Okay, snow, you can stop now
Last night, I did something completely crazy. I drove into Edmonton during a snowstorm. Slow & steady wins the race, guys. D: I went to my lovely friend Marcella's place for a traditional Ukrainian Christmas dinner (SO MUCH FOOD). Twelve courses, which included lots of things with poppy seeds, and, of course, perogies. <3 Marcella was good enough to offer me emergency shelter at her place overnight as the blizzard raged on outside, which also left me at liberty to consume a few glasses of wine, since I wasn't driving anywhere. This morning, I drove home in the daylight.
But HOLY CRAP there was a lot of snow. I should mention that it's still snowing outside, not exactly lightly, but neither is it completely white-out conditions. Marcella had to help me dig my car out of the snowdrift. None of the roads except St. Albert Trail had been plowed yet. The residential areas were murder to get out of; I drive a relatively small car (for Canada, at least: I suppose it's average-size for a European car), and so the ruts in the snow that had been created by other drivers this morning didn't help much because my car is like half a foot or more less wide than most of the pickup trucks on the road. That meant that my car kept getting jerked to the side because only one pair of wheels was ever in a rut at a time. :P Also, the middle mound of snow kept scraping the belly of my car. I could HEAR it. D:
(Mum and I estimate that in our area it snowed 22cm overnight. That's what, nearly a foot of snow? And it keeps coming down. Remember, hardly any roads had been plowed.)
I drove really, really slowly, and had to roll down my window when I wanted to do turns or shoulder checks (I, uh, tended to pick a lane and keep to it) because there was so much ice on my windows and it was impossible to grate all the way off... I did lose control only once, and ended up in the snowdrift on the side of the road. I tried to reverse and wiggle my way out, but since it's only barely below zero, despite the huge dump of snow, it was slippery underneath. I put my hazard lights on, of course, and got out to see if I should get the shovel out of my trunk to dig myself out... When two pickup trucks stopped to help me, parking in front and in behind. The first truck had two burly men in it who were going to help me physically push the car out of the snowdrift (they move pretty easily because snow is quite slippery, despite the immense weight of these vehicles), but the guy in behind actually randomly had a tow rope. So he latched onto my bumper and his and just pulled my car right out! I told all three men that they were acquiring lots of good karma. Apparently the guy with the towrope had been doing this quite a bit: I was the fifth person he had towed out on his way to work! ;) I thanked them all profusely and was on my way.
Canadian winters bring us together, I swear. I mean, I think that's why Canadians have the reputation of being so friendly. It's all of us against the weather. We have to stand united. ;) Perfect strangers who may never have given you the time of day during the summertime or elsewhere will stop and help you out with no expectation of reward. Thank you all!
...and now I'm trapped at home. I'm not leaving the house again until this storm is over. I've made some tea, and now I'm going to do some reading, write fanfic, and possibly work on my thesis.
Also, after this snow stops (according to the weather forecast, not for another couple days?), if anybody's in the Edmonton area, I would love to go snowshoeing with someone! I've got an extra pair if anybody wants to come with! At the very least, we have a lovely amount of snow to trudge around in and observe nature. :) Don't hesitate!
But HOLY CRAP there was a lot of snow. I should mention that it's still snowing outside, not exactly lightly, but neither is it completely white-out conditions. Marcella had to help me dig my car out of the snowdrift. None of the roads except St. Albert Trail had been plowed yet. The residential areas were murder to get out of; I drive a relatively small car (for Canada, at least: I suppose it's average-size for a European car), and so the ruts in the snow that had been created by other drivers this morning didn't help much because my car is like half a foot or more less wide than most of the pickup trucks on the road. That meant that my car kept getting jerked to the side because only one pair of wheels was ever in a rut at a time. :P Also, the middle mound of snow kept scraping the belly of my car. I could HEAR it. D:
(Mum and I estimate that in our area it snowed 22cm overnight. That's what, nearly a foot of snow? And it keeps coming down. Remember, hardly any roads had been plowed.)
I drove really, really slowly, and had to roll down my window when I wanted to do turns or shoulder checks (I, uh, tended to pick a lane and keep to it) because there was so much ice on my windows and it was impossible to grate all the way off... I did lose control only once, and ended up in the snowdrift on the side of the road. I tried to reverse and wiggle my way out, but since it's only barely below zero, despite the huge dump of snow, it was slippery underneath. I put my hazard lights on, of course, and got out to see if I should get the shovel out of my trunk to dig myself out... When two pickup trucks stopped to help me, parking in front and in behind. The first truck had two burly men in it who were going to help me physically push the car out of the snowdrift (they move pretty easily because snow is quite slippery, despite the immense weight of these vehicles), but the guy in behind actually randomly had a tow rope. So he latched onto my bumper and his and just pulled my car right out! I told all three men that they were acquiring lots of good karma. Apparently the guy with the towrope had been doing this quite a bit: I was the fifth person he had towed out on his way to work! ;) I thanked them all profusely and was on my way.
Canadian winters bring us together, I swear. I mean, I think that's why Canadians have the reputation of being so friendly. It's all of us against the weather. We have to stand united. ;) Perfect strangers who may never have given you the time of day during the summertime or elsewhere will stop and help you out with no expectation of reward. Thank you all!
...and now I'm trapped at home. I'm not leaving the house again until this storm is over. I've made some tea, and now I'm going to do some reading, write fanfic, and possibly work on my thesis.
Also, after this snow stops (according to the weather forecast, not for another couple days?), if anybody's in the Edmonton area, I would love to go snowshoeing with someone! I've got an extra pair if anybody wants to come with! At the very least, we have a lovely amount of snow to trudge around in and observe nature. :) Don't hesitate!