Happy Snow Day in Seattle!

9 February 2014; Cozy and warm inside Grumpy's Castle --

Well, Grumpy started out this month in a "grumpy" mood: I didn't feel "too awfully well". I spent all day the 5th in bed trying to overcome what I thought was "just a 24-hour bug". The next morning, I felt better -- for awhile, but then returned to bed to try to warm up enough to stop the shivers and teeth chattering. Finally, about noon I called the consulting nurse and was directed to enter Urgent Care for a check up.

What I had, and what I am now recovering from, is a stubborn case of infection. But that is not what this POST is all about; it only provides some background to what I am doing this morning! I AM SHOVELING SNOW!!

 

First of all, I should tell you about my process of getting up and getting dressed in preparation for going out into the cold. Taking care not to expose myself to the elements again for fear of being besot again with chills and shivering, I thought to put on extra layers of warm clothes. When at last I thought to be ready to venture forth into the cold, I realized

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I needed to go to the bathroom!

Mothers will recall incidents of such nature with their children whom they tried to bundle up suitable for the cold environment. I laughed to myself -- no one else to laugh at me!

Having a Happy New Year

01 January 2014; Snow on the Mountain --

By leaving The Castle at 0230 on this first day of the New Year, I accomplished two things: 1) I avoided the drunks who got booted out of the bar at 0200 and were already in the ditch -- or in jail, and, 2) I was able to arrive at the Timberline Lodge on the southwest "corner" of Mt Hood in time to have breakfast with Uncle Bob, Aunt Adelaide, David and Jane. 

The one thing that concerned me about this trip was the worry that at least one of my offspring voiced before I left: she was concerned about my safety on "this, the most unsafe day in the year for driving!" I want to assure everyone that in any case, I am statistically likely to die in an automobile accident anyway. After all, I love to drive [having already covered over about one and a half million miles by automobile in my life so far], and I love to go wherever I am going or have gone. I would rather be remembered for having been doing what I enjoy when the Good Lord chooses to take me off this Earth. So, all of you: Please don't worry!!

But on to my report of the New Year's Day's doings!

First Sunrise of the New Year

As I arrived at the Timberline Lodge, the sun was showing her dawn brilliance in the Eastern sky. Earlier, as I drove toward Mt Hood, I glimpsed the stars in a clear sky overhead. This photo of the imminent sunrise, reminded me of a time a few years ago when the Grand Mother and I [with a young Ramiro] has stayed overnight at this lodge. The snow was much deeper then than I found it this time, but the sunrise was similar. 

The inside of this beautiful 1930's era lodge is as interesting as it is warm and welcoming. This big fireplace is a center-piece to the architecture of the whole lodge. I waited here until I spotted Jane, one of the people with whom I had hoped to visit and have breakfast with on this morning.

Uncle Bob, Me, David; Jane peeking from behind Adelaide

Bob & Adelaide, and David and some others soon arrived and we all sat down to a scrumptious, buffet breakfast of scrambled eggs, various kinds of fruit, cheese bits, and sausage and do-it-yourself waffles. And of course, lots of hot coffee. [The coffee was welcome after the four-plus hour drive down here!]

Apparently, it had snowed a good 4-6 feet back in October, but there hadn't been any more white stuff -- other than a skiff or two -- since then, and the skiing conditions were -- well, they were almost like ice-skating! The top of what snow remained was solid ice; the main, high speed run was littered with rocks all of which would be deeply buried in a "normal" year. 

With a crust on the top of the snow at least 3 or 4 inches thick, I had no trouble walking on top of the snow all over the area in which we "snowshoed" with no hint of breaking through this crust. This is on the South side of the mountain, so the sun had a chance to partially melt the snow in the daytime and allow the cold, clear sky to re-freeze the stuff during the night.

However, the snowshoes were a good idea; they were equipped with crampon-like steel claws on the toes and under the area of the snowshoe where the heel comes down. So, although I would have had no problem breaking through the crust just wearing my hiking boots, the steel claws prevented me from sliding down this steep side hill -- all the way to the bottom -- or, until I encountered a tree -- or a rock!! 

We saw some people who owned crampons who were easily hiking up the same slopes we hiked. Like I suspected, the snowshoes were not needed for the usual purpose of buoying up the weight of the hiker in normal soft snow.

When we reached the upper limit of the trees, we opted to stop rather than continue to get overheated with the exertion of the climb plus the sun beating on our backs. We found this "Heather Bed" and used it as a convenient stopping place to enjoy the view and watch (and listen to) the skiers "schoosh" by as they tried to steer right and left to moderate their downhill speed. Here (left) Bob and Jane recline on the side hill for a little breather.

I took this photo (right) to show the steepness of the hillside up which we had just come. It seemed even steeper, but a good photo is more convincing than a good estimate. The reader can appreciate the problem I would have had coming back down this icy hillside without the traction devices on those snowshoes. Indeed, I would have slid down rather than walk.

As I lay there on the Heather, I spied Mt Jefferson peeking through these ancient tree trunks, relics of the past, killed perhaps during an extended dry period, or perhaps by a fire that once seared this landscape. The new growth, seen poking up behind these bleached trunks are white pine, I believe. Jane's forester daughter will verify the species when Jane returns home and has an opportunity to show her daughter some photos of the foliage.

After arriving back at the lodge at about 1400, I had a relaxing lunch with Jane and at about 1500, after saying goodbye to everyone, I left to drive back to The Castle where I arrived at about 1900 that evening. Needless to say, I slept very well that night and surprised myself with having nothing painful to deal with the next day other than a little stiffness/soreness in my shoulders from having wielded the poles that were issued to us along with the snowshoes. I have to admit that the poles served their purposes with me. I found that I had an illusion that I needed to lean away from the hillside; this resulted in my almost losing my balance a few times and falling over backwards downhill!

The Great Prairie Safari -- Day Nine

9 May 2013; Devil's Tower, Big Horns and Thermopolis --

Getting out of bed was always the hardest part of each day during the Great Prairie Safari. Grumpy was always the first one up, usually had his first cup of coffee -- and was able to capture photos such these as evidence of his earlier arising.

The threat of diminished frequency of Lemon Meringue Pies tended to discourage the display of all of the available evidence, however.

As we were eating breakfast, rain fell on our camp. This was not good as it meant that our tents would be packed wet and unless dried out fairly soon, would become “mildew-y”.  It did make for a rather hasty breakfast and subsequent departure however!  Much more effective than Grumpy’s Grumbling about “… C’mon! We’re burnin’ daylight!!”

Our first objective was the Devil’s Tower in Northeast Wyoming. Grumpy consulted Greta Garmin for directions as to which off-freeway road to take. We drove through some very scenic Ponderosa Pine forested hills and ridges – all in the Belle Fourche River drainage – finally arriving at Devil’s Tower National Monument. As we drove toward the entrance, the Swede commented that she thought she saw some smoke up near the Tower. Sure enough, when we got to the Entrance gate, the Ranger announced that the Park was closed due to a fire. Grumpy asked another Ranger if the fire was a “planned burn”; the answer was that it had started out as a planned burn, but the dry conditions were such that it “got away from them” and became a minor disaster.

Back to the freeway (I90) we went toward Gillette WY, and where Grumpy remembered seeing a huge open pit coal mine when travelling with Great Grandma. We were all pleased to see a large (half-mile long?) coal pit, highlighted by an active conveyor belt system and coal extraction machine, taking the coal from the pit and moving it to a silo-like building for eventual loading onto the hundred-plus coal trains we had seen in Northwest Nebraska and Eastern Wyoming.

After a picnic lunch in the Gillette city park, we drove over the 9,666 foot “Powder River Pass” in the Big Horns. There was plenty of snow up here in these beautiful mountains, but none that interfered with our driving. It actually snowed on us a little bit as we stopped to take our photos!

Arthur tests the water -- Too hot to stay in!

Visiting the natural hot springs of Thermopolis ended our day. However, the Queen and Grumpy decided to stay two nights in our spot in Eagle Campground so the boys –and maybe even the Queen herself! – could enjoy a long swim and/or soak in these legendary “healing waters”. 

Wait until tomorrow!!

Our Varied Weather in Seattle

Somewhere in South King County; Before and After the Winter Solstice --
Grumpy hasn't taken the time to post for awhile. Lots of things going on, so time available for such fun-time just wasn't very high on the priority list. So now, while awaiting the necessary data to complete my IRS duties for 2010, Grumpy found some scenic photos that he thought to share.

This first panorama was taken just before Thanksgiving when we were surprised to find ourselves marooned by an early snow.

Taken 23 November; note Evergreen tree on right and birches in near foreground

This view (above) off our deck is in contrast to a similar one taken a few weeks earlier (below) showing the colorful Autumn colors.

Taken 25 October; Note Evergreen tree on right and birches in near foreground

Now, while snow is not unheard of in Seattle, it is also sufficiently rare that drivers here are infamous for creating major havoc when it does snow. Even more rare are thunderstorm type activity, which creates a unique form of snowfall in the form of miniature snow-balls! This looks like hail, but each 5mm diameter pellet is really a small snowball!

Taken 30 December; These pellets are snowballs, not hailstones

But hope springs eternal! And sure enough, after last night's snowball droppings, the sun rose into a clear, winter-blue sky!

Taken 30 December off our lakeview deck at sunrise (at 0856!)

Enjoy the pictures. More winter weather is sure to follow in this New Year. [Where is Al Gore hiding these days when you need him!?]

Visit with Cousins in Spearfish

Tuesday Daytime & Evening and Wednesday Morning; Spearfish SD --

Saying goodbye to Hazel after breakfast in Kearney, Grumpy survived a hectic drive through North Central Nebraska (Thedford NE to Mission SD), with blowing snow crossing the highway in short sections, and a brisk wind out of the West. Grumpy managed to avoid the pitfalls of other, speedier drivers. Their impatience resulted in their cars being pushed by the wind off of the road when they hit the patches of slush where the blowing snow crossed the highway. Some vehicles wound up upside down or on their side; a couple of them "merely" wound up in the ditch on either side of the highway. The accumulation of frozen slush in the wheel wells and rocker panel on Grumpy's Red Rocket tells the story of this leg of the journey.

Arrived in Spearfish in time for supper at a nearby restaurant with Cousin Bitsy; afterwards a dish of her homemade custard pudding, and then a good night's sleep in the Spearfish Creek Cabins, a place the Grand Mother and I have stayed three times previously; they remember us.

Breakfast the next morning with Cousins Bitsy and Jimmy concluded my visit with these "Spearfish Cousins". Jimmy generously shared a ZipLoc bag filled with some of his homemade venison jerky. This would be a treat for Grandson Ramiro -- if there is any left by the time I get home, that is!

I left Spearfish at about 9 am and topped off the fuel tank in Belle Fourche for the long drive to Missoula MT -- 600 miles away!

Sandhill Crane Viewing; Part One [Eastbound]

I-90 and US-212; Thursday Afternoon & Friday--

Leaving Seattle at about 3 p.m. on Thursday was deemed to be frugal of time because Grumpy sleeps only fitfully when anticipating an adventure. And this trip was to be an adventure, indeed! More about that in subsequent posts in this series.

Roads bare and dry all the way, except over Snoqualmie Pass -- what else is new!? Keeping with the policy set last summer when the First Wife requested "no more than 65 miles per hour", Grumpy dutifully set the Cruise Control at 65 (plus or minus 0.5) and watched the miles ponderously roll by. Going all the way to Missoula MT (490 miles) before refueling was easy as the Red Rocket with a full 17-plus tank, easily exceeds 34 mpg at this cruising speed. Grumpy checked into the "best motel in Drummond MT" at about 11 p.m.

Friday morning, "on the road again", Grumpy saw the signs of the 24 inches of snow (and drifted snow) that had hit the area north and west of the Black Hills a day or two before! These big piles of snow in Broadus MT and the grazing Mule deer witness to the scale of the snowfall.

621 miles after refuelling in Missoula, with the "fuel warning" light blazing for over 50 miles, Grumpy rolled into Belle Fourche to again fill the tank. Snow was piled over 7 or 8 feet deep!

Stop of the day was at Cousin Ann's & Jack's apartment in Rapid City where my Sister Hazel had arrived earlier that morning.

More Snow!!??

5 a.m., Thursday Morning; South King County --

When Grumpy roused out of bed this morning, what to his wondering eyes should appear but -- NO, not "eight tiny reindeer and a sleigh .... " -- more snow! Of course the TV weatherman had "mentioned" something about the possibility of snow in "the lowlands" ["the lowlands": Seattle weather-ese for "right down here at Sea Level!"]. But Grumpy has become accustomed to disbelief in the utterances of the local weather-prognosticators. Too frequently they give misleading or downright deceptive forecasts, such as "partly sunny tomorrow with periods of showers" (translation: rain all day), or, "partly cloudy and warmer" (translation: the sun may peek out sometime during the day and the temperature may get all the way up to 50 degrees!).

So, you can imagine Grumpy's surprise to venture out this morning to pick up his morning paper and find a scene of white before him! A small set of tracks broke the flat, white pattern of the 3 to 4 inch covering. Grumpy guessed that it was one of the neighborhood cats that had left the trail. Wanting to get photographic evidence, Grumpy took this photo and was shocked, when he previewed it to find it filled with white blotches all over, obscuring the tracks he thought to capture!

Pondering what could have caused these spots, Grumpy rolled over the following possibilities in his still-sleepy mind: 1) Condensate on the inner lenses or objective sensor of the 600 camera (oh no!!), or, 2) Dirt on the lenses or sensor (bigger "oh no!!"), or (finally), 3) Snow still falling (oh yes!!) -- I'll be darned!!

So Grumpy took this next picture (above), still attesting to the falling snow, but better showing the indentations of the cat prints in the new-fallen snow. Later, Grumpy took another picture (see right) after another animal had used -- and enlarged -- the previous tracks to make his (or her) way up the driveway and on out into the morning for its own adventure of the day. Grumpy thinks the fresher, larger tracks belong to one of the local racoons.

Still later, Grumpy found even larger tracks in the snow! (see left) Now who could have made these? Here is a hint:Grumpy has reason to believe it is the same Grandson who talks the Grand Mother into baking him his favorite lemon "gooshie" pie which he is shown here eating with gusto. [Grumpy has tried in vain to convince Ramiro to ask for Lemon Meringue Pie, which he has assured Ramiro that Grumpy would help him eat.]

Roof Glaciers: Seattle Thaws Out

South County -- New Year's Eve:

This recent posting by the Amboy motivated Grumpy to take some evidence photos of his own showing the Great Melt here.

Like the Bale Castle, Grumpy's abode boasts of a 50-year steel roof. Grumpy had all but ignored what might be impending disaster with the snow piling up on his roof. The other evening, however, he ventured over to the Southeast eaves to observe what might be occurring.

He first noticed a slab of snow about 18-24 inches long, dangling below the aluminum gutters. Grumpy peered up at the gutters, fearing the worst: that he would find them being slowly torn from the edge of the roof by the inexorable forces of the tons of snow sliding from the gently sloping (~3:12) roof. Thankfully, the "glacier" was jumping over and past the gutters as it gently curved downward due to the force of its own gravity. Notice the "tracks" on the bottom of the snow, made by the ridges at the seams of the roof panels. No gutter damage!!

But look how wide this ribbon of snow was! It was continuous along the full length of the roof!!

As the air temperature continued to modify in the next couple of day, pieces of the hanging curtain of snow broke off. By New Year's Eve, no more snow lies on Grumpy's roof. One, obviously quite large slab of snow, came off the Northwest eaves during daytime one morning with a loud, rather disturbing metallic "clang". Grumpy feared that it may have reached a velocity such that it flew past the property line, cleared the wooden fence and smashed into some article of garden equipment stored along the neighbor's walkway between our two houses. Close examination revealed that, instead, this large chunk of snow had hit the wrought iron railing Grumpy had installed along the stairway next to our house. No damage was done!

Our Christmas 2008

South County News -- Christmas 2008:

December 2008 was like no other that Grumpy and the First Wife have experienced in the 55 years we have lived here. Oh, we have memories of worse snow storms -- we lived through the Great Dakota Blizzard of '49 "holed up" for two weeks in a 16 x 24 cabin with Grumpy's Dad & Mom and his younger sister, Hazel. The temperature at one time was recorded officially as 56 degrees below zero (minus 49 C). The wind was from the West Northwest, blowing at about 35 to 45 miles per hour. A snowfall of 4 to 5 feet was drifted into drifts at least 20 feet deep in places along the main highway.

But here in the marine climate of Western Washington, we have come to expect snow "once in awhile", but "it never stays"! (?!) This time, when the snow came on the 18th, son Darrell helped me shovel it out on the 18th so we had a nice, bare -- even dry by that afternoon -- driveway;

and came again the night of the 21st (Grumpy shoveled it out on the next day on the 22nd, here showing his fine form at the top of the driveway attacking the last bit of six-inch deep snow there);

and then, when this snowfall greeted Grumpy the early afternoon and evening of the 23rd, Grumpy decided to just let the Spring thaw take care of it!! Grumpy later cleared two tracks up which he could drive the car -- as long as it was wearing chains!

Nevertheless, Grumpy's brother Bob and wife Adelaide came to spend Christmas with us and this post describes how we "made do"!


First of all, Grumpy "let" Bob and Adelaide drive their rental car from the motel to a shopping area nearby where Grumpy, with chains on his car, was able to drive -- plow!! -- through the snowy side roads to give them a ride back to our house where we were able to visit and have a delicious Christmas feast prepared by the First Wife. Grumpy was extremely proud of his Bride in that she was able to innovate to make a roast chicken, originally intended for just two people, stretch to feed seven, with seconds available and cold roast chicken for sandwiches or another meal another day! [NOTE: Due to Grumpy's ancient and sometimes befuddled mind, no photos are available as witness to this festive occasion; the reader just has to take his word for it!]

Bob and Adelaide arrived in Seattle about mid-day on the 24th. The snow -- and threats of more! -- had caused the long-planned Christmas party at Ruth's to be cancelled. Our first get-together was with son Jim and wife Theresa at their house on Christmas Eve. (Then a few days later, an impromptu lunch get-together at the Yankee Grill.) The Blief-able Family were at the Christmas Eve meeting. We were greeted with a feast of baked ham and all of the trimmin's, then all royally entertained by the Mermaids. [NOTE: With apologies, please see preceding note.]

Christmas morning found the youngest Grandson Ramiro opening his gifts and expressing great glee that "Santa" had remembered him despite his 13-year-old doubts. His apparent happiness in opening this wallet which he received, is due not to the presence of big money therein (there was none), but due to its "famous brand and desireable status".

The 28th found daughter Susan & Steven, with Granddaughter Rachel, coming down from Everett to have lunch with us and visit for awhile.

Finally, on the 30th, daughter Ruth came after her night shift at the hospital to have breakfast with us and visit until we also had lunch together. She and Uncle Bob discussed cardiovascular-health (wait until he gets his consulting bill!! Heh! heh!!) among other things.

So, despite the less-than-desirable weather, the Zimmerclan were able to survive and enjoy each other's company for another great Christmas celebration. All are safe and healthy with eager anticipation of another get-together "next Christmas"!

Snow! Snow!! Snow!!!

South King County -- Early Christmas Eve '08:
Well, will it ever stop?! The snow started to fall here at about 4 or 5 this morning; just a light dusting at first, with the temperature at about 29F. Then at six-thirty, with temperature a couple degrees colder, the big flakes started to drift down. Grumpy couldn't resist taking his Christmas Present [the Sony Alpha] out once more to capture the beauty of this latest snowfall.

Where yesterday this was a bare driveway (see left) -- even dry in spots! -- today's dawn will see the sight of a new blanket of white covering all of yesterday's hard work. Grumpy's back growled at him last night, complaining of long-disused muscles and ancient joints, hoping that at long last the work was done and the pain would gradually fade as aspirin and a good night's rest soothed away the memories. Now, alas! the work must be done anew. (See photo at right, the streaks showing snow-in-motion.)

But if one thinks not of the labor [whether done in vain, or performed so that the magnitude of the next task is lesser] but of the beauty of the pure, white snow gently covering everything except the vertical, then one can express his thanks to God for creating the six-sided crystalline form which is H2O after 144 BTU's of heat per pound is removed from its liquid form. It reminds Grumpy of how pure and white and gentle is Christ whose Birthday tomorrow is really what makes Christmas a Special Event. It also reminds me how thankful I am that Jesus was born just because God loves us and wanted us to be in close communion with Him. Now, if we believe that Jesus Christ is God-in-the-flesh and that He died for our sins, that reality can be ours.

Merry Christmas to all!!
And on Earth Peace, Good will to all Mankind.

Grumpy's Snow-Mobile

It is a well-known fact that Grumpy is a fanatic about motorized vehicles. So no one should be surprised that he "just had to" show off his "Snowmobile". Compare its smooth, aerodynamic lines with that of the Buried Bug recently revealed near Amboy. Grumpy thinks that form and function have come together here quite nicely.

It is street-legal and, as may be noted, is fully-licensed for highway use in the State of Washington. Top speed and zero-to-sixty times are classified top-secret.

Grumpy and the Grand Mother cannot boast of the snow depth and rooftop glaciation for which Amboy is famous, so we offer this bit of artistry instead.

Shovel-the-Driveway, Take Two

Monday, 22 December 2008:
As the air temperature showed sign of approaching the freezing point -- from below! -- Darrell and Grumpy decided to try clearing the driveway again --- before a slight thaw and a subsequent refreeze solidified the snow mass into a concrete-like layer requiring a jack-hammer to remove.

Grumpy shoveled a path to the roadway above, as usual, to permit going up and down to get the mail -- and the newspaper, if it ever comes again! This pathway revealed a total snow depth of about 6-8 inches. This comprised the snow and freezing rain combination that fell Saturday night plus another 4 or 5 inches that accumulated on Sunday and Sunday night. Any drifting seemed to confined to areas closer to an obstruction such as a shrub or the pickup parked at the top.

As the snow was removed from the black top (parking strip) and the concrete (driveway), it became evident that the ground was still sufficiently warm to result in thawing the remaining film of snow. A steady breeze from the North carried away the water vapors into the hungrily-dry air. Soon dry patches of concrete and black top began to appear.

Now, if only it doesn't snow any more ...

Darrell Shovels the Driveway --And then More Snow

Frigid King County: 21 December 2008:
Happy first day of Winter!! [What? It seems as if Winter has been here for a few days already, right!?]

Yesterday, after a day or two of no more snow, the youngest son, Darrell, volunteered to shovel the driveway for his Old Grumpy Dad. A pathway (see previous post) had been cleared so we could go up and down to get the newspaper (what newspaper -- it never came!) and the mail ("... through rain, snow, sleet or hail ... "). But, as this picture shows, Darrell really did a big job!! Grumpy actually smiled!

But as night fell, forecasts of "high winds" and 2-5 inches of snow threatened. During the night, we heard some wind -- not a lot, but enough so that when daylight arrived and a new walkway was cleared, it was obvious from the widely varying snow depth (2" to 6") that there had been some new snow, but also some drifting of the old or the new. The old snow was certainly light enough to be wind-blown and the new was as well. Sometime during the night, however, after the drifting had occurred, there was a period of rainfall: the surface of the new snow was covered with a 1/4 inch crust of ice! Now the snow became quite immovable.

The photo on the right is interesting because of the sharp line of snow formed on the side of Grumpy's Red Rocket. The demarcation is caused by the fact that the sheet metal has a horizontal crease from front to back at that level. The very slight change to vertical resulted in the dusting of snow sticking above this crease and falling past the lower area (except note the snow on the top of the door-bumper strip!).

Grumpy just had to add some "before" and "after" photos showing the picnic table on 20 April this year and again as it is this morning, the 21st of December. Not too impressive if one considers that the additional amount of snow had eight months to accumulate.

Grumpy's snow stories and snow depths pale in comparison to those posted by Amboy. And Grumpy doesn't even try to approach the tempting visions shown on "The Swede's" blog.