December 23, 2015 A Wild Winter Solstice!

Going. . .

. . . going. . .

. . . gone!

Monday 12/21. Snow began to fall at 8:00 am this Winter Solstice morning, with more in the forecast each day through Christmas.  JB left in Big Red at 9:30 am to go trade her for Miss Kitty.  Ah, the plans of mice and men. . .

He got about a mile down the road and belly panned.  Used the winch to pull Big Red another 50 feet, and then there were no available trees to do so again.  Larry and Gridder came up in Larry's Snow Cat to rescue him and pulled Big Red all the way to the main canyon road.  Gridder drove Big Red down to Mr. Sixes who had brought Miss Kitty to Larry and Elsie's.  While JB was being rescued, Mr. Sixes had driven back to his house and brought his snowmobile to use in the rescue.  Gridder drove Miss Kitty up to the big S-curve, which is about 1/4 mile from our road, and where the Snow Cat had stalled.  Everyone finally made it down to Larry and Elsie's at about 6:00 pm, where JB spent the night.  One simply cannot make it in the mountains without good friends and neighbors.

Snow continued to fall all day and we received 11 more inches, this on top of the more than three feet we already had!  I shoveled the paths mid day and dug MAX out in the hope that JB would make it back up.  Looks like we may have to park Miss Kitty at the junction of our road and the main canyon road, using MAX to get to her.  This is just the kind of "adventure" we usually have once a winter, and usually around Christmas.  

I had used the generator to do laundry & fill the cistern, so I didn't need to run it this evening.  We only have four solar panels, so that is a main factor in deciding when and how to use our electricity.  Larry and Elsie have been off the grid more than twice as long as we have and have been able to add to their number of panels.  They now have 14, I think.  This gives them much more flexibility for the use of their power.

Our high for the day was 24.  Snow stopped falling at about 5:00 pm, but MAX was buried again and the paths did not look like I had done any shoveling.  By 6:00 pm, the sky was clear and the stars were out.  Soon the moon was shining brightly on the snow.  Beautiful!

Our mutant frog under the house was singing his praises for the Winter Solstice.  I call him a mutant because he has to be part warm-blooded to still be awake in these temperatures.

Tuesday 12/22. It was 27, clear and breezy this morning.  JB finally made it to town this morning by 10:00 to do the errands he wanted to do yesterday.  By that time I had shoveled all the paths, dug out MAX (again), and brought in the fire wood.  I would much rather be doing that than sitting inside trying to stay cool in the summer heat.  Plus, it helps me work off the eggnog and cookies. . .

JB was back to Gridder's at 11:30 am.  Gridder followed him in the snowmobile up to Larry and Elsie's, where they loaded our cooler on a sled and filled it with our mail, and JB parked the Jeep.  JB followed him as far as he could in Miss Kitty, which was not quite as far as the S-curve.  He parked Miss Kitty and rode on the snowmobile back home, where they arrived at 1:30 pm.  So good to have him back safe and sound!  He plans to use MAX to groom the road tomorrow and Thursday.

The sky remained mostly clear all day, but more snow is on the way soon again.  We now have received a total of 49" (more than 4 feet), and it is just the first day of winter!  We sure need it, though, so all is well.  And it is almost Christmas!

Wednesday 12/23. It is 26, mostly cloudy and breezy this morning.  Looks like it may have snowed another inch or so during the night.

Regarding the comment about Gridder, he is a 6'2" ex-Marine.  We weren't too concerned. . .

Thought for the day: The one who follows the crowd will get no further than the crowd.  The one who walks alone will find himself in places no one has ever been.