Mid last week, all the weather stations were calling for a huge snow storm to hit the area the first part of this week. I do not really put much stock into the weather reports because they are usually wrong anyway. They were calling for 8-16 inches of snow then strong winds to blow everything around. I thought, it’s the first real snow of the season so it probably will not be as bad as the weather reports say it is going to be. A slight mis-calculation on my part.
Tuesday, I headed to work like any other day. The snow was supposed to start sometime midmorning. I am fortunate to have a good view of the interstate out the large windows at work. As the morning went on, it began snowing, and blowing. By noon, I could barely see the interstate but could discern that is was crawling. I got an email from one of my coworkers that the interstate had been closed due to an accident. Looks like I would be taking another route home. I, along with many other people, decided it would be better to leave work a little early and get home before rush hour. As I have a 30 mile drive, it was decision I was glad I made. An hour and a half later, I pull into the driveway, safe at home.
Laura had gone to the store the night before, so we were 
set to be snowed in if it came to that. I set my alarm to go off at four am Wednesday morning so I could plow out the driveway and get to work in time for a seven am meeting. My hope of making it to work quickly disappeared when I opened the back door to let the dog outside. A knee deep drift…glad the door opens in! Well, I certainly couldn’t throw the dog outside until I had scooped an area clear. Since our Min Pin does not even come up to my knee, there is no way he was headed outside. I went upstairs to get my socks and a long sleeved shirt and headed back down to put on my shoes and coat. I had to go back upstairs after stepping in Hyde’s ‘accident’ in my clean socks. Apparently, he really didn’t want to go outside.
As soon as I stepped outside, I instantly realized, there was NO WAY I was getting to work. We live out in the country, and the wind had blown some huge drifts overnight. With the wind gusting at fifty miles per hour, white out conditions, and snow forecasted to continue all day, I decided to work from home. As the day continued, the drifts continued to grow and bury both vehicles sitting in the driveway. By the time it was all said and done. We got over a foot of snow, although the wind piled it up into six to eight foot drifts.
Me, liking to drive around in the snow, especially with a four wheel drive truck, headed out Wednesday evening to see the new winter wonderland. Laura decided to go with me but I had to promise not to do anything crazy and if I got us stuck, I would be the one to walk back to the house to get the tractor. Ha…silly wife…the whole point of four wheel drive is to see just how far in the ditch you can get buried! OK, so not really with Mason in the truck, I had to behave myself. I think that is half the reason she wanted to go, to make sure I kept the wheels pointed down. I headed west and came to a large drift that didn’t look that big so I drove right into it. Well, it turns out to be a little bigger than I thought. As the truck entered the drift, we quickly realized that it was taller than the hood. Snow completely covered the windshield…I couldn’t see anything and Mason is in the back seat with his arms above his head yelling WHEEEEEEEEE like he was on a roller coaster! Knowing that stopping would only result in one stuck truck in the middle of the drift, I just looked out the driver’s side window with my foot smashed on the gas pedal until I saw gravel again. This looks like a good place to stop.
Once Laura got done glaring at me, I stepped out to clear the grill of snow and see what the road ahead looked like while the drift melted off the windshield. I started walking up the road a ways and once the snow got over knee deep, decided we had better turn around. After a twenty-five point turn on that narrow gravel road, we drove back through the hole we just made in the drift and headed north. Less than a quarter mile later, we had to turn around again. This time Laura stopped me before I drove haphazardly into another large drift. South was no good, there was yet another large drift Laura wouldn’t let me drive through. I was so disappointed. All these wonderful drifts and I can’t even drive through them.
West, north, south, all blocked…there is only one direction left. I headed east toward the paved road which was only a mile away. So close, yet so far away. Despite the protests from the passenger seat with every drift we plowed through and all the wheeee’s from the backseat, we actually made it to the road. The truck got a little sideways a couple times, but apparently from the passenger seat, angles get a little exaggerated. I say a little, she says “HOLY @#%&!!” After another bombardment of glares, we headed to a small town just to the north to get gas and allow Laura to take some pictures. It was a really neat drive. Getting back home was just as interesting as getting out since all the drifts reformed while we were in town. You couldn’t tell we had driven through them not twenty minutes earlier. More glaring while finally sitting in the driveway. All I could say was, “what, we didn’t get stuck did we?”
I must say, I love reading your blow. They are funny, informational and for this post. I can actually see in my head the look Laura was giving you.. Too funny!
I must say I agree with your wife.