Snowwwwwww

It has been a year of history in the making. Our country elected its first Black president, the economy is the worst it has been since the Great Depression, and Unalakleet experienced it's first snow day. At least those who have been in the district for a significant amount of time (rather than my pithy 18 months) say that they have never seen school close for a real snow day. Well, it happened.



For those that know me well, they understand that I am not a morning person. It is because of this that I do wake up and go to school so early, because I need an average of about two hours before I should be safely interacting with other people. Besides, having that pillow of extra time in the morning makes me feel good. Anyway, I always go to school around 7:00am, so I had already begun setting up shop in my classroom when our principal announced over the intercom that school would be closed that day due to high winds, low visibility, and of course snow and drifts that made it hard to get around. (Our plow has been doing lots of work for us this season.)



I'll describe the walk to and from school for you. It was blowing about 30mph, which lately is pretty average, or so it seems. Because it had snowed so much, it was blowing the snow and tiny ice pellets into my face because I didn't think to wear goggles on my less-than-5-minute walk to work. As I made my way down the road, I frequently found myself knee deep in a snow drift that, because of what they call "snow blindness," I had not seen, especially in white out conditions in the dark. From my house, I could not see my neighbor's house about 100 feet away. My porch had become a snow bank of sorts, completely blown over with snow, making it difficult to shut my door all the way and frankly an adventure to get up and down my stairs. I've taken to sliding on my way down and praying on my way up. That afternoon when I walked to the D.O. (about the same distance as the school from my house) I wore my goggles, and the drifts were significantly deeper. It was still white-out conditions at noon, though by 3:30 it had cleared up a little. That's when I took the video.



This year we've had at least four consecutive blizzards, though we've had more windstorms than that. This is one aspect of living in the bush that sets us apart from other places in the country. Although there may be similar weather conditions, the entire town doesn't necessarily shut down because of it. By "shut down" I mean no the only two stores close early (i.e. the gas station), planes do not fly (no mail, no travel, no shipments - don't get hurt), and getting from place to place becomes an adventure of climbing through snow drifts, digging out vehicles, and making the best of any chance to play in waist deep powder. It also means listening to the wind howl all night long.



In between the storms we have had a few sunny days on which most everyone has taken advantage of. The skiing is great after storms like this. We have so much snow, machiners and skiers race to be the first to make their tracks in the perfect landscapes the winds have created for us. Walking is another story, however, and without warning I have either fallen completely on my face because I just could not see the snow bank in front of me, or have unintentionally stepped down into snow as deep as my thigh. Snow pants are great this time of year. :)



The only concern I have at this point with having this much snow is the melting time. It's a blast now, having this much snow, even if it is a pain, and even if we cannot see across the road because of the wind and snow for a few days. But when it does finally warm up, we are going to have slush that will turn the roads into swamps, and the snow may very well be here until May. For now, though, I'll just keep on skiing... skiing... skiing... :)

Oh yeah, and I cut my hair. About 10 inches came off, and will soon be mailed off to Locks of Love. Sweet. :)