Okay, once again, I have been away. Computer problems. Have you ever seen a laptop cord literally fry? Not a pleasant sight. Nor a pleasant smell.
I thought that I would talk a little bit about the weather, which has been unusual. As I type, I am looking out the window on a sunny February day, and the temperature is anticipated to get to a balmy 57 degrees. But January was not so nice…
When we first moved to the ranch, we moved from Mesa, Arizona – which is hot desert summer that experiences snow once a decade. By contrast, our ranch was located at a high elevation, high up on the Colorado Plateau. Our first two winters were harsh, and on several occasions we saw the snow bad enough that they shut down all the mountain passes between Phoenix and our ranch.
I remember that it was a challenge to get to work a couple of times. I bought an old Ford pickup since we live down five miles of dirt road, most of it not maintained. There were times when the snow was deep enough that I thought I would get stuck.
Still, everyone was talking that we were at the start of a twenty-year drought. The truth of this soon became evident. Little Ortega Lake provided me with some spectacular vistas as I drove home, with bald eagles perched in the trees at its shore. It soon dried up. In addition, the snows stopped. Typically, a winter snow brought only a few inches, and it was gone within a day or two. There were some winters where we almost got now snow at all.
The old-timers told stories of bad winters. In 1967, there was a snow storm so bad in Concho that some road engineers got trapped in their truck. Snow buried them, and they ran the heater until they ran out of gas. The only way they were located was that a snow plow saw their tail lights beneath a mound of snow. They were taken to someone’s home in Concho where they recuperated from hypothermia, because the nearest hospital back then was in McNary, almost 60 miles away.
The only evidence we saw of this was a storm in March, 2006. We got three feet of snow. The drifts were up to eight feet high. My younger brother jumped off of the roof of my mother’s house into the drifts, and the huge piles of snow cushioned his fall. The morning after the snow, we had to dig our animals out of the snow. We had to forage for firewood, and we ran out of food within three days. Someone had to hike some food to us.
We realized that we were not prepared for such a storm and spoke of winterizing a little better for the next year. But after a hot summer, it is kind of easy to forget that.
In December, we got about a foot of snow. The only thing that was different about this snow was that, instead of melting in about a day or two, it stuck on the ground for about a month. It was a cold month, only made better by our plumbing freezing up.
JANUARY 19
On January 19, we had snow starting to fall. The radio reports were saying that we would be hit with storm after storm over the next several days. They were saying that we could expect up to three feet of snow. After the dry winters we have experienced, it was easy to react to this with skepticism.
Nonetheless, we decided to prepare. Since we live off the grid, we keep a freezer plugged in at the house of some relatives. Generally, as needed, Martha, Temple or I will stop by the freezer to get food. That evening, we got some food. (It was not enough.) We got some gas for our generator, and then we went home to hunker down. The radio was stating that there was a Winter Storm Advisory for the White Mountains starting at 7PM.
We went home, got the fire going and watched a movie. The sound of the rain pelting our house woke me up that night – rain, not snow. It rained all night.
JANUARY 20
When I got up at 5AM, I noticed that the rain had given way to snow. I turned the radio on and listened for the school closure updates. After a few country songs, the radio announced that the school had closed due to the weather. The kids were jumping up and down for joy. A snow day!
As the morning wore on, the snow kept coming. There several inches on the ground, but that did not stop the garbage truck from plowing down the road for his weekly visit.
I spent the day preparing for taxes, and then watched movies with the kids. No one was venturing outside.
By the evening, the sky had cleared up, and there was no more snow. We watched the sun set in a clear sky. But the radio reports were stating that there was more snow on the way.
I thought that I would talk a little bit about the weather, which has been unusual. As I type, I am looking out the window on a sunny February day, and the temperature is anticipated to get to a balmy 57 degrees. But January was not so nice…
When we first moved to the ranch, we moved from Mesa, Arizona – which is hot desert summer that experiences snow once a decade. By contrast, our ranch was located at a high elevation, high up on the Colorado Plateau. Our first two winters were harsh, and on several occasions we saw the snow bad enough that they shut down all the mountain passes between Phoenix and our ranch.
I remember that it was a challenge to get to work a couple of times. I bought an old Ford pickup since we live down five miles of dirt road, most of it not maintained. There were times when the snow was deep enough that I thought I would get stuck.
Still, everyone was talking that we were at the start of a twenty-year drought. The truth of this soon became evident. Little Ortega Lake provided me with some spectacular vistas as I drove home, with bald eagles perched in the trees at its shore. It soon dried up. In addition, the snows stopped. Typically, a winter snow brought only a few inches, and it was gone within a day or two. There were some winters where we almost got now snow at all.
The old-timers told stories of bad winters. In 1967, there was a snow storm so bad in Concho that some road engineers got trapped in their truck. Snow buried them, and they ran the heater until they ran out of gas. The only way they were located was that a snow plow saw their tail lights beneath a mound of snow. They were taken to someone’s home in Concho where they recuperated from hypothermia, because the nearest hospital back then was in McNary, almost 60 miles away.
The only evidence we saw of this was a storm in March, 2006. We got three feet of snow. The drifts were up to eight feet high. My younger brother jumped off of the roof of my mother’s house into the drifts, and the huge piles of snow cushioned his fall. The morning after the snow, we had to dig our animals out of the snow. We had to forage for firewood, and we ran out of food within three days. Someone had to hike some food to us.
We realized that we were not prepared for such a storm and spoke of winterizing a little better for the next year. But after a hot summer, it is kind of easy to forget that.
In December, we got about a foot of snow. The only thing that was different about this snow was that, instead of melting in about a day or two, it stuck on the ground for about a month. It was a cold month, only made better by our plumbing freezing up.
JANUARY 19
On January 19, we had snow starting to fall. The radio reports were saying that we would be hit with storm after storm over the next several days. They were saying that we could expect up to three feet of snow. After the dry winters we have experienced, it was easy to react to this with skepticism.
Nonetheless, we decided to prepare. Since we live off the grid, we keep a freezer plugged in at the house of some relatives. Generally, as needed, Martha, Temple or I will stop by the freezer to get food. That evening, we got some food. (It was not enough.) We got some gas for our generator, and then we went home to hunker down. The radio was stating that there was a Winter Storm Advisory for the White Mountains starting at 7PM.
We went home, got the fire going and watched a movie. The sound of the rain pelting our house woke me up that night – rain, not snow. It rained all night.
JANUARY 20
When I got up at 5AM, I noticed that the rain had given way to snow. I turned the radio on and listened for the school closure updates. After a few country songs, the radio announced that the school had closed due to the weather. The kids were jumping up and down for joy. A snow day!
As the morning wore on, the snow kept coming. There several inches on the ground, but that did not stop the garbage truck from plowing down the road for his weekly visit.
I spent the day preparing for taxes, and then watched movies with the kids. No one was venturing outside.
By the evening, the sky had cleared up, and there was no more snow. We watched the sun set in a clear sky. But the radio reports were stating that there was more snow on the way.
JANUARY 21
On Thursday, even though the skies were clear all night, by the time I got up, it was snowing again. The radio announced another snow day. Again, the floorboards were shaking from the kids jumping for joy.
The kids were begging to go outside and play. So out they went, making sn
ow angels and building snowmen. Indoors, the hot cocoa was brewing all day.
I went down to my mother’s house with my kids to get some wood, since we were running low. The snow was already up to my calves, and I discovered that there was slick mud underneath it. The snow had settled on top of the rainwater, making a very mushy situation.
On Thursday, even though the skies were clear all night, by the time I got up, it was snowing again. The radio announced another snow day. Again, the floorboards were shaking from the kids jumping for joy.
The kids were begging to go outside and play. So out they went, making sn
ow angels and building snowmen. Indoors, the hot cocoa was brewing all day.I went down to my mother’s house with my kids to get some wood, since we were running low. The snow was already up to my calves, and I discovered that there was slick mud underneath it. The snow had settled on top of the rainwater, making a very mushy situation.
JANUARY 22
Friday morning, the snow was still falling, and the wind kicked in, making drifts that were up to three feet high.
The kids had a blast and started digging tunnels under the drifts and crawling into them.
Our food supplies were running low, and so my brother Tony called me and asked if I wanted to venture out to Concho to get some supplies. At about 4PM, he came and picked me up. The sky was clear. His truck was in 4x4. Even though the road was hidden by the drifts, we started to blaze a trail towards town. He was doing really good. We slipped and slid. The snow bogged us down, but every time we got stuck, he would throw the truck in
to reverse, and that would do the trick. We would continue down the road.
About three miles down the road, the drifts got incredibly deep, and Tony’s truck came to a stop. Throwing it into reverse did not work. I was not dressed for the cold, wearing only a light jacket and no gloves. So I sat in the truck while Tony took a shovel and tried to dig us out. All to no avail. He even dug some sagebrush out of the snow and put it under the tires to try and give us traction. It did not work.
We sat there for a while. I watched the sun get lower on the horizon. I also watched another storm brewing up from the south. I started thinking of the stories of men getting hypothermia in their trucks – right in the same region I live.
Tony finally admitted we were stuck, and we discussed what to do. We considered walking to the highway about a mile and a half away. But then we would have to try to hitchhike somewhere safe.
Tony called my younger brother and asked him if he could bring Tony’s other 4x4 and meet us. We decided to start walking. We left the truck, and the icy wind cut right through my jacket.
I was really worried. It was three miles to my house – through the snow. I wondered vaguely how this would affect the blood clot in my leg.
I’ll finish the story of our trek home in the next installment…
Friday morning, the snow was still falling, and the wind kicked in, making drifts that were up to three feet high.
The kids had a blast and started digging tunnels under the drifts and crawling into them.
Our food supplies were running low, and so my brother Tony called me and asked if I wanted to venture out to Concho to get some supplies. At about 4PM, he came and picked me up. The sky was clear. His truck was in 4x4. Even though the road was hidden by the drifts, we started to blaze a trail towards town. He was doing really good. We slipped and slid. The snow bogged us down, but every time we got stuck, he would throw the truck in
to reverse, and that would do the trick. We would continue down the road.About three miles down the road, the drifts got incredibly deep, and Tony’s truck came to a stop. Throwing it into reverse did not work. I was not dressed for the cold, wearing only a light jacket and no gloves. So I sat in the truck while Tony took a shovel and tried to dig us out. All to no avail. He even dug some sagebrush out of the snow and put it under the tires to try and give us traction. It did not work.
We sat there for a while. I watched the sun get lower on the horizon. I also watched another storm brewing up from the south. I started thinking of the stories of men getting hypothermia in their trucks – right in the same region I live.
Tony finally admitted we were stuck, and we discussed what to do. We considered walking to the highway about a mile and a half away. But then we would have to try to hitchhike somewhere safe.
Tony called my younger brother and asked him if he could bring Tony’s other 4x4 and meet us. We decided to start walking. We left the truck, and the icy wind cut right through my jacket.
I was really worried. It was three miles to my house – through the snow. I wondered vaguely how this would affect the blood clot in my leg.
I’ll finish the story of our trek home in the next installment…
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