Monday, June 24, 2019

Muddy Creek Snowstorm








The snowstorm at Muddy Creek Pass obscured the signs and I missed the turn to Walden.








Speed Limit 65





At the accident we had to wait about twenty minutes while they hauled off the wounded. I surmised the snow was too deep to see or find -- to remove it -- the debris. It occurred about ten to fifteen seconds ahead of me, about the amount of time I'd taken to pull over a mile earlier to let the hurriers go by.


The Accident Scene




It wasn't until I saw the sign welcoming me to Steamboat Springs that it dawned on me about the turn to Walden.

When I got back the jack-knifed truck was still there as was the blue Honda FIT that'd gone off in a turn. The police guy officiating at the Honda's rescue looked colder while a helpful citizen with a truck and tow-strap was attempting to assist. They'd been on their own, shoveling, when I went by the first time. I figured s/he/it (the helpful citizen) was interfering with Darwin's Rule of Pruning.

It'll be a while 'til I forget seeing the Grand Cherokee in front of me cross the highway to -- so it appeared -- make a left turn. But as I went past I saw there was no road. The car was off the shoulder, tilted slightly and at an odd angle to the highway, facing, more than less, the way it'd come. The driver had a look of startled bewilderment. I slowed from 12 mph to seven.

2 comments:

  1. what kind of weather is that?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. From hearing folks talk, the "kind" depends on your point of view.

      Most comment with a tone of consternation. "Darndest Spring we've had in memory!" Actually, it seems pretty normal to me.

      In my teens when I hitch-hiked (from El Paso, Texas and/or Cleveland, Ohio) to the Salmon River Wilderness for the summer, I would wait until late May of mid-June. This IS a bit late I guess, but to us olde people who've been around, the forty-year dry-spell we've been having in the West seemed more troublesome.

      You know, it COULD be Global Warming...or Climate Change or, perhaps, too many people.

      Delete