The Edge [of all] Journeys

I just measured 8 inches of snow out there… two hours ago. It’s up to at least 10-12 inches now by the time this posts and we’re maybe only half way there (if that). It’s supposed to keep dumping through the night and tomorrow. Welcome to Colorado!

So, we’ve been in survival mode: Yesterday I finished some preparations, including a make-shift awning to keep (most of) the snow off of the walkway as well as constructing a rough mini tarp room around around the water tanks and plumbing underneath the trailer. With tarps on the ground and 4 sides and the silver side in, it has so far held at 6 deg warmer than the outside temperature. But as things are getting colder I had to finish the project today and run the little heater under there that I picked up at the thrift store for $4 a few weeks ago anticipating such a time as this. This morning I brushed 6 inches of snow off the make-shift tarp awning and the slide-out topper awning; breaking a broom in the process. My logic was to get all the weight off the awnings since more snow would be piling on top of that. Of course, it’s practically pointless and it will all just have to reach an equilibrium on it’s own. Hopefully without breaking anything expensive. The kids are getting pretty restless. We’ve had the obligatory snow play time that always ends up too short because everyone gets cold and tired before they get their energy out. So, I finished the snow shelter by myself. And then of course hot chocolate, shows, throwing things, screeching like falcons, and wrestling on dad and mom’s bed when they were bored of everything else.

I’ve been trying to decide all day whether or not to take the 4×4 out and play in the white stuff since we need a few things. For example, we’re completely out of pull-ups for our two bed-wetters. Last night we were down to 1, so we woke the other one up at 10pm, 2am, and 6am and kept them dry all night. Actually, when I woke them up at 6am they said, “I already went pee 4 times last night,” and went back to sleep. But the other one doesn’t wake up so well. Fit city. So, I don’t know. Back to procrastinating on that decision I guess. Maybe this is the excuse we need to force them to kick the habit of peeing at night.

I kept the text together because it flowed better, but here are some photos of everything I was talking about…

Our little walk-way, make-shift awning above since the real awning just sags under the weight of the snow due to the fact that it can’t pull very far out.

Tarp enclosure underneath the trailer. The brown is on the south side, so when the sun comes back, that should help absorb some extra heat… wish I had a black tarp!

Says it all

Our snow fort. We haven’t tested it yet, but I think 3-4 kids can squeeze in there more or less comfortably. The back of our trailer is in the upper left.

And, finally, the official measurement (as of 3:30pm):

We came across a most curious sight on our drive up to / through Pennsylvania this past weekend. Right along 104 there were these immense mountains of mulch steaming from the decomposing process and a front-end loader taking smaller piles and putting them onto bigger piles. It was truly amazing… perhaps all the more interesting because there was still some stubborn patches of snow clinging to the surface in spots. I didn’t really have the time that I would have liked – such as 8 days or so – to truly document the spectacle properly, but in the few short minutes I had while my family waited in the truck, I jumped out and fired off a few quick rounds. It was hard to decide which one to post, but this captures the essence. Sadly, none of the shots I grabbed captured the enormity of these mulch piles, nor the precarious position the loader was being driven into. The pilot literally drove this thing up the steep side of these piles to drop a new deposit on top. It was expertly accomplished, but I thought for sure the giant machine was going to tip and come rolling down the mulch mountain right at me.