22
Wednesday, August 16, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
OREGON TRAIL: Family
connection made
experience powerful
Continued from page 11
amazement, respect, grati-
tude and sadness swept
through me. Unexpected
tears welled up in my eyes
as I felt a direct connec-
tion to this weary, frail
woman who produced the
offspring who became my
great-grandfather.
When growing up in
Portland, I had been steeped
in the family history of the
Scotts who came to Oregon
in 1852, but not until that
moment at Ann’s grave had
I appreciated the bravery and
the sacrifice that resulted in
my being born an Oregonian.
A visit to the National
Oregon/California Trail
Center in Montpelier, Idaho
on the way back home pro-
vided the final stroke of real-
ity garnered from my trip.
The interactive exhibits in
this museum include a re-
enactment of riding in a cov-
ered wagon, complete with
the sounds, movements, and
shadows of bumping along
across rough prairie, while
voices read passages from
pioneer diaries and letters
home.
Two of the voices, sur-
prisingly, represented Ann’s
daughters, Abigail and
Margaret, describing their
journey to Oregon. Having
walked the ruts and stood
by the grave, these words
provided the capstone to
my journey back in time.
Again, tears fell unbidden
as my soul was so deeply
touched.
History read about is
interesting and informative.
History experienced is mean-
ingful and moving. My trav-
els to Wyoming have created
a palpable link to the past
and brought to life the amaz-
ing migration that created the
state of my birth.
PHOTO BY SUE STAFFORD
Bronze marker with photograph of Ann Roelofson Scott, placed by Oregon
California Trails Association on the occasion of the re-interment of her
remains at Box Elder Springs
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Sunny weather likely for eclipse
By Mark Floyd
Correspondent
CORVALLIS — Visitors
from around the world will
flock to Oregon to be first in
line to see the solar eclipse on
August 21, but will there be
anything to see?
Time will tell, experts say,
but Oregon is usually delight-
ful in the summer and who-
ever scheduled this eclipse
picked a good date. August
is just about the least likely
time to experience inclement
weather in the Beaver state.
“If you were going to go
to Las Vegas or Atlantic City
and put down a bet on which
location in the United States
will have good weather for
the eclipse – Oregon would
be a great choice,” said Kathie
Dello, deputy director of the
Oregon Climate Service at
Oregon State University. “The
average high temperature on
August 21 is 82 degrees and
it just doesn’t rain very often
here in August.
“The biggest threat during
the summer months is low-
level marine stratus sneaking
its way into the Valley,” Dello
said. “But the chance of that
is weighted more toward June
than it is August. In Madras
— which is on the path of
totality — the biggest threat
to cloudy skies in August
would be an afternoon thun-
dershower. But the eclipse
will be over by lunch.”
Scientists in Oregon and
nationally will also be watch-
ing the eclipse to see what
happens to temperatures
when the sun disappears
in mid-morning — and the
effect of that on the rest of
the day, according to Philip
Mote, director of the Oregon
Climate Change Research
Institute at Oregon State.
“Temperatures on a sum-
mer day in Oregon typically
rise quickly between 9 a.m.
and noon, but on August 21,
the shrinking sun from 9 to
10:15 a.m. could actually
make the day get cooler dur-
ing that period,” Mote said.
“Once the shadow of the
moon starts to pass, tempera-
tures will resume their rise,
but the eclipse will probably
end up affecting the daytime
high by several degrees.
“If it’s cloudy, the effects
of the eclipse on the hour-
by-hour temperatures will be
less.”
Researchers and “citizen
scientists” around the country
will be recording tempera-
tures and sharing them with
the National Aeronautics and
Atmospheric Administration
(NASA). To learn more, go to
https://go.nasa.gov/2tBJyxH.