49.4

Saturday night I headed out to Central Oregon with a couple locations in mind to shoot. I had the pleasure and annoyance of the first time experiencing a cloud inversion! Usually Central Oregon is dry as a bone, with clear skies about 85% of the time. So, when I ended up under a thick cloud deck halfway out, I was suprised. Then, 3/4 of the way there, the elevation rose and I was driving IN the thickest, soupiest, cloudiest, foggiest crap I've ever been in! It reduced me to about 15 mph on the dark, country road. Both my locations were a no-go since I couldn't a thing, let alone the stars. Frustrated, I took an hour nap to see if it would burn off or blow out. Woke up- same situation. Put alarm for another 30 minutes, went back to sleep. Woke up- same situation. Crap.

I had a decision point there to call it quits and head home to my comfy, warm bed and still get 6 hours of sleep or push on. Ten minutes of pouting over the decision, I drove on. Amazingly, 10 minutes later, the road rose up and BAM- clear skies and no fog!! I got a few shots there and then drove on back down into the soup. An hour later, I rose up out of it again, and this view came in over the horizon.

Notice the fog/clouds below? That's the crap I was buried in earlier. Nasty stuff.
The bright light is the Moon, Mt Hood on the right side.
It was a confusing and frustrating night, but also fun in the uniqueness of the learning experience and also the "thrill of the hunt" to find a patch of clear sky.