Snowed Out!

This past Wednesday (2/13) was quite an ordeal for getting home from school! I had planned on staying at school for a bit to get caught up with grading and tidying up in my room. I knew a storm was coming in, but it didn't look too awful from my window. When Charlotte left, she reminded me that I could come stay any time at her house if I didn't want to drive around the point in the snow. I responded by saying that normally, if I can get to the freeway, the freeway isn't too bad (and usually, it isn't!). I decided I'd had enough grading and such by about 4:15 and was going to leave, and my school phone rang. I ran to pick it up, and it was Linda, who'd left the school around 4:00. She said that she was just at the 'dip' on the Alpine Highway, and traffic wasn't moving anywhere - so don't go home that way! I said thanks, and packed up my stuff to leave. Bobbi and I walked out the parking lot together. It was so gusty - not so much snow, but the wind that was blowing what snow there was, was bitter!

I drove out to 4800 W. and couldn't see a thing - what a white-out! I considered for a moment turning right to get to the Alpine Highway - just because it'd be safer to turn that way. I remembered the last time I drove home that way, just a week ago, and the conditions were better than now, and it was scary then... so I held my breath and turned left! It was difficult going, and hard to see the car in front of me, let alone Bobbi, who'd followed me out!

There was an accident involving several cars, a school bus, and a flatbed semi on 4800 W. going north (I was headed south), but I eventually made it down to the American Fork exit. It wasn't awful in AF, and the freeway was even going along pretty well. I got on the freeway and hoped that I'd be well on my way home. Phew... right?

The traffic started slowing right as the on-ramp ended. I made my way into the middle lane and looked wistfully at the carpool lane - where was Holly in my car when I needed her so we could get home fast? Pretty soon, we all were at a stop-and-go situation, even the carpool lane. The snow wasn't so awful, but the wind was terrible and horizontal. The road worsened as we crept along, since plows hadn't a chance to get to the little snow that was making its way to the ground. I spent my lovely car time writing out my class's Valentine's from Beartha (the class bear... and a side note, the kids were so much more excited to get a Valentine from her than they were to get one from me!), listening to my book-on-CD, The Vacation (read by our own Kirby Heyborne, no less!) and waiting for Traffic-and-Weather-Together-on-the-Nines on KSL. Not a pretty sight. Apparently, the Alpine Highway, where Linda was stuck, was closed (great of them to decide that and tell people trying to get to the freeway that way, don't you think?) and the point of the mountain was a mess - all kinds of trucks and wind and snow in the way. I was going to be forever!

To make a long story only slightly shorter, it took me an hour to go 3.5 miles from AF to Lehi. I decided to get off and go to Charlotte's house (she had invited me, after all!) and either wait it out or stay the night. I called my mom to tell her the plan (thank heavens for cell phones!) which she thought was best. I just hoped it was dinner night at Charlotte's! :)

I finally made it to her house, I discovered that it was, in fact, dinner night. Charlotte and her husband and I ate and watched Deal or No Deal, which had 'breaking winter weather news' on during commercials. We called Linda to see if she'd made it home yet. She hadn't, she was still on the Alpine Highway. Enough dorks had decided that since the road was closed from the freeway eastbound, they'd make it two lanes westbound to the freeway. So then not only was everyone stuck in the traffic, but they were also blocked in and thus prevented from turning around! Charlotte got ready for her one houseguest, and possibly another by getting beds ready and picking out pajamas for us. (What a great hostess!) We watched a bit more tv, and decided to get to bed so we could get up early - but hopefully to wake up to canceled or late-start school!

I slept well, but Charlotte didn't, worrying about Linda, who ended up at a gas station, and later, at the Ivory Homes club house, 'sleeping' on a yoga mat. (She didn't come to school - she was ready to go home!) Charlotte's husband took both of us to school in his 'man-truck' - I was a bit unwilling to dig my car out of the drift that accumulated on my car overnight - and Brent was willing to drive - and darn, we had school and were starting on time! We arrived at school, on time, no less, and got ready for Valentine's day. (Wahoo!)

People at school were concerned about me, and asked my story. There were even some who were impressed that I had a bag of stuff in case something like this ever happened (thanks to Mom and Charlotte!), and even more impressed that I had a red sweater in it - just for Valentine's day!