It's snowing today. This past week we've endured a plethora of snow storms, each one leaving an impressive amount of the fluffy white stuff in its wake. As such, I've heard a lot of complaints about this year's wintry weather. They hate that we have 2-3 feet of snow on the level, in comparison to other places that barely have a skiff, if that. They want spring NOW! And there are days when I agree with that sentiment, like when I'm traveling and the roads are slick. =)

Some people find this time of year to be depressing. They travel to places where the sun is shining brightly, in the hopes of renewing their spirits. This works for a time. Then, as with all vacations, it's time to come home to the snow.

I sense there is a little analogy hidden in all of this. Winter has always symbolized a state of rest, or in some cultures and religions: death. All that is living hibernates for a time, buried beneath a blanket of white.

Then spring arrives, bringing new life into the world. The snow melts, the flowers bloom, the grass is restored to a shiny green. Spring represents the resurrection of all living things. It is a time we all enjoy as we push aside the knowledge that in a few short months, we will be wading through the snowy season once again.

I suspect this is one of those teaching moments our Father hopes we'll grasp--that we'll reflect on the importance of life, making the most of the time we have in mortal mode. He longs for us to shine forth as the flowers in the spring, until the snowy season arrives when all growth is at rest.

I also believe that He wants us to realize that spring will always follow winter. A restoration of all things will occur when the time is right. Until then, we should look for the beauty of whichever season is currently taking place, appreciating with gratitude all that we've been given.

Spring has Sprung . . .

Or so they tell me. At the moment, it is warmer than we've seen in recent weeks (50 degrees) so maybe what I'm seeing in both my front yard, and the back yard will melt. I am quite certain that this event would not hurt my feelings . . . at all.

This is the lovely view from my front porch today.

And this is the delightful view of my backyard this morning. Very inspirational.

As you can see, though today is traditionally celebrated as the first day of spring in our culture, here in the boonies, also known as Bear Lake Valley, we're still in the midst of wintry moments. (Heavy sigh!)

Don't get me wrong, I like winter. I enjoy all four seasons. It just seems like here in our realm we only have two: Winter . . . summer about July, and back to winter in October. Sometimes our climate skips over important items like say, spring or fall. This makes it quite a challenge to grow things like flowers, gardens, etc. An interesting twist: any and all weeds thrive under these conditions. Go figure.

Still, our summers are beautiful, even if they only last two months. During that time, the sun shines brightly, the birds break forth into song, and if we're really lucky, important things like huckleberries flourish in the mountain tops. It's seldom too hot, also a bonus. That's why people enjoy spending their vacations in a place like Bear Lake.

So here we are today, celebrating spring as best we can in our location. According to the handy reference, Wikipedia, "Spring heralds the transition from winter into spring." Ahh. I think our valley doesn't understand this concept. ;)

When one thinks of spring, one envisions green grass, flowers blooming, colorful birds flying past in an endearing fashion (aside from that flock last week that left a nice token on the bay window in the living room) and baby animals. In our mountain valley, we see most of these items about July. So you can understand our lack of enthusiasm for today's celebration. We really try to be sports about the whole thing, but I'm just sayin' . . .

Years ago I learned a little poem. I'm sure it was during my formative years when I could still memorize with relative ease. It went something like this:

Spring has sprung
The grass has ris'
I wonder where
The flowers is.

In trying to find the original author of this poem, I found yet another version today:

Spring has sprung
The grass has ris'
I wonder where
The birdie is?

There he is
Up in the sky
He dropped some "white-wash"
In my eye.

I'm not a sissy,
I won't cry,
I'm just very glad
That cows can't fly.

Now I have shared two poems and I still have no idea who the original author is of either one. So I will compose my own version:

Spring has sprung
Or so they say
Here it's another
Winter day.

Flowers aren't blooming
Snow lies on the ground
Whoever thought today was spring
Isn't really very sound.

Along about June, or perhaps July
We might see the sun up in the sky
The grass might be green, the flowers in bloom
Until then keep me in a padded room.

Cheri J. Crane
March 20, 2009

Happy spring out there. And if any of you would like to share what you're doing today to celebrate, feel free to comment. As for myself, I think I'll build yet another snowman. ;)

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Winter Wonderland

"Oh the weather outside is frightful . . ." =) Literally. True, we live in a mountain valley and wintry storms are to be expected. That said, I will simply share that we have seen some impressive winter storms this past week. Good times. ;)

On Friday, December 19th, I headed to Utah. We had been watching the weather reports carefully and while a storm was supposed to descend that day, it was predicted that the worst of the storm would hit our area around noon. I figured I could leave that morning and reach Logan before the worst of it came through. Guess what---the weather people lied. It began around 7:00 a.m. Originally I had planned to leave around 10:00 a.m. But when I opened the garage door around 7:00 a.m. and saw the mini-blizzard already bouncing about, I decided to leave earlier.

There were a couple of important reasons why I braved the weather to drive to the Utah realm that day. For starters, I was playing Santa. I had picked up a major gift from my mother to my youngest sister a couple of weeks before, helping my mother in keeping this gift a secret. It was important to deliver this gift to their abode before Christmas. Also, this year I had this same sister's name in our sibling gift exchange, plus I needed to take down a couple of gifts from my family to my mother, so in my opinion, this trip was crucial.

I had also made arrangements to pick up my oldest son (Kris) on my way through Logan. We were planning on spending the weekend with my family since we were spending Christmas with my husband's family this year. We were also looking forward to the pre-Christmas celebration with my side of the family tree and were hoping we could make it down to participate.

I loaded everything into my car, making sure I had emergency items like kitty litter (useful if one buries one's car in a snowbank), a small shovel, extra warm clothing, etc. and left Bennington around 8:30 a.m. In this area, the snow plows are usually out and about by 8:00 a.m. so I thought that was my best shot at making it through the canyon. (Incidentally, my husband had to work over the weekend, so he wasn't able to go with me.)

The first thing I noticed as I pulled out onto the highway was how much snow this storm had already managed to plaster all over the roads. A layer of ice existed beneath the snow, so things were rather slick. But I slowed down accordingly and did just fine. Then I reached an area known in our valley as Sharon. During stormy times, we always dread hitting this section before reaching Emigration Canyon. This is where some of the nastiest white-out adventures take place.

This area lived up to its reputation that day. It was one of those much-feared white-out moments. Everything was white. The sky, the road, the snow alongside the road, not to mention what was swirling through the air. If I could have turned around right then, I would've retreated back home. But there was no where to go but straight ahead. I aimed for what I assumed was the middle of the road (the only things visible at this point were the mile marker extensions located on each side of the road.) and prayed that nothing was coming the other way.

I knew if I could reach the canyon, it would be easier to see, since the mountains would help break up the wind. I eventually found this to be true. But it was still snowing in an impressive fashion, so the canyon wasn't a piece of cake, either. A snowplow was coming down out of the canyon as I headed up, but unfortunately, the road on my side was covered with 4-5 new inches of snow. So when conditions permitted, I kept one side of the car on the recently plowed and sanded side, and the other in the snow that had fallen since the plow had come through that direction. I shifted down into the lower gears and got through the canyon just fine.

Normally I can drive from my home to Preston, Idaho in about an hour when conditions are good. It took me closer to two hours that day. But I made it, and called my husband to let him know that I had made it safely through the canyon. In Preston, it wasn't snowing or blowing. I grew excited thinking the worst of the storm was behind me. Au contraire.

About the time I reached an area known as Lewiston, Utah (located just below Preston) I learned the error of my ways. We were back to blizzard mode. It was so bad, everyone silly enough to be out on the roads at that time traveled at a snail's pace. Except for one Utie driver. A small black sports car sped on past us all about the time we reached the town of Richmond. Evidently, he\she was in a hurry. Can I just state that people who drive in this fashion under such conditions aren't usually the sharpest knives in the drawer? ;) I fully expected to see that same car off in the barrow pit alongside the road. I never did see that car again, but there were others who slid off as we traveled.

I reached Logan around noon, still making fairly good time all things considered. Now my problem was that my son didn't get off work that day until 2:00 p.m. So I needed to kill some time in a fairly safe, warm place, since it was still storming like crazy. I weighed my options, and headed for a huge store loacted on the outskirts of town: Wal-mart. Not only did this store contain some last minute items I needed to purchase, but it also contained a SubWay sandwich deli located in one corner of the store.

I spent an enjoyable time shopping, eating, and people watching. Before I knew it, it was time to brave the elements again and head to my son's apartment. The good news was that by 1:45 p.m. the storm had blown itself out. So I re-zipped my coat, grabbed the plastic bags that held my recent purchases, and walked out to my snow-covered car. It took a few minutes to scrape things off, but by 2:00 p.m. I made it to my son's abode.

He didn't think that I had made it down. While he was at work, he had heard all kinds of reports about accidents, road closures, etc. so when he finally pulled into his driveway around 2:30 p.m. Kris was surprised and excited when he saw his mommy sitting in her car waiting for him in a patient fashion. =)

He hurriedly changed clothes and grabbed his small suitcase and we headed off before the weather fairies changed their minds again. We had both heard bad stories about Sardine Canyon, so we took the back way from Logan to Brigham City, driving on 200 North out of Logan. The road was slick and snow-covered in places, but when we turned off to head toward Brigham, the roads were surprisingly good. They hadn't been hit with the worst of the storm in that area. I drove on the best roads of the day from there until we reached our destination in Clinton, Utah.

We enjoyed ourselves thoroughly during the time we spent in Utah. Some of our relatives thought we were crazy to brave the storm that day, but in retrospect, I'm glad we did. We were never in any danger (aside from the white-out moment in Sharon) because we followed important rules for winter driving:

1. Drive speeds that are conducive to staying on the roads, as opposed to silly people from Utah who drive flashy black sports cars.

2. Keep something for traction in your trunk (I prefer kitty litter). Then if you do slide off the road, you can sprinkle this around the tires and get back on track.

3. Check your fluid levels before leaving home. I must confess I failed to do this. It wasn't until a massive semi-truck threw dirty icy snow all over my windshield as we headed to Brigham that I realized two things: a) the windshield wiper fluid level was pretty much non-existent in my car & b) the tiny spickets that spray this important fluid onto the windshield were frozen. Most uncool. We had to keep pulling into gas stations to clean my windshield.

4. Pray . . . a lot.

5. Take your time and remain calm. Panicking causes driving boo-boos.

6. Be considerate of other drivers who are enduring the same road conditions.




On the way home Sunday afternoon, the roads were much easier to travel. This was good. =) I even stopped at a couple of turnouts through the canyon to take some pictures of the resulting winter wonderland. =) I'm including them in this blog for your enjoyment.



Ah, yes, it is indeed winter. Travel accordingly, and take along your sense of humor. It just might help you keep your sanity as you hit those stormy surprises along the way. ;)

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