I would have been smothering in all of my layers!



Here's the cross-country skier at the top of the ramp. I said, "I'll bet you love this!" And he replied, "It's the only way to go." He certainly made it look effortless as he headed across the river on the sidewalk I'd just traversed.



All of these park photos are of the same place where I took the golden ginko leaves photos. Different kinds of beauty.




Here's that tree where I took the close up shot. I made it down the curving ramp just fine, thanks to my YakTrax.





I didn't do this sitting-down-snowman justice with this photo, but I thought I'd show it to you anyway. He's on the sidewalk on Pine, between 4th and 3rd, wearing a furry orange hat, with a green E poked into his chest, and holding some green bottle in his left hand. I really didn't want to stand in the street and try other shots since it was so slippery, especially with the potential for cars to come by.



I love this combo photo, with Union Station's tower in the background and that limo wall beside the parking lot.



I got off this 17 bus and took this picture so that you could see the chains on its big back wheels. TriMet got caught, as one person put it today, with its chains down. The morning commute saw at least 70 buses in trouble, stuck or sliding or running late, you name it.

Once I got home, I peeled off all those layers, put on my lounging-around-in-the-apartment-clothes, and crawled into bed to sleep for a couple of hours. Exhaustion prevailed, but sleep revived.

Near our apartment

A teensy bit of red in the black and white world



Looking west, up the street from our apartment building--two guys were taking their boo-tays into their own hands! Running and sliding down a one-way street, in the middle of the street with the potential traffic to their backs!



This shot was taken from our bathroom window, mid-afternoon. Some of you will remember that I took the same shot in the fall, to show you how close people parallel park around here.



Be sure to click on this one to enlarge it so you can see Mama at our kitchen window, looking out at the snow-covered corner.



The entrance to our building looks neat, doesn't it?



What a brave little sprig of something, so cute, poking out of the snow like a tiny broad-shaped arch of greenery.



This neat tree is east, down the street from our apartment.



One block north of our street, from 21st looking west, where you can see the cliffside condos in the background.

Our New Year's Wishes for Y'all