Check out this photo, taken at Mt. Bachelor yesterday after a freezing rain storm hammered the northwest side of the mountain. This is the lift house at the top of Northwest Express lift! It’s not uncommon to see ice-covered chairs over there but this is ridiculous. It kind of reminds me of Superman’s fortress of solitude. Sounds like it will be a few days before they can crack the ice off the house and the towers to get this thing moving again (apparently Outback is the same story). Between the economy and the wacky weather, the ski resorts (at least here in the NW) must be having a tough season.

As I’m sitting in stop-and-go traffic outside of Sisters, I’m thinking to myself the sad irony of the situation. It just so happens that this weekend of remembrance for our fallen soldiers is also one of the largest fuel consumption times of the year in America. Whether it’s cars, trucks, RVs or boats, Americans are guzzling gasoline today while our soldiers are dying in Iraq largely because of our nation’s dependence on foreign oil.