One Night in a Fire Lookout

Yes, this post isn't like my others, but I wanted to share more of my little adventures and travels.

Which leads me to...

A Night in a Fire Lookout Cabin

This trip was one of my favorite 2017 adventures this far. Just one night in eastern Oregon, 5,949 elevation, and a 360 degree view.

Since I'm me, I'll share this story with images, and keep the words to a minimum.

Sunset

I watched most of this sunset looking east. Because it was actually cooler looking at the mirrored version in the windows.

Night

When the sun went down the wind picked up. On big gusts, we could hear the structure of the lookout creak and moan - we could even feel it move with the wind. It sounded like waves on a stormy day at the coast.

The stars were so vibrant that I was inspired to try night photography for the first time. I'm no professional but I have fun freezing a moment in time for me to look back on.

Pro tip: bring fairy lights to your stay. It just looks really cool, and is perfect for a late night card game and a hot cup of tea.

Although I grew up in the country and I've never been afraid of being outside in the dark, but this darkness was foreign. Since I couldn't see any of my surroundings when the sun went down, I had that feeling of eyes watching me from in the dark bushes. I was a little jumpy that whole night. Which brings me to...

It was around midnight i believe when dad shut the hatch at the top of the stairs. He "locked" it with the little wire, then lifted the hatch to test the latch, then dropped it down. The hatch was only able to open a little more than half a foot, and it made a memorable noise...screeach THUD. We thought nothing more of if and headed inside to sleep.

It was actually peaceful laying inside my sleeping bag listening to incredibly loud gusts shaking the windows and the beams below us. Until I heard a familiar noise.

Screeach THUD.

My heart probably skipped a beat. Something or someone had tried to open the hatch.

It's kind of comical to picture myself laying there, ever so slowly pulling my sleeping bag down daring to look out towards the hatch. I saw nothing since I'm blind as a bat without my glasses, plus it was pitch black out there. I didn't want to wake Maddy or dad, so I curled up in a little ball and strained to hear any other noises over the wind. I don't know how I finally fell asleep after that, but I did.

I forgot about it until sunrise when my dad mentioned hearing the noise, and not being able to sleep with the knowledge that that something strong and coordinated would have to have lifted it.

Sunrise

Hot tea on a cold morning in the mountains...

Day 2

We took a short walk that day and tried to find the deer herd we passed on our way up.

I signed the guestbook with my website link since the page next to ours was a wedding proposal...if they return to the lookout and find my entry, then hire me, I'm pretty sure that would be the cutest story.

After milking our stay for awhile, we packed up and then that was that. To be visited again in the future.

If you liked this blog entry, feel free to leave some feedback, and if you have questions about how to book a fire lookout cabin, just ask!