Last week whilst Seattle was being pounded by fierce winds, Dryden was sustaining an onslaught of snow. The picture above is an image of the aftermath of a blizzard that left behind twelve inches of fluffy white frozen powder. It hasn't snowed like that around here since 1996. I thought the public schools might close their door for a day, but it turns out that this weather was not enough to shut down our community's schools. A few folks lost power, including my parents, and a house did catch fire, but our volunteer fire department was able to squelch the blaze before any serious harm was done, and electricity was restored within twenty-four hours.
This week Lisa and I were finally able to go out and enjoy the new fluffy white stuff by snow shoeing on Blewett Pass with a couple friends from Ellensburg and their dog Riley(not pictured). We had an excellent time, although with the amount of snow on the pass it was difficult to find a turnout that hadn't been rendered unturnoutable by the Department of Transportation's monstrous snow moving equipment. It was a fun and tiring hike, and afterwards we went back to our friends' place to warm up and have some hot cocoa.
Also this past week Lisa and I went Christmas tree hunting. We left a little late in the day, so by the time we made it to our tree hunting destination it was dark out. We couldn't find a tree to our liking at there,and had just about given in to the fact that maybe it was not our day to find a tree, but we climbed back in the truck determined not to go home empty handed. We drove about twenty miles up to Camas Meadows where we trugded through the snow to find a gem. All of the trees were caked heavily with snow, and because it was dark we had a difficult time actually seeing the quality of the trees. We prayed that God would help us find one, and about ten minutes later we finally found what we thought could be the one. I shook it vigorously, receiving most of the frozen precipitation from it's branches on my head and shoulders. With my headlamp coolly illuminating it's now snow-bare branches, I studied the tree. It was perfect, and just the right size, thank God! The evening was cold and dark, and the roads treacherous, but the trip was worth it. I cut the tree down, and it now stands adorned in our living room.
