Thoughts for GreyJediPathfinder

As most of you know, GreyJediPathfinder (Shan) and her husband live in Denver.

I talked to her last night and while they are safe and holed up in their apt, it is still something to be concerned about.

Please keep them in your thoughts during this blizzard.

Stay warm, dry and safe in our Denver Branch of Santa Cruz FF!

Hugs and Love to the two of you

 

Thank you, Master Kenobi!

We are doing okay, Damon is even working today, from home! We had to tape our front door closed because the wind was blowing cold air and snow through the door seal.

We have about 2 ft of snow at our apt, with drifts up to 38". DIA is closed until Friday noon, with roughly 4700 people stranded out there. Thankfully, with Gov Owens declaring an emergency, the National Guard has been called up. They've got their Humvees and 5-ton trucks out and about. There was a stretch of Hwy 36 between Boulder and Denver closed last night and the Guard was rescuing people from stranded cars. Then the police were working with tow trucks to move the abandoned cars into RTD park-n-ride lots to get them off the roads. The city is basically closed down, driving is allowed but discouraged! CDOT is asking for help from contractors who have dump trucks and front-end loaders.

All in all, the blizzard is fun as long as you're in yer home with food and electricity, and it sucks if you're at the airport!

At least we'll have a very white Christmas!

 

Glad you're all doing basically ok, GreyJedi. I can't count the number of times, as a child, I nearly got stuck in Denver International on my birthday (December 24th) while trying to get to my Aunt and Uncle's in Kansas for Christmas! Never actually happened, but came very close many a time.

Good to know you're snug and safe and that wind and snow are no longer blowing in through the cracks around your door!

- Kai

 

I grew up in Colorado Springs and remember how rare a white Christmas was, even more rare to get actual snow fall on Christmas Eve/day. More often than not it was on New Year's Eve, where it was sure to obscure the fireworks show shot off Pike's Peak, and turn the roads into black ice just as people who had too much to drink hit the roads.

For some reason being stuck inside there is not as bad as it sounds, as long as the utilities keep up and you can at least get to the store when you need to. It's something Californians don't quite understand, that it's not a matter of "Hey, let's go out!" it's more like "Can we get out?" But you learn to be self sufficient at home, have plenty of things to read, play or keep yourself entertained. A couple of days warm by the fire looking out the window at the snow isn't too bad (especially if you have someone else to shovel the walk way and a covered place for your car for when you do get out).

It's damn pretty. The way the snow glistens with millions of tiny starry reflections of light during the day, the way the moon light turns the ground a pale magic blue at night. The sight of snow falling down from infinity above...

At least that's how I remember it.

True, digging the car out was sometimes a major pain, but you kind of shrugged it off as "that's the way things are" and lived with it. And the grit and grime from sanded roads and melted puddles and mud made everything look dirty. But still there was some magic there that makes it all okay.

In any case, stay warm and safe there, be careful on those icy roads (I take no responsibility for my fellow tourists there) and have a wonderful holiday weekend.