Denver Snowmageddon 2009
We were warned.
Heavy accumulations of snow were expected on Wednesday and Thursday. It would not be the first time I'd seen snow in October (it happened a couple of times at New Mexico Tech), but I had not seen quite this much so early in a season. Tim and I hit the grocery store, a ritual in the South whenever snow is on the way. To my surprise, the scene did not look like a Soviet-era breadline, although there were rather slim pickings among the few remaining pumpkins.
In the days leading up to the snowfall, I'd been working on an assignment in Brighton, a town northeast of Denver. For me, it was about an hour's drive from home each way. Wednesday morning, I didn't feel safe driving all the way there and back, and negotiated a day's reprieve. So I bundled up in all my winter clothes, including a pair of Yaktrax I got for my birthday, and wandered out through my neighborhood. On the iPod, a collection by Philip Glass that I'd downloaded for free that very morning.
While out, I searched for the geocache closest to my home. Unlike most caches, it was in a residential area, which tends to make you feel uncomfortable, poking around in a stranger's yard. But a kid was out front shoveling snow, and knew what I was looking for. I had to dig deep to find it, but it was there.
I continued on, hoping to make my 400th find (the one in the yard was #398). But as I was walking, I got the dreaded phone call, and it turned out I did have to go in to work. It was a white-knuckled drive there, and the drive back was even more intense. I was pelted with snowflakes that looked like tiny beads. Was this actually too much snow? Was this the point where it stopped being fun?
Driving very cautiously, I made it home without incident, and had assurance that I would be off work on Thursday. As it turned out, Tim's workplace was closed too, so we enjoyed a day curled up on the couch with mediocre TV and a crackling fire. In the evening, I cooked one of my pizzas.
Friday, the sky was clearer, temperatures were warmer, and roads were more navigable. We had survived Snowmageddon, and things were returning to normal. Just in time for Halloween.