The Plows Keep Busy!

With the second large snowstorm in a week pounding the Front Range, the plow drivers are finding no shortage of work. The second storm began dropping its mess on the Denver area shortly after 9 AM yesterday morning. by the afternoon, the roads were already becoming a mess.

This photo was taken mid afternoon on the E-470 Tollway between Lone Tree and Parker, shortly before arriving at the eastbound toll-booths. Here are two plows driving tandem as they do, to rapidly clear the highway. The plow on the right clears an inside lane, and is followed by the plow on the outside lane that pushed all the snow off onto the median. In this photo, you can clearly see the ice-melting salt/sand mixture that the plows broadcast onto the road surface to keep it from icing over. In addition to that gritty melter, they also use a liquid de-icer on some roadways, particularly before the snow begins to fall.

Farewell, Dennis Linde

I was saddened to learn of the death of award-winning musician/songwriter Dennis Linde at the age of 63. Dennis died of pulmonary fibrosis last Friday, December 22.

Though the name may not be a household word, almost everyone would recognize some of Dennis Linde's work. He wrote many hit songs that are part of our collective life soundtrack. Probably the most well-known hit written by Dennis is Burning Love, recorded by Elvis Presley. He also is the writer of Callin' Baton Rouge, as recorded by Garth Brooks; and Goodbye Earl, a major hit recording for The Dixie Chicks, among many others.

While I didn't know Dennis, I met him a few times back in the 1970s and 1980s, through my uncle Alan who co-wrote songs with Dennis, as well as their both being members of the recording group Jubal in the early 1970s. In an indirect way, my eldest son's name came from Dennis Linde. When my son Dennis was born, we could not think of a name for him. At the time, I worked at radio station WCUM in Cumberland, Maryland, and spotted one of Dennis Linde's albums in the radio station's control room. Having met Dennis and seeing his album there, made me think that it would be a good name for the little person labeled "Baby Boy" at the hospital nursery.

My sincere condolences go out to Dennis' family and friends.

Here We Go Again!

Another major winter storm is heading toward the Colorado Front Range, and predictions are that we will possibly receive another two feet of snow. This one is expected to start dropping white flakes over the area on tomorrow, eight days since the Holiday Blizzard hit town a week ago this afternoon. AccuWeather is even using the "B" word for this second storm. I guess it's time to fill up the Jeep with fuel, stock some food, and plan for a repeat performance of last week. This is not looking good.

So far, I have been in Colorado for three major blizzards; the October 1997 storm, the one in March of 2003, and the Holiday Blizzard of '06 last week. Looks like we will be setting new records.

Gerald R. Ford Dies

In my post from just after the November elections, I quoted President Gerald Ford. Last night, I saw the news that he has died at the age of 93. Much has been said about his decision to give former President Richard Nixon a full and absolute pardon for crimes he may have committed while in office. The pardon put a stop to the probability of long inquests and trials for Nixon. Whatever one's politics, President Ford has to be given credit for getting the nation on to other business, and not letting Watergate consume any more of our resources and time. While I wish he had structured it differently so that Mr. Nixon would have had to face the music for his deeds, I understand and appreciate his intentions.

I met President Ford one time, after he had left office. I was covering a Republican fundraiser for a radio station in Houston, where Mr. Ford was the keynote speaker. While I only exchanged a few short words with him, he struck me as a gracious and intelligent man. Despite his well-publicized foibles on the golf course, he was not the klutz so humorously portrayed by Chevy Chase in his "Saturday Night Live" impersonations.

Gerald Ford has been called the nation's first unelected President, but he held the office with dignity. I believe he did his best during his short term to restore respect and honesty to the institution of the Presidency. For that, President Ford gets my respect.

A Sad Milestone

Christmas Day, 2006 marked a horrible milestone in the U.S. intervention in Iraq. On that day, the deaths of American military personnel in Iraq surpassed the 2,973 lives lost in the attacks of September 11, 2001. This doesn't even include the loss of life in Afghanistan, nor the tens of thousands of Iraqi citizens who have died in this misbegotten invasion of a country which posed no threat to the United States.

Rather than liberating a people longing for freedom, we have instead uncorked the bottle of sectarian violence that had been kept contained by the cruel regime of Saddam Hussein. Now we find ourselves paying in lives, money, and other resources; and bogged down in a civil war; a fact our President refuses to recognize. He calls it "resolve". I prefer the term "stubbornness". Mr. Bush, it is not a virtue to fail to modify tactics if current ones are failing. It is not "flip flopping" to adapt to changing conditions.

Amid the holiday celebrations with family and friends, I hope all of us keep in our thoughts the lives lost in this miserable Iraq war, and their loved ones. It is also imperative that we put pressure, and keep pressure, on our elected representatives to bring this misguided adventure to a close as soon as possible.

A Rocky Mountain Stream

Despite our holiday blizzard, one of the things I like about Colorado is the fact that we do get four seasons here. The photo above is one I took last spring as the creeks in the Rocky Mountain foothills were thawing out. The bit of snow in the middle of the water sits atop a bed of ice left over from the winter. The gnarly roots sticking up are the base of an old tree that has succumbed to the elements, lying dead on its side in the middle of the stream. I thought it made an interesting combination of elements, so I took the shot. I think it came out rather nice. It also reminds us that no matter how much snow winter brings, we have the warmth of springtime not too many months ahead, heralding the arrival of warmer weather.

I'm Dreaming of a Mele Kalikimaka

Bing Crosby may have made "White Christmas" a holiday favorite, but he had another Christmas tune he sang with The Andrews Sisters that sounds a lot more enticing after three feet of snowfall.

Mele Kalikimaka is the thing to say on a bright Hawaiian Christmas Day
That's the island greeting that we send to you from the land where palm trees sway
Here we know that Christmas will be green and bright
The sun to shine by day and all the stars at night
Mele Kalikimaka is Hawaii's way to say Merry Christmas to you

The great Holiday Blizzard of '06 has moved out, leaving mounds of white snow everywhere. It actually is very pretty seeing the snow on the Colorado blue spruce trees and all over the pastures here. After the snowfall ceased Thursday afternoon, the digging out began. Our townhouse complex had a crew working from early Thursday before the snow stopped, until about 1:30 am to get our driveways and streets cleared enough to leave. Now we have a single lane plowed out and piles of snow 6 feet tall all along the road.

It is my hope that we have no more actual blizzards to blog about this winter. We now return you to our regular programming.

Drama in the Snow

A few minutes ago, I looked out my back door and watched a blizzard story unfold. The blue pickup you see in the photo above, behind the SUV, was stuck in the snow. It is a 4x4, and as the driver tried forward and reverse gears, all of his wheels were spinning and going nowhere.

Luckily, a Suburban with chained tires from the Arapahoe County Sheriff's Office drove by, although we are in Douglas County. The Sheriff's Deputy spoke with the driver, and then moments later, a tractor came along. I think this was just plain luck, as I doubt he had time to respond to a radio call from the deputy.

In any case, they quickly pulled the tractor into position behind the stuck pickup truck, strapped a tow rope up to both, and the tractor made quick work of extracting the pickup from the snow in which he had gotten stranded. The video below shows the rescue.

Perfect Gift for a Grad!

This is a picture from a few months back. It was taken in a store in a local mall, which was featuring gifts for the graduate in the Class of 2006. One suggested gift item was a fleece comforter. The unfortunate way they were rolled & folded could reveal what the grad really wanted for graduation!

Snowed In, and Still Falling

Well, it is before 8 o'clock on Thursday morning. I was supposed to drive to Cheyenne, Wyoming this morning, but I-25 is closed all the way to the state line. Besides that, I can't yet even get out of my garage. The snow is deep, drifting, and I cannot even get out of the garage.

The first photo this morning is looking out at my neighbor's townhouse. The front porch is behind the visible part of the evergreen tree (which itself is really about 5' tall). As you can see, about 3' of white crap blocks her door, as it does mine.

The snow is supposed to stop later today, but we are still under a blizzard warning until noon. I really need to get out of here and get to the office, but at this point, I don't think that is yet possible.

The second photo of the morning shows the snowdrift out the back door. There is hardly any accumulation on top of the fence or the patio furniture, as the high winds have kept them clear. But that fence is about 5½ feet tall, and all but the top 10" or so are behind the snow.

Luckily, we still have power, water, gas, and food, so we will be fine. Still, with things to do and places to go, this is not good. It's on days like today that I wondered why did I ever move away from Houston!! I'd almost take a hurricane over much of this weather.

Update! - It Keeps Piling Up

Here is what I see upon opening the front door at 5:00 PM. The garage is behind a three-foot drift. The snow beyond the porch is about 2 feet lower than the porch at its base. Still, it keeps coming down!

Denver International Airport is closed down, Governor Owens has declared a state of emergency, the Regional Transportation District is bringing the busses in, and many highways are closed. Are we having fun yet?

Autumn Out With A Bang!

Here it is, the day before the Winter Solstice, the last day of Autumn. What do we get to mark the occasion? A blizzard. Snow started falling here in Parker at about 3:30 AM this morning, and by the time I went to work, it was already getting treacherous. I called it a day shortly after noon, knowing the drive home would be awful. I was not wrong!

Still, I made it safe and sound, despite people with no common sense, driving like maniacs. My little 4x4 Jeep did a good job, but even that was not so sure footed in this mess. By the time it all ends tomorrow afternoon, we expect up to two feet of snowfall. This is also very wet snow, unlike our typical Colorado fluff. The movie above was taken shortly before 2:00 PM, and it is expected to continue like that for at least another day! That is not static on the video, but sideways snow coming down very hard.

Looks like a white solstice and a white Christmas, even if only from the many inches of the stuff left on the ground by next Monday.

Ho, Ho, Ho!