I’ve lived in Arizona my whole life, in Patagonia for half of it, and in all my years I have never seen it snow as long as it did that fateful Friday in February.
Snowmageddon started out like any other stormy winter day. The weather forecaster predicted snow – no big deal, we’ve been through this, many times before. The school erred on the side of caution and cancelled classes which landed Zach at home all day. How bad could it be? One inch, maybe two, three at the most and by the next day melted and gone. Little did I know it would alter my whole day. Here is my story….
Snowmageddon Hour 1 – Started snowing at 6:30 a.m., right as I was leaving for the gym. No big deal really. The road is wet from all the rain. With any luck it will be over when the sun comes up. Hopefully while I’m at the gym, Zach will make breakfast. Looks like we can head to Tucson to do some shopping.
Hour 3 – We are not going anywhere. It’s been snowing now for two hours. The road is already covered, and I don’t want to chance driving on the pass in this weather. Oh well. We get dressed and go out in it. I have some sweaters for the dogs. Took some pictures. Power blinks. I’m grateful it stayed on. Fed the chickens then go next door for some supplies to make cinnamon rolls. Getting ready for a cozy snow day isn’t so bad. Zach’s playing guitar in his shop. Every now and then we take turns knocking the snow off the satellite dish.
Hour 4 – Sh*t has hit the fan. Power’s out. No internet. Oven has an electric ignitor. No cinnamon rolls. It’s starting to get cold in this old adobe house. The dogs are soaked from playing in the snow and Zach is still playing music in his shop, only this time it’s starting to annoy me.
Hour 5 – Facebook and Instagram are barely keeping me going. It is agreed that this is the real border emergency. I look outside and realize that the flakes are getting bigger and my truck is getting buried. I venture out to measure the snow – four inches. I’m starting to worry our trees will break. Zach has now switched to playing flute.
Hour 6 – Morale is getting low. I’m wrapped in a blanket with a dog and a cat on my lap and a dog on my feet. My phone battery is almost dead and it’s still snowing. We decide to venture out to retrieve a propane heater. Who knows how long this will go on? Zach and I get in a fight over using a dust pan to clean off the windshield. The dustpan is broken. Now we’re not talking.
Hour 7 – Now we’re both just mad and cold. The propane heater gave me a headache, so I turn it off. Zach has taken to playing whatever annoys me and I’m charging my cell phone in the car. I’m moments away from just sitting in the car. I’m considering sleeping in it if the power doesn’t come on.
Hour 8 – And like magic, the power comes on. Immediately Zach runs and turns on the television. It’s Dr. Phil. The heat kicks on and I celebrate by making brownies. I look out the window and see what seems like the final flurries drifting to the ground and then the sun comes out. We venture out and measure – 5.75 inches. We made it.
We survived Snowmageddon. Did you?