A Big Mess On Interstate 90

Snoqualmie Pass (Interstate 90) over the Cascades has been closed since Tuesday morning due to dangerous avalanche conditions.  There are hundreds of trucks lined up on both sides of the pass waiting for the 70 mile stretch of highway to re-open.   There was a large avalanche of snow that came down onto the highway Tuesday morning, narrowly missing several vehicles.  The wet snow continues to fall only contributing to the possibility of further avalanches.  The Department Of Transportation has purposely triggered some avalanches to try and stabilize the condition but they still feel it's unsafe to re-open the pass.  At least those semi truck drivers have sleeper cabs, a lot of them with all the comforts of home (in a compact space, however) so other than wanting to drive their routes, seem to be doing well.

Our snow is gone now.  We did have some flurries Tuesday afternoon but melted shortly after it fell. The temperatures are still hovering around the freezing level, so snow could fall again anytime, if the conditions are right.  Eastern Washington is apparently buried in snow.  They city of Spokane has already used their "snow removal" budget for the year and there are still at least 6 weeks where heavy snowfall is possible.  South of me, in south western Washington and including Portland, Oregon are also experiencing heavy snowfall problems. 

Schools in some of those areas are closed and roads are closed or considered treacherous. In looking out my window this morning, even though it's still dark out there, I can see the road is very shinny.  Of course there are no measures taken in here, such as sanding the roads, so I imagine it's like an ice skating rink out there.  A lot of neighboring kids walk thru the park on their way to the school just outside the back gate...I hope they are careful where they step this morning. It's slippery out there.

Barbara and I went to see the movie "Mad Money" yesterday. It stars Diane Keaton and Queen Latifia.  It was ok...nothing to "write home about."  We wanted to see "27 Dresses"  but it wasn't showing at a good time.  We both had stuff to do around noon and the later showing was too late. With the weather like it is, Barbara wanted to be able to get home before it got dark.  She always drives to my house and we go to the theater just up the street from me because we like it the best.

Well it's "Hump Day" for those of you going off to work each day.  So have a good day and remember once it's over, you're on the downhill slide to the weekend. 

Until next time.........Linda