January 27th, 2007
This week we had a blizzard! The wind woke me up in the early hours Thursday, January 25th. It was gusting and blowing the existing snow into drifts. By noon it was snowing and the conditions were worsening so it was decided to dismiss the high school at 2 pm. Since we live on the edge of town, and on the outside road - our nighborhood is known to experience high snow drifts. I decided to leave early and bring our student with me…found a cab company still running out to Tundra Ridge, and off we went. It was near total white out conditions and the driver was using telephone poles as reference points to stay on the road. About a block from home he drove into a snow drift and was stuck. I opened my door and stepped into knee deep snow! That was a little freaky! Due to the white out conditions it was impossible to guage what was flat in front of us as we walked, and what was heaped snow. It was a bizarre experience and I admit my imagination was in overdrive, recalling every story I’ve read about people losing their way mere steps from home and not to be found until spring thaw! We grabbed each other and fought our way home. The wind was so stong with the blowing snow that we had to walk backwards part of the way. I confess to shedding tears of relief to be safe and sound at home.
Then I bundled up and went outside to experience the awesome strength of the storm.
One week later - the temperatures were in the 40’s and most of the snow had melted! In fact, by 6:30 pm the night of the blizzard we were seeing patches of clear sky and the snow plow was out removing drifts. Crazy!
Today is February 12th. It continues to be unseasonably warm, with daily averages around 20. There have been some calm sunny days and I finally got out for a long walk on the tundra. It was cold and crisp and everything glistened in the sun. One of the nicest days since I’ve been in Bethel. Other than that - I’m counting down to spring break the first week of March. I’m taking Andy and Angela to Disneyland which I am so excited about as neither Andy nor myself have ever been. Thanks to all of you who sent me DL advice! I’ll spend the remaining precious days of vacation visiting friends and family. My baby brother, Bill, his wife Belinda and their kids will be in Washington and I look forward to a visit with my growing niece and nephew. They’re moving from Hawaii to North Carolina. I am so thankful for the opportunity I had to see Oahu from “the inside” and thank them for their frequent hospitality. Guess I have a new state to get to know now. Also on the horizon, albeit the far distant one is a trip to Vegas in early June, for a belated 5-0 celebration. The more the merrier so let me know if you want to come along!
