Dear Blog-O

[Written but not posted last night]
 
Tonight I do not like living here.

It is -7 with the wind chill.  The house is groaning under the wind and swirling snow.

Blowing snow creates drifts and visibility is diminished.

We’ve been under a winter weather advisory since 5 pm that will continue through 11 am tomorrow morning.

WYDOT has issued road advisories against unnecessary travel between the Colorado state line and Laramie.

Nothing unusual here, except that the Legal Dude is out there, in the weather, making his way up the interstate from DIA.  

He called. 

He’s staying behind a semi, both doing 15 to 20 mph on an interstate where the legal speed limit is 75 but most drivers travel 85 mph.

He has an 8 am class tomorrow morning so he’s determined to make the trip home. 

He said he can’t see the exit signs. 

He saw a car spin off the road.  

Some people slowed while others used the opportunity to go even faster, a strange phenomenon—which is more common than not—that I just do not get.

I’m not the only one though, pacing and waiting patiently for a loved one to pull off the unpredictable Wyoming roads.

People here travel all the time and weather can frequently be an issue, even during the two seasons that are July and August.

It doesn’t mean that I have to like it.

What a difference a day makes...

Today...


Yesterday...


Today...


Yesterday...


Precipitation, in the form of snow and "snain," started earlier this evening and is expected to continue through the weekend.

Shucks...

I woke up this morning...

A friend and I were planning to drive to Denver today.

We decided to wait for another day...


















See the colorful little windmills?

Proof that this isn't a photo from earlier in the year.

The roads on the way to taking the teenager to school...













I drove to campus and then walked across to the Psych Department to check on my most recent grades.






















I thought these bikes outside Half-Acre Gym looked kind of cool looking...


























Pick-up time at the teenager's school.













I'm two or three cars behind the maroon Subaru, idling in a small side parking lot with the ability to only go around and forward.

All those cars to the left and front of the maroon Subaru are waiting to make a left hand turn.

There are several cars behind me, while we all wait for parents to load their little ones...















Think pick-up at Jamestown was bad?

Jamestown doesn't have ANYthing on this situation!

Mother Nature's April Fools...

I received an email from a friend this morning, which opened with these lines...

“Writing to you from the outer banks. Staying in house in Corolla, two houses from the beach. It's breezy, and cool but beautiful clear blue skies.”

After reading her e-mail, I went out and took these shots, and no, this is not an April Fools joke!

Or perhaps it is, one perpetuated by Mother Nature!

Yesterday started out bright and lovely, before turning overcast and colder in the late afternoon.

The day before...62 degrees, but windy!

The roads in and out of Laramie have been closed, initially because of weather.

While shopping downtown, I overheard a stranded resident from Cheyenne saying that there was an accident up on the summit---where elevation reaches a high of over 8,000 feet---which may have been the cause.

Either way, those gates are down and the roads shuttered, so to speak.

HELLo, Stephen King!

p.s. while in the shop downtown, the ladies were telling me all about how this happens...in May and June!

My mantra: They DID tell me...it would be just like this.

Spring Storm

I was warned about it, and now I’m experiencing it.

A winter weather advisory is in effect until midnight MDT tonight.

Actually, it’s more of a “snain” shower, with gusts up to 28 mph and a wind chill of 16.

This morning was the first time I wore my winter jacket since Chicago last December, and only because it was the only thing in my car with a hood.

With the wet “snain” falling, I needed to cover my head while walking across campus.

The teenager’s class is supposed to travel to Denver tomorrow morning, where it’s also snowing, to visit the Museum of Science and Nature.

I’m not feeling good about it, but what do you do?

The Director has a 7th grade boy in the teenager’s class, so I’m trusting her to make the right decision.

I just saw on the news that the cherry blossoms are starting to bloom in D.C.

My understanding is that it will be late June before the flora starts to bloom here.

My boys are having a hard time with this weather.

The teenager got depressed when he woke up and saw the snow.

I don’t understand.

"Everyone" told us, it would be just like this….