Back when Lilla and Neal visited us at Jerry’s Acres, Neal suggested that we were in for a winter of heavy snow. His reasoning was based on a news story he had seen about the local Skunk Cactus — or at least he thinks that’s what the newscaster called this weed, and I think that’s what he called it.
Neal mentioned how the height at which the seed pods begin is an indication of that season’s snowfall depth. Based on a recent weather report from home, sent to us by Codie Rae’s people, I’m starting to believe him…
Red Feather Lakes: Snow and areas of blowing snow before midnight, then snow likely and areas of blowing snow after midnight. Low around 14. Wind chill values as low as -5. North northwest wind between 14 and 16 mph, with gusts as high as 25 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. Total nighttime snow accumulation of 5 to 9 inches possible.
Needless to say, I believe we left just in time. Based on the reports we’re getting from back home, we would have likely been stuck there quite a while – if not all winter – had we not pulled away when we did. That, or we would have been digging out the trailer to hit the road.
But we haven’t exactly headed to warmer climes, yet. Our second night here in Fernley, our hose froze. We had forgotten to leave a faucet dripping overnight. Keeping the water moving through the hose will help it from freezing solid and ensure you have running water in the morning. Insulating the hose with foam pipe-wrap available in the plumbing section of any home supply store also helps. As does having water in your fresh water tank as a backup.
How quickly we forget these things after staying put for a few months. I remember first seeing an RVer fuss with a frozen hose at a riverside park in Ashville, NC two years ago and laughing. The other morning it was my turn. After struggling to thaw things out enough to get our water flowing, we have now practiced these precautionary measures I preach. Good thing René hadn’t yet begun her early morning shifts at the Amazon warehouse!
Bonus! Two video posts in a row… At least this one is ours.
But since René mentioned the weather here at Jerry’s Acres and our impending need to head south for the winter – not just once, but twice – I figured I would let everyone see for themselves how beautiful it is here, how much fun we’re having, and just how cold it really is getting…
Don’t get me wrong, I like the idea of living in a Georgia O’Keefe painting as much as any good ol’ country boy. And it is nice and comfy in our new home. But did I mention it is only October!
We do love it here, but the road beckons. It would mean one thing if we were settling down here for good. That time will come. But we’ve got our winter home sitting out front, with a lot of miles yet to put under its new tires. And that means we need to get those tires rolling before they are totally covered in snow.
Good thing I was proactive and washed the rig last week. I put roof protectant on that day too, which made it nice and slippery today when I got up there to shove a foot of snow of the roof.
I don’t know how much snow load our rig is rated for, but something tells me that this much snow is not a good thing.
Does anyone have good tips for pushing snow off a RV roof without breaking your neck?
The patio is closed. Hopefully in about two weeks, we’ll be on to warmer climates.
I think that boat left without us. This is supposed the first day of Autumn. But I think Autumn got scared, and flew south too. Looks like winter is here.
This is the scene outside today. A winter storm warning has been issued for the next few days. Lucky for us, we’ve got food, booze and Internet. And Wyatt Ray really loves playing all this white stuff.
I’ll never forget the look on his face when we took him outside in the morning. Jim opened the door, and Wyatt’s ears went straight up. His eyes bugged out of his skull. He jumped and romped and spun around and just couldn’t understand what all of that white stuff was!
The Farmers Almanac is predicting a cold, hard winter in these parts. I look outside at our snow-covered rig, and thank Dog that we are in the house right now. The outside temperature is in the low 30s, but it’s warm and toasty inside the house with our fire going.
Aside from our episode with the drunkards, the Missile Site park felt like the safest place to be during our stay in Greeley. The same cannot be said for the sole tornado fatality from the one that touched down there last year. We were parked in the same spot as that poor soul.
But while we could see the wild storms coming and going all around Weld County, and we had our NOAA weather radio tuned in and handy, it was Pete who gave us the most confidence come time for the daily tornado warning. With his house blown away by the twister last year, Mr. Ambrose wasn’t about to let anyone else be taken by another storm on his watch.
We knew one warning was particularly dangerous when we saw Pete rounding up campers. And we can’t thank him enough for letting us all drive into the old decommissioned Atlas-E Missile Silo he knows so well.
What better place to sit out a tornado warning?
See for yourself in this personal tour Park Manager Pete Ambrose gave us of the Weld County Atlas-E Missile Site:
Back when Lilla and Neal visited us at Jerry’s Acres, Neal suggested that we were in for a winter of heavy snow. His reasoning was based on a news story he had seen about the local Skunk Cactus — or at least he thinks that’s what the newscaster called this weed, and I think that’s what he called it.
Needless to say, I believe we left just in time. Based on the reports we’re getting from back home, we would have likely been stuck there quite a while – if not all winter – had we not pulled away when we did. That, or we would have been digging out the trailer to hit the road.
Entries (RSS)