Thursday, January 30, 2014

Snow Insanity

Have you been watching the news this week? My hometown of Atlanta had a bit of snow on Tuesday, and the result was utter chaos and pandemonium. Cars were stuck in traffic for 16+ hours, eventually getting abandoned. People slept in the aisles at Home Depot. A baby was born on the side of I-285 when her parents were unable to make it to the hospital.

As I watched TV, transfixed by the footage, I was trying to recall if such a situation had ever happened when I lived there. Surely it did. As a kid, I would likely have been oblivious to any inconvenience or hardship, joyfully sledding down some hill while the adults inched through traffic trying to get home.

North Carolina didn't get hit too hard this week. A couple of inches in my area, but no resulting snow apocalypse. However, in honor of all of the wintry weather excitement, I thought I'd share some snow scenes from my recent trip to Duluth, Minnesota. If you want to see some serious snow this winter, just head on up to the Arrowhead region of northern Minnesota!


I have to add a note about the above photo. Moments after I took it, I drove around to the front of the store where I saw a teenage girl and a woman, who appeared to be the girl's mother, walking toward the entrance. The girl was wearing shorts. It was -2 degrees, and the windchill was -20. I happen to know the exact temps, because I took a screenshot of the current conditions on my iPhone at the time (this was one of those things you have to share with someone by text message). Ahhh, youth.


How much snow was there you ask? The drifts were so high, it was no easy matter to locate the restaurant for dinner. ("What's that building over there Martha, is that the tire store or the restaurant?" "I don't know Henry, see if you can find the entrance to the parking lot.")


In places, the snow depth was as high as the truck! That is, if you were lucky enough to have been parked in a garage during the preceding week. If not, your vehicle was more or less one with the snow...


The snow was almost as tall as my former next door neighbor. 


Yes indeed, there was a lot of snow, and I loved every minute spent in that frozen, beautiful place. Part of my heart has always remained in the North Country, and when I'm back there, I feel whole - snow, subzero temps, and all. And lest my readers feel adrift with no mention of a dog, bird, cat, or wild animal, let me close with one of the current residents of my old house, who appears to be every bit as comfortable in the snow as I am.

Good dog! 


7 comments:

  1. Amazing. I have a friend who lives near Duluth, he has been telling tales of the cold and snow there. He just flew in to town this week (Denver) to watch the Super Bowl with his family here. Wouldn't you know it, he brought the snow with him!

    My cousin has family in the Atlanta area and shared news of the craziness there. It seems odd to us, here in Colorado, watching people struggle with snow when it's a big part of our winter reality (not as much as Duluth, at least!). But really it's just not something the south is prepared for or used to.

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  2. This weather is nutty. Especially when my friend in Florida had snow
    Lily

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  3. Loved this share! LOL I will, however, require more time in absentia before I miss being out in the snow and ice. :-)

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  4. This was cute! :) I had heard about Atlanta. Here in Seattle we've been WANTING it to snow. It hasn't. Its been a disappointment!

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  5. that is way too much snow for me. I cannot imagine living in a place with that much snow. Brrrr! I wouldn't want to be in that much snow, but I did enjoy your post! Hmmm, your post allowed me to enjoy the snow in my preferred way…from the warmth of my living room. :)

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  6. We survived the snow! And oh Martha and Henry strike again 😉

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  7. Great photos!
    The dog on the snow is just lovely!

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