A Snowstorm!

By Mark Heggestad
Remember when I ended yesterday’s blog post stating we are, “right on schedule”?  Famous last words!  We pulled into a campsite last night to spend our first night on the road, feeling very smug about our progress.  We woke up this morning to twelve inches of snow.  Actually we don’t have a tape measure with us, but take a look at our picnic table and make your own best estimate.

Our picnic table.  There was no snow on it last night.

Surprise!  Words of Surprise, unrepeatable words, phrases starting with, “Can you believe this?”  The comments were varied and many this morning.  We got up with the sun to assure an early start.  Instead we trudged through snow up to our knees to get to a shower.  We listened to radio reports and scoured the Internet for weather news.  I-90 (our main road) is closed.  We listened intently for a glimmer of hope.  Finally, at 2:00 pm we admitted defeat.  Mother nature had won.  We will spend a second night at the same campsite.  Sure glad we don’t have a schedule.  But yesterday’s enthusiasm to get this bike ride started took a bit of a hit today.  Speaking of a bike ride, take a look at our bikes in the back of Brian’s pick-up.

Bikes in a pick-up... with snow

I could go on and on about today’s sudden change of plans.  But in the end all that matters is we are safe; and quite honestly spending an entire day in a camper with four wonderful individuals has proven to make for a very peaceful and enjoyable day.  Just as importantly, a fresh snow can make for a very serene experience.  I spent the afternoon walking around our campground taking pictures.  I know I promised only one picture a day, but I had a lot of time to take pictures today.  So here is the beauty of a day trapped in a camper in Gillette, Wyoming.

Fence post with snow

Swing with snow

Mailboxes with snow

Statue with snow

Birdhouse with snow

Fence with snow

Comments

  1. UnknownApril 29, 2017 at 8:06 AM

    Wow, 12 inches of snow at the end of April.....what a great experience, enjoy! Too bad you didn't bring your snowshoes or cross country skiis!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JonApril 30, 2017 at 10:02 AM

    Those mailboxes (:

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 70 – Reflections

By Mark Heggestad
Image
The well-aged guy spotted my bike and glanced at me.   I know, most consider me old, but this guy was older.   I could tell by his quick smile and the way it spread across the lines of his face and through his eyes that he was an old soul making the most of life.   “What will you gain from this journey?” he asked.   He used the word journey, not me.   I had been asked a lot of questions since this bike trip started, but not this one.   “That’s a good question.” I responded, and then I stumbled through an answer I don’t remember.   But I do remember the question.   In fact, I thought about the question often the rest of the journey. This journey taught me a lot about myself.   I learned I have the fortitude to complete a 4,064-mile bike trip.   It reinforced the value of perseverance.   I learned I have very little control over a lot of things that impact me; and I learned to expect, and embrace, whatever surprises the day may bring.   It taught me the importance of taking things o
Read more

Day 63 – One Last Dog Story

By Mark Heggestad
Image
Today’s bike ride was 80.3 miles from Wytheville, VA to Catawba, VA.   It was another great day.   Scenery was beautiful, but cannot compare to the Appalachian’s of the past couple days.   Weather was good.   Road conditions and traffic were good.   I biked through a couple small cities (Radford and Christiansburg), so that slows me down a little.   There were hills, but a gentler kind: shorter and not as steep as previous days.   With that said, I did climb enough hills today to accumulate 5,213 feet of ascent.   That marks the eighth day in a row I have climbed more than 5,000 feet, or a mile straight up. It was just a really nice peaceful ride today.   I love the gentle (gentler, ok, not quite as hard) hills, and the scenery.   It was about as stress-free as it gets. It has been bothering me that I spent so much time in my previous blog posts complaining about the dogs of eastern Kentucky.   I love dogs; in fact I have been missing our black lab (Tess) while on this long jo
Read more

Day 68 – Blessed Beyond Measure – No Doubt About It

By Mark Heggestad
Image
I awoke this morning excited to bike the last thirty miles of this journey.   I took my time with everything: a little longer than usual getting ready, a little longer than usual eating breakfast, a little longer than usual prepping my bike.   In retrospect I suppose I was just savoring the moment.   The first seven miles of today’s ride were on a beautiful designated bike trail.   I took it slow and easy.   All was perfect. Then my perfect world turned imperfect.   The majority of the last thirteen miles of the ride is on Colonial Parkway.   Sounds like a peaceful road, doesn’t it?   It was one of the bumpier roads of the trip and it was the busiest two-lane no-shoulder road I have been on in weeks.   Cars were zooming by fast and constant.   All focus went from savoring the moment to dealing with traffic.   And then it started raining – not a hard rain but enough to get me wet.   I increased my speed in hopes of beating any potential hard rain.    I started bumming about the sit
Read more