Good times!

#13, Pacific Dunes

It’s can be hard to stop taking pictures and get back to playing golf at Bandon. The picture below was made only a few hours after my pals got soaked during their morning round. I spent that time driving down from Portland.

From the green, #13 Pacific Dunes

 ok this isn’t the sexiest golf course picture you’ll ever see, but the light on the tall grasses was amazing. I was playing as a single, so I had time to snap pictures as the group ahead of me played on.

Green-side, #11 Pacific Dunes

 Sunday was brilliant on Old Macdonald. It was only the 2nd time I’ve played the newest 18-hole addition to Bandon Dunes Resort, and I gotta say, it’s a total playground because as you can see, it’s wide open. Which does not equate to easy. It also attempts to recreate some of the finest golf holes in the world, including The Road Hole at St. Andrews.

#15, Old Macdonald

For some great golf deals on several fine courese in Oregon, check out the Oregon Golf Association’s ExploreOregonGolf VIP card. Looks like a great deal.

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino

The Slickrock Trail needs no introduction. But this is it. I almost forgot I had these movies, but a long plane ride (another story) gives you time to sift through the files and say “oh yeah I forgot about that!” Glad I found them. Enjoy. Then get to Moab and experience it.
Happy Trails,
Matt Zaffino

Photo Credit: James Guinn

Click on JT’s great Great Horned Owl picture to see my slide show, or just go to

www.zaffinos.net/Steens

Below is the wild ass video. No, not spring break in Mazatlan, actual wild burros on Sheldon Wildlife Refuge, NV.

Family fun in the hot mud:

Waiting for the cattle drive to cross the road, sound track by Xena:

What a great trip, can’t wait to do it again!

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino

Every time I revisit my Moab pictures it makes me want to re-visit Moab. Right now. Even when the sun is shining in the Northwest, there’s something extra unique and distinct about desert light.

Like in the image below: a hole in the shadow caused by a looming arch, back-dropped by a rapidly receding rain shower. Which, by the way is refreshingly rare in red-rock country as  as opposed to oppressively omni-present in the Northwest. I’m not whining! Just wistfully remembering.

Arches National Park is so easily accessed from Moab ( 2 miles from town) it almost feels like cheating when you’re out of your car, treading the desert dirt and making fun pictures in the matter of minutes. I made the images above and below on a quick sunset hike after leaving town about 15 minutes prior.

There are a lot of easy hikes in Arches and it’s a great way to ease into the rhythm of the desert.

But there’s an easier way to get up close and personal with arches. Abseil them. More commonly called rappelling, I doubt there are many better ways to have fun on an arch. We approached Morning Glory Arch from above:

Yep, hiking down is way easier than hiking up. As we approach the labyrinth of red-rock fins and slots, my adrenaline surges, because I love this stuff, but my brain reminds me how easy it could be to get lost in red-rock wonderland. So it’s not a bad idea to go with a guide.

We had Matt from Desert Highlights. I can’t speak more highly of how these guys operate. Low overhead, low frills, high competence and hospitality. I’ve done guided trips where those things are out of proportion and for me, there’s no surer way to mar the memory of a great experience than doing it with someone with a bad attitude. Guide or otherwise. But none of that here.

You want to not only be confident in, you want to LIKE the guy who is setting the ropes and rigging that will lower you 100 feet into a narrow box canyon. It’s SO much fun! Matt the guide snapped the picture below. Robyn’s already rappelled down, I’m just reaching a ledge about half-way down.

Oh, the other reason we used a guide: he had all the gear. Minor detail. Ropes, harnesses, helmets etc and the knowledge to use them.

I shot this video of my bride Robyn and Matt the guide doing a double rappel off of Morning Glory Arch:

Here’s Robyn (her helmet fit better than it looks) after the rappel.

It was about as easy, and way more exciting, as stepping out of the car in Arches.

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino

Click here or on Sheila to link to my pictures:

All smiles from Sheila. Until she saw those hot-tub pics that I WON'T post.

Below are my videos, enjoy, and hope to see you all next year on a BIG RED CAT!

Deek and crew did an amazing job!

Here’s Torden flying the flag:

Skiing the powder:

Colin and Sheila with the moves:

Skiing the burn:

Group ski:

After a great day of cat-skiing… Ahhh….

What a great trip, thanks to everyone who participated and made it possible, especially Deek and his crew, Torden and Sheila.

Happy Turns,

Matt Zaffino

mzaffino@kgw.com

That’s the question I’m getting most often now. Hey I’m not holding out! What I tell viewers on air is what I REALLY think is going to happen! Could I be wrong? Yes. Portland snow forecasts as you probably know, are complex and tricky. Here are my latest thoughts.

Forecast pattern looks similar to what it looked like last night, with a couple minor differences.

We may get a little snow in the valley late Tuesday night or Wednesday morning before it turns to all rain below about 500 feet Wednesday afternoon. That’s because with south to southwest winds it should warm up enough in afternoon to make it rain below 500 feet.

But as temperatures fall Wednesday night, we’re still on track for all snow in the Portland area Wednesday night and Thursday. Check out the forecast map below:

You see low pressure (the black circles with the “L” in the center) off the Washington coast. The blue color over Portland equates to a temperature at roughly 2500 feet of about 28°, which translates into a sea level temperature of about 37°. So it’s still borderline for snow until later Wednesday night, but with colder air advecting (moving in) and decent precipitation rates, it should be enough to get snow down to the valley floor Wednesday night.

The storm off the Washington coast will slowly move south to the mouth of the Columbia River Wednesday night. As it does, colder air continues to overspread northern Oregon.

Here’s the 3-hour snowfall map from 4 am Thursday to 7 am Thursday:

This model paints an inch over Portland proper for this 3-hour period, with more to the south, including on the beach. What I like about this is it shows the nature of the snowfall. There will probably bands of heavier snow, surrounded by lighter snow. So it may be, for example, that Yamhill County sees three inches over this time frame while Multnomah County only gets an inch.

Thursday morning is probably going to be the worst of it for drivers. We’re also looking at record low temperatures Friday and Saturday. The cold may end up having more of an impact for some folks than the snow.
The second most common question I get is “will it shut down the city?”

That’s up to all of us on how we handle the snow and where we decide, in true Portland fashion, to abandon our cars.

Stay tuned!

Matt Zaffino

Chief Meteorologist

KGW NewsChannel 8

This was NOT cropped! Shot with a Canon 5D Mark II

I thought we would get splashed.

We saw them frequently in groups of three.

Big time breaching.

79,000 pounds of airborne marine mammal.

 After an incredible whale show, we sailed to the Marieta Islands, a protected wildlife refuge, for some bird-watching. The islands mark the entrance to the Bahia de Banderas, upon which sits Puerto Vallarta.

Look closely and you'll see the blue foot of the... blue-footed boobie.

Heron launches from the Marieta Islands

Captain Lorenzo at the helm.

Whale-watcher on the way back to Sayulita.

I had some computer issues dowloading the rest of my pictures. I’ll post a slideshow of the whole trip.. after we finish it.

Happy Trails,

Matt Zaffino

Sayulita, Nayarit, Mexico

James & Nicole The Night Before The Wedding

The knot was tied at the south end of Sayulita on a beach called Playa de Los Muertos, or, Beach of the Dead. Not a reference to one’s pre-marital life, or even Jerry Garcia. You have to walk through a cemetary, a really cool under the jungle canopy cool only as Mexicans can make it cool cemetary, to get to the beach.

Portlanders wed on Playa de Los Muertos

James gathers his final thoughts as a single man.

James at the ready for wedding.

Guests Corky and Sara in their Mexican best.

Corky and Sarah

James and Nicole look on as James’s daughter reads during the ceremony. She held it together.

It's a family affair.

Now it’s time for golf, whale-watching, snorkeling, more golf, some sea-kayaking, and maybe a margarita or two.

Stay Tuned,

Mateo Zaffino

I LOVE the first ski-day of the year. It’s a re-birth. A catharsis. Motivation and milestone and all around YAY! I’m back on snow, sliding, speeding, working those muscles and feeling the frosty air on my face and in my lungs. My dog Xena and I have a tradition. First day of skiing it’s just the two of us. I get half a dozen runs in at Mt Hood Meadows, then we hit the trail at Bennett Pass for some ski-joring. See the clip below:

Ski-joring: Man and Beast connected by a tether. Man skis, beast pulls. It’s SUPER fun, but warning skiers: you actually work HARDER. At least I do, because my dog makes me ski faster than I would without her!

Oh, that’s just my boot you hear squeaking.

Next clip is that nice flat fast cruiser run off the top of the Shooting Star lift at Mt Hood Meadows. Heather Canyon, which was closed, is on skiers left. Great warm-up to the season:

And I need to get A LOT of these runs in before March 16. That’s when we leave for three days of snow-CAT skiing with Big Red Cats in British Columbia. Want to come? Sheila Hamilton and I are taking a crew up there with Deek Heykamp of Next Adventure and it’s going to rock! I’ll try to deliver fresh pow-pow for us. In the mean time, get up on the hill! I look forward to cutting freshies with you in March!

Happy Turns,

Matt Zaffino