Blizzard 2009: No riding until 2010!

[ducatiz]

the winter before i moved up to PA from AL, i remember being bundled up and shivering uncontrollably in the high 40's

2 years later it was low 20's and i was fine.
it's all about what you are used to

it's the nipple muscles (men only)

exposure to cold builds up the nipple muscles.  warm weather people have girlie nipple muscles, and are not able to take the cold.  their teats hurt.

cold weather folks have acclimated by building up the nipple muscle.

this only applies to men, women have stronger nipple muscle (and an extra layer of belly fat) to deal with cold, but they can get cold pain too.

[Bick]

Sunny and 52 here.

Time for some  [moto] weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[KnightofNi]

it's the nipple muscles (men only)

exposure to cold builds up the nipple muscles.  warm weather people have girlie nipple muscles, and are not able to take the cold.  their teats hurt.

cold weather folks have acclimated by building up the nipple muscle.

this only applies to men, women have stronger nipple muscle (and an extra layer of belly fat) to deal with cold, but they can get cold pain too.

nah, i'm just a pansy when it comes to cold.

[rgramjet]

Just got in a little while ago from shoveling 20 parkin spots and 2 driveways.....22" in germantown! I came from arizona to this! Horray!!!!! I love snow!!

Hey Ive got a snowblower you can borr....ohhhhh.....not no mo. 

My thumb hurts from pushing snow with the ATV if that makes you feel any better.   

[Porsche Monkey]

It will be in the seventies here tomorrow. Sucks to be ya'll.  [moto]

[Popeye the Sailor]

It will be in the seventies here tomorrow. Sucks to be ya'll.  [moto]

Have fun working on those hot engines 

[the_Journeyman]

Here's my snow pics.  Normally, we don't see more than 6"-8" in a "big" snow.  We wound up with 12"+ inches here in WNC.  People forget how to drive here too when more than 4 flakes fall.

Timeline:  

Friday, 1PM.  Power goes off.  Eh, not a big deal, we'll report it (1st one from my area to report it) and baby-sit the fire until it's cool enough to leave without the blower going.  

Friday 2PM:  Time to do what good ol' boys do when it's snowing and the power is out.  Lets go play in the snow.

Heading up to the local 4-wheeling/muddin' place, we find some snow.


Not a huge amount, but it's really wet and sticky.  Perfect snowman/snowball fight/sledding slow,


Those are my tracks from turning around and backing until C got uncomfortable with me backing up a steep hill in the snow


Climbing up the hill in the above pic, we find a very snowy camping spot.  My Dakota loves snow.


Stepping out of the truck


Heading back down (the blue hue is from shooting through the windshield w/ a polarizing filter on) doesn't look too steep.


It's WAY steeper than it looks FTR


The Dakota looks a bit grim & needs a beer after all the snow I made it slog through


Friday 4PM.  Went to KMart for some cheap ski-type gloves for C.  Power went off before we could check out.  We got to watch pine trees rest on the lines and watch a transformer go through its death throes.  

At home, looking at the table at the firepit:


Zoomed out shot of the one above:


Friday 6PM:  We decide power isn't coming on anytime soon and head out for something hot to eat.  Wal-Mart and Huddle House are the only places with power and open.  Driving to that side of town was an adventure.  We're driving on snowpack and watching the green blast of light from transformers blowing all around us.  It was like being in a SCI-FI horror flick.  We even watched a guy in a Tahoe blow his front hubs from getting tangled in a downed line.  After waiting for 40 minutes for a sub at a Subway with rapidly dwindling stores and listening to a road grader & Bobcat try to stay ahead of the rapidly accumulating snow in the Wal-Mart parking lot, we head home.  No real incidents, but 4WD and good ground clearance was a necessity.  

A heavily traveled secondary road near our house:


Friday 8PM, still now power.  

Time to relax with a Michelob Bourbon Cask Ale w/ a shot of bourbon


Friday 9PM, no power, might as well go to bed and rest well.  

Saturday, 9AM.  Sun is shining in spurts, but another three inches of snow is in the forecast.  Time to walk the neighborhood.  All is still, folks are still inside, not sure what we're doing out and about with a camera.

Over at the neighbors across the street:


Neighbor's spruce trees:


That's measured right outside the door, on the porch.  We probably got a bit more, maybe 14" but the heat from the house melted a bit of the accumulation:


Snow falling in the sun:


Looking back at the house, Dogwood and Ornamental Magnolia:


One of the neighbors decorated their bridge over not-so-troubled waters


Blue sky and snow often give a very stark contrast.


Artsy shot of the pines that brought down an entire transformer:


More artsy shots:


Yet another artsy shot:


One more artsy shot:


And still another artsy shot:


Saturday 10:00AM.  Still no power, so off C and I go to play in the snow a bit more.  We're headed for the Blue Ridge Parkway.  We finally get there after working our way past multiple out-of-state (mostly Florida plates) stuck heading up the mountain.

The Dakota, once again after, taking us as far as the USFS allowed us to go:


Seems the USFS thinks he BRP is a bit unsafe at the moment:


It was really quiet and silent up here:


Seems I was the only one to actually drive to the barricade


Yup, still closed:


US19 across Soco Gap.  That's the Blue Ridge Parkway overpass crossing the road.


Saturday, 12:30PM.  C and I pull the 2nd of the two subs bought at Subway the night before out for lunch.  Still no power.  We also put a couple cans of Beanie-Weenies in the coals in the wood stove to heat up for a side to go with our sub.  

Same table as the earlier shot, but with about another 1.5" in snow:


Saturday 3:30PM:  I've finished clearing the driveway so I don't need 4WD to get in and out of our 50' driveway.   C and I are talking about heading to her parents' place that still has power so we can shower.  As I'm prepping the wood stove to leave it, the power comes back on.

Sunday 8:00AM:  I had heard a sound in the night that sounded a bit like a Bradford Pear falling into a deep snow.

Seems the sound I heard was spot on.  Here's my Bradford Pear.  It's in my pond, my neighbor's yard behind the yard, and my neighbor's yard beside the yard.


Turns out, we did well.  Just a bit down the road, there was a tree on a house, and a tree on a car.  I have a busted Bradford Pear.

I also have a chair full of snow.


Monday, 10:30AM:  I visit my parents who live about 20 minutes away.

This is my parent's driveway:


There's my 2009 Blizzard adventure for those interested.  

JM

[tcspeedfreak]

i only have one question, when did you steal my truck and return it   i got pretty much the same dakota only sucky thing is that mine is only 2wd so i would have been stuck

[the_Journeyman]

Yea, you'd have been *really* stuck in a 2WD.  We went places I wasn't sure a stocker Dakota could go.  I really like my 4.7.

JM

[DesmoDiva]

Awesome picts, JM.

Sorry to hear about your pear, 

I wish we would get some snow like that.  The quiet in the woods with fresh fallen snow is something special.

[ducatiz]

>sigh< whenever I see a Dodge Dakota, I think about the Jeep Comanche it replaced and cry a little..

20 year old, >100k mile Comanches are getting better than 5 grand these days.. 

[Porsche Monkey]

 

Have fun working on those hot engines  

[dolci]

Hey Ive got a snowblower you can borr....ohhhhh.....not no mo. 

My thumb hurts from pushing snow with the ATV if that makes you feel any better.   

The snowblower wouldn't start at Zooom's house - 3 of us spend hours shoveling his driveway and then mine.  We could have used the ATV - next time we're walking to your house.

[ducatiz]

You guys didn't have any starter spray?  I keep that stuff around by the case.  Fun at parties too.

[rgramjet]

The snowblower wouldn't start at Zooom's house - 3 of us spend hours shoveling his driveway and then mine.  We could have used the ATV - next time we're walking to your house.

The ATV is the bomb with this snow.  Plowed 2, 1/4 mile long driveways and probably a mile worth of sidewalks yesterday.  Plowing while it was coming down wasnt fun.  Call me next time you need a good plowing!

Starter fluid is my friend for the post hiatus fire up.  After that, starts like a champ!