Spring Snowstorm - two more feet...

This past week on Thursday the 21st through Friday the 22nd we received another Arctic blast of cold and precip in the form of that wonderful white stuff.  I happened to be down in the city (Seattle) at the time, and joined my friend Linda who resided up on Snoqualmie Pass.  That evening first evening I hopped a ride with her up to her home but we were halted by Interstate 90 being shut down for hours due to a massive number of wrecks and stranded vehicles because of the heavy and blinding snow.  Finally after waiting in the car along the highway hour after hour the pass finally opened up just past 1130pm and we arrived just before 0100 in the morning.  Upon arriving we went right to work with shoveling an snow blowing for at least an hour or two then crashed for a few hours before having to wake and head back down the mountain.  I felt so bad for Linda having to return to work after such a short nights rest.  But she's such a trooper and tough cookie for living the life up in the mountains, at least she was smart enough to choose to live somewhere with power mobile service!

Once back in Seattle I repacked my items and did a little shopping for fruits and veggies at a local market then headed up the highway back to my mountain retreat.  The snow had stopped by mid morning and the sun returned to the area to give way to some incredible vistas of the landscape covered in Spring time snow.  After a few detours and arriving on the final leg of my drive home I turn on the infamous Mountain Loop Highway and drove my 22 miles to Silverton, stopping several times along the way just to take in the clear views of many peaks all the path that were beckoning to be admired; Pilchuck, Three Fingers, Dickerman, and many more..  I arrived and was perhaps a little unenthused about the snow I'd have to shovel to get up to the cabin but instead I visited with neighbors down the road for tea and stories of the sizable flakes that had fallen the day before.  What was great about this last dumping of snow was that it was mostly powder rather than heavy wet stuff.  It makes all the difference when your having to shovel for hours just to get to your front door which is up the mountain side a short bit.  I returned to shovel for several hours but enjoyed every minute of it and slept in the next morning to celebrate the newly arrived blanket of stillness...