Rick's Ramblings

Saturday, October 05, 2013

Cabin Day 15—Last Days #1

Good news and bad news:

Good: we have food for a few days, lots of wood for the stove, gasoline for the generator and Internet access is back up, plenty of dog treats and a couple of jugs of wine.

Bad: we need them.

We had planned to leave the cabin on Friday, which would have been day 14. Friday, Saturday and Sunday would be travel days and I'd be back at work on Monday.

Then came the warnings about travel through Nebraska and Iowa on Friday, with warnings of severe storms and tornados, and we decided to stay an extra day. Yes, there was a few inches of snow predicted for us, but we'd had that last week and it caused no problem. And, heavy amounts of snow this time of year are unusual. Normally, we'd be running around (or driving around taking in the aspens' change of color) in shorts and t-shirts. September is my favorite month up here.

During the day on Thursday, the snow predictions got more and more dire. Instead of inches, they started talking about feet of snow. By then, it was too late to try to pack everything, close the cabin down for winter (turn off appliances, put up shutters, drain water, anti-freeze in lines, etc.), so we decided to stick it out. How bad can it be in early October? Besides, we do have close neighbors who can help. And, we have food for a few more days.

The snow, as reported in previous posts came to about 12". It came straight down with little wind (at our place), and was beautiful. Lynne has some nice photos on her site.

The driveway going out toward the main road:

Today (Saturday), we heard that our neighbors were going to go to Laramie and they wondered if we wanted to join their caravan out. Many people traveling together is good in case someone gets stuck. We agreed and started packing up the truck and prepping the cabin. They were going to take two trucks and check the roads this morning. (They have visitors from St. Louis that also delayed their departure for home by one day because of the weather predictions for travel on Friday.)

I just heard back from them and we are officially snowed-in. I'm not sure of the details, but once you get to the county road, leaving Sand Creek Park, the road is closed. Down there, the wind is blowing like crazy (luckily, we are somewhat sheltered where we are). The drifts are too high to get through and digging makes no sense because the wind fills any tracks with snow as fast as one can dig them. There are a few trucks (it is hunting season) stuck along the way. And, even the roads in Albany County in Wyoming (the route for us to get to Laramie) are closed. They will be cleared when the wind calms so that clearing them makes sense--they will stay cleared at least for a little while.

The Meadow, west of the cabin:

The good news is that the sun is out. I've cleared the snow off the PV panels, we have food for 3 or 4 days, and we have neighbors "in the same boat" just over the hill. And, they, as full-timers up here, are better prepared with chains for their vehicles, shovels, etc.

Here are some more photos:

The solar panels, before I cleaned them off:

The beginnings of what we call the wine fridge. The snow will eventually become a vertical wall outside this door, into which we shove bottles of white wine:

The truck is ready to go! (Well, mostly. Still need to clear the windshield.)

Looking north:

Comments:

1. I voted that you would get out on Sunday but just looked at the weather forecast for Livermore and it looks like there still could be 20-30 mph winds on Sunday, so think it might not be until Monday now.  Looks like maybe you had some good sun and melting going on today though.  Good luck!

   Posted by Carolyn Clarke  on  10/05/2013  at  03:18 PM

2. Well, the way the poll is set up, you can vote more than once

   Posted by Rick  on  10/05/2013  at  03:40 PM

3. Well, in that case…

   Posted by Carolyn Clarke  on  10/05/2013  at  05:57 PM

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