“Cold, very cold, bloody freezing...” that's the thought going through my mind as I woke up this morning. It was 1°c inside the car and I didn’t even want to know how cold it was outside! Just wanted to snuggle my sleeping bag in the back of the car… “KNOCK KNOCK”, the loud knocks on the window woke me… ‘Hey you gat-ta go!’ said the snow truck guy outside the motel. So I got all my stuff together and headed off to Starbucks where I can chill out and write you the blog before heading out back into the blizzard.
My Journey around the U.S. started Tuesday morning at the crack of dawn; for the next month I’ll be traveling from Eugene OR, heading East to Yellowstone National Park, then head down south to The Grand Canyon National Park, and finally making my way up the west coast through California back up to Eugene. I'll be going through 6 states and over 3000 miles in the next 3 weeks!
 |
| 3426 miles, 60hrs and 26mins of driving has began! |
A hot cup of coffee is always welcome in the snow, but ‘Starbuck’ doesn’t always mean coffee, or free wifi!
 |
| Tricked by the sign(or miss read without the 's'), I drove 7mi out of my way in search of my coffee, only to find a small town with the population of around 12 families; no coffee, no wifi |
 |
| Can't helping stopping every other mile, to enjoy some astonishing landscapes |
My first stop was Painted Hills, located at the east side of Oregon. The landscapes looked more and more odd as I got closer and closer to my destination. Couldn't help to stop for some pictures; the fact was that I had no idea what Painted Hills will look like (should of done my research but I wanted a surprise), and everywhere looked so amazing I kept thinking I am there already! BUT, I knew I have arrived as soon as I saw the alien/Mars like landscape in front of me.
 |
| Getting closer to Painted Hills |
 |
| A panoramic shot of the gobsmacking Painted Hills landscape! |
 |
| Colours and shapes are really incredible! |
After some sunset time-lapses, I left Painted Hills overwhelmed by excitements. Driving in the dark for 3 more hours, I stopped at the rest area in the middle of the valley, where the stars and the milky-way glow so bright high up in the sky. For now, pictures only, but lookout time-lapses in the next month or so!
Unfortunately, the rain has got me overnight, stupid of me kept the sunroof open and slept right under it! IDIOT! Haha nevertheless I dried myself and the car with the only towel I've got and get on my way. Here are some landscapes I came across on the way to the next destination: Jerry Johnson Hotspring.
 |
| Typical postbox in the country |
 |
| miles and miles of hills |
 |
| The River where I spotted a kingfisher! |
 |
| Too far away but it's a species of kingfisher for sure! |
After another 6 hours of driving, I arrived at the Jerry Johnson Hotspring. It's around 1.5mi hike into the woods, where I can relax and have a warm and naturally heated bath. And guess what... it's snowing!
 |
| Woohoo! |
 |
| Don't you just love the snow? I do! |
 |
| Cross the bridge before the Hotspring |
 |
| A cheeky dipper chilling with me near the naturally heated pool |
 |
| The beast waited for me in the snow as I went for the bath :) |
The fact about driving towards the westen-central America in the winter is that, the snowfall gets heavier and deeper by the hour. I knew that before setting off, but never expect the amount of snowfall I have to drive through on the motorway! It was SO scary and everyone can only see about 5 meters in front and nothing else. We all going about 30mph: no lines on the ground, not even tyre marks as it get covered so quickly by the blizzard!
 |
| The scariest I've ever been driving on the motorway! |
 |
| Not the most promising site I must say... |
 |
| Lonely moment in the fuel station before finding somewhere to stay for the night |
2 hours and about 50mi later, I finally stopped at a small town called Butte in Montana, where I slept in the very cold and snowy car. What I didn't know is that, the damn snow truck guy is going to wake me up at 7:30am!
 |
Managed to steal the internet from the Motel for some facebooking!
|
Sorry for such a long blogpost today, but I wasn't sure when the next one will be as I am heading into the mountains in a minute for some more snowy driving. Wish me luck and hopefully, I'll be able to post another one by the end of next week! Chao for now :)
Wow, your certainly getting about now Jacky, just sat next to my red hot wood burner viewing your images. All good stuff keep the updates coming and good luck with the remainder of your American adventure!
ReplyDeleteGlad you enjoyed them mate, will keep them coming once I get some internet for sure! It snow so much here I might have to skip yellowstone... hopefully not!!
DeleteIt sure was a surprise & much fun seeing you & your inspiring film. Congrats on your contract with National Geographic!!! When will you be back this way?
ReplyDeleteDo you have people to connect with along your journey? It'd be great to be "homey" next to a wood stove, sharing stories with good people at this time of year. Do you cross country ski?
Sure look forward to hearing & seeing pictures about your journey across across this beautiful & diverse county.
Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Loretta! I am bk in eugene for a week from the 22nd of Nov, just in time for my first ever thanksgiving! woohoo! yes I do cross country ski but YNP didn't have enough snow for me to do so!
Deletehope you enjoyed the blog and more is coming very soon, thanks for dropping by Loretta.
Great to hear of and see your adventures in my old stompin' grounds! Hey, I've been there--not only Jerry Johnson in the snow, but also Butte!!!! in the knife-edge cold of winter, and I mean "knife!" Butte was one hard-scrabble town when I was there. The Anaconda copper mine was still active, and after working, the miners headed for the bars, along with their knives. Hard living. Ellen
ReplyDeleteI would say that butte was the same old scrabble town when i was there! it was a strange town but i am sure its only because of the winter and the snow makes it strangely quiet! thanks for dropping by and hope you liked the posts.
Delete