And to start things off, my Blackberry is lost somewhere in the Sedona wilderness. It came off of my belt without me ever knowing it. Fortunately for me I am not that kid of person who sees losing their phone as a cataclysmic event. For me it is more of an inconvenience. My wife "pinged" and sent me an email telling me it was 1.8 miles from this address. I told he "great, that narrows it down to about 175+ acres of Sedona wilderness. Forget it, IT IS LOST"
Sedona was supposed to get 5-8 inches of snow today. That being said, I decided to suspend any photography I had planned and leave early. I was staying in Cottonville, about 15 miles south of Sedona. I left a little before 7 and went to fill up with gas. It was then that I started seeing the first flakes. Well, here we go, sports fans, right on time. By the time I was halfway between Cottonville and Sedona, the “few flakes” had turned into MANY flakes. By the time I got to Sedona it was a full on snow storm. As soon as I got 5 miles north of Sedona into the mountains it was a full on blizzard with 3” of snow already on the ground and accumulating fast. Windy, narrow mountain roads WITH NO GUARD RAILS, oh goody! I didn't like them Monday morning when there was NO SNOW. Slide off the road and you could be looking at a 1000 or more foot slide into a ravine and no one would know you were even down there. Since my tires are somewhat in need of replacement I was having a hard time getting traction. Eventually I stopped and put the chains on. The chains were supposed to fit my tires but wound up being about 4 inches too long so there was a loose end which made an awful racket. I figured the chains were doing more harm than good and stopped. I got the right one off with no problems but could not get the left one off. I could unbuckle the outside but not the inside. To make a long story short, it was wrapped around the axle up against my brake line. I stopped several times to try and unhook it to no avail. 9ºF and blinding snow and I am lying in 3-4” of snow trying to find the inside hook so I could free the chain. It was wedged between the brake line and the axle so I could not free it even if I could unhook it. I had visions of it breaking my brake line and me losing all hydraulic fluid to my brakes. A true nightmare when driving in snow. I drove until I could find a convenience store, dragging that chain the whole way and jacked up Jeep, took off the tire and eventually unhooked it and got if off the axle. All in a blizzard and 9ºF temperatures. Don't get me wrong, even from I am from FL I am no stranger to the white stuff, growing up in NC and spending 5 years in WA state. I love the snow and don't mind driving in it and the cold and dry temps don't bother me in the least, but I do not relish lying in 4" of snow, under my Jeep, trying to get a set of chains unwrapped from my axle!
Once I got about 75 miles NE from Sedona, the snow stopped and the sun came out. I could see and hear the chunks of ice falling of my Jeep. Now it looks like that winter storm is supposed to hit Springerville around midnight. No bid deal here, it is a 5 minute walk to the hospital. 3-5" of snow here will be most enjoyable!
Sedona was supposed to get 5-8 inches of snow today. That being said, I decided to suspend any photography I had planned and leave early. I was staying in Cottonville, about 15 miles south of Sedona. I left a little before 7 and went to fill up with gas. It was then that I started seeing the first flakes. Well, here we go, sports fans, right on time. By the time I was halfway between Cottonville and Sedona, the “few flakes” had turned into MANY flakes. By the time I got to Sedona it was a full on snow storm. As soon as I got 5 miles north of Sedona into the mountains it was a full on blizzard with 3” of snow already on the ground and accumulating fast. Windy, narrow mountain roads WITH NO GUARD RAILS, oh goody! I didn't like them Monday morning when there was NO SNOW. Slide off the road and you could be looking at a 1000 or more foot slide into a ravine and no one would know you were even down there. Since my tires are somewhat in need of replacement I was having a hard time getting traction. Eventually I stopped and put the chains on. The chains were supposed to fit my tires but wound up being about 4 inches too long so there was a loose end which made an awful racket. I figured the chains were doing more harm than good and stopped. I got the right one off with no problems but could not get the left one off. I could unbuckle the outside but not the inside. To make a long story short, it was wrapped around the axle up against my brake line. I stopped several times to try and unhook it to no avail. 9ºF and blinding snow and I am lying in 3-4” of snow trying to find the inside hook so I could free the chain. It was wedged between the brake line and the axle so I could not free it even if I could unhook it. I had visions of it breaking my brake line and me losing all hydraulic fluid to my brakes. A true nightmare when driving in snow. I drove until I could find a convenience store, dragging that chain the whole way and jacked up Jeep, took off the tire and eventually unhooked it and got if off the axle. All in a blizzard and 9ºF temperatures. Don't get me wrong, even from I am from FL I am no stranger to the white stuff, growing up in NC and spending 5 years in WA state. I love the snow and don't mind driving in it and the cold and dry temps don't bother me in the least, but I do not relish lying in 4" of snow, under my Jeep, trying to get a set of chains unwrapped from my axle!
Once I got about 75 miles NE from Sedona, the snow stopped and the sun came out. I could see and hear the chunks of ice falling of my Jeep. Now it looks like that winter storm is supposed to hit Springerville around midnight. No bid deal here, it is a 5 minute walk to the hospital. 3-5" of snow here will be most enjoyable!
