Why am I always writing about the weather???

I have to admit, this place is really beautiful when it snows. We got our first lasting snow today, about 4-5 inches by the looks of my balcony railing. I think maybe it's so beautiful because of the type of snow it is. It's the really fluffy stuff. So all of the trees look like they've been iced. There are clouds hanging in the valley, but it's a clear day, and you can see the mountains on the other side of the Columbia.

This place is kind of crazy when it snows, though. In Illinois, when it snows, the DOT dumps tons of salt on the roads. And usually by the next day, the roads are clear, no matter what the temperature. Here the temperature pretty much hovers around 32 degrees all winter, so they don't use salt on the roads. That means that on days like today, when it's 22, the roads are particularly nasty. Road crews shove as much snow as they can off to the side, but they just leave a slushy, icy mess on the roads to melt off in a day or two. On curves, they apply a liquid to the roads that is supposed to keep them clear, but other wise, they just throw down some sand on top of the snow. Well, sometimes that day or two turns into a week, and you spend that week slip-sliding along until finally the ice melts. Fun times!

We had an interesting Thanksgiving because of the snow. We tried to get to Tacoma to visit some friends. However, we got about halfway there when it started to snow really hard up on Snoqualmie Pass. We got to put chains on our vehicle for the first time, with the help of a really nice guy from Yakima named Christian. Then as soon as we got back on the roadway, traffic stopped dead. It turned out that there was an accident that was blocking the roadway. So we got off 90 and decided to wait a little while. Eventually we turned back because after a half hour, traffic didn't seem to be moving any faster, and there was a huge back up at the entrace ramp to get back on the road.

It was lucky we did turn back, because the roads were pretty slippery. We ended up fishtailing down one hill, which I can attribute to my inexperience driving on hills in the snow. We made it home safely, though, and had Thanksgiving here in Wenatchee. Up on Snoqualmie, it snowed all weekend. If we had made it to Tacoma, the drive back later in the weekend would have been nastier than it already was. On Thanksgiving Day, there was roughly 22 inches of snow on Snoqualmie. I believe the next day there was just as much. The joys of living in the mountains. Too bad we don't ski. : )

Someone else who was up there that night shot this video.

White Water Rafting Pictures from this Summer

I found pictures of Patch!!!

These pictures are from a trip we took with the folks from Biosports.

Here are the pictures from when our friend Tim came out to visit. It was an interesting day. We were with a group of software engineers from Microsoft. I'm sure they tried really hard, but they didn't really know what they were doing, and they lack certain basic social skills, like if someone asks you not to splash him/her, they would drench them, you know, that sort of thing.

Here are the pictures from our trip with Eric and Meredith.

First Snow

Snow here yesterday. My students were so excited. I thought it was interesting that they should be so excited. As I sat in class and watched it snow, my students diligently read each others' drafts. When they walked to the printer to collect their responses, they stared out the window and whispered to their classmates, pointing at the falling flakes and smiling. Someone eventually turned to the whole class and said, "Hey, it's snowing." Most people at least smiled. Some were even happier and silently pumped their fist or said, "yes" quietly to themselves.

Were this Illinois, there would be groans from the students at the sight of new-falling snow, as thoughts of trudging to class through slush and ice or thoughts of facing bitter cold winds whipping around the corners of buildings entered their minds. I do not miss the winds of the plains, winds that raise blinding tears in your eyes and bring you seemingly to the brink of insanity at the thought of having to endure them just 30 seconds longer. The only one who was ever happy it snowed in Illinois, I think, was Jen, who loves falling snow.

Here, though, it seems everyone is like Jen. It seems everyone loves the beginning of winter. And it's easy to see why in this place. The clouds move in and hide the mountains from view, a thick fog. And as the snow fell yesterday, it brought with it a muffled quiet, as if the world ended just beyond your line of sight. The world seemed smaller, like I was transported into a snow-globe. And the quiet was punctuated with the smell of wet cedar and pine, like my grandfather's wood shop, and the smell of wood fires, the smoke drifting unseen into the clouds.

I went to a poetry reading last night, some local Northwest poets. And most of the poems spoke of nature: the Wenatchee and Columbia rivers, the sunrise east of town, horses, the blue heron as it fishes in the shallows, the sparrow making a nest, the yellow warbler so far from home, the watchful eye of the osprey. When you live here, it's easy to see why these poets choose to speak of rivers and birds and mountains. Such things are so inspiring in this small town. And on days like yesterday, nature envelopes you like a down comforter, and the outside world, the town seems to disappear.