Next stop? Also Du...

After rango, then bai. Wowzer.

Feb 14 leave for Dubai for two weeks. Should be most spectacular of my international audits yet. Stay tuned.

Double the fun

Twice as much snow this week - 3 feet - than the average January snowfall. Just another record-setting performance.

Birds in the snow

Biggest, fattest robins I've ever seen out my window perched in tree during latest snow shower. They are twice as big as the one shown in the attached link.

http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Robin/id

and now it's official...

since the ol' boy here has been known to exagerate on occasion...here's verifiable 3rd-party documentation. Enjoy.

http://www.durangoherald.com/sections/News/2010/01/22/Storm_No_3_dumps_a_boatload/

Snow Update

Round 3 of the Snow has been the biggest.

Started at 5 a.m. Thursday. (Rounds 1 and 2 were Mon and Tues night; Round 3 is Wed night). It's 11 pm., 18 hrs by my calc. And at approx 1 inch an hour we are now at 18inches today and counting.

Was able to drive 20 miles from outside of Durango this afternoon at around 25 mi./hr. But...got stuck in Residence Inn driveway since their snowblower guys had gone elsewhere for a few hours. Was able to back up into main road and get a screaming head start and got into the parking lot.

After discussing with my bitter half, she suggests I head immediately to grocery store so that I don't have to get out any more. So...I head to: a) dinner, b) gro store, and c) liq store. Was able to park outside of restaurant (Ore House - Durango legendary restaurant) without getting stuck - paralleled park which I'm not able to do in normal weather. Made successful parking/departure.

However, pulling into gro store lot I got stuck. There was this young couple in p/u truck who worked diligently to pull my Hertz Impala out. As it turns out they were the Restaurant owners where we ate breakfast (Oscar's in Durango - definitely recommend.) Obviously they didn't accept my tip for pulling me out.

Loaded up at Grocery Store so that if I have to stay in for the next week I am totally set. Headed next to Liquor Store down the parking lot in this strip mall. Parked in middle of driveway - not taking any chances - went inside and bought week's worth of supplies once again.

Headed back to the hotel...and got stuck in the freakin' Residence Inn Parking Lot once again. Luckily there were Maintenance Guys out shoveling snow out of stuck cars, and then some super guy in a p/u truck comes along, and ties his line to my Hertz Impala and once again I"m pulled out of a pile of snow in an uphill driveway.

Hertz with no 4-wheeler and no brush to scrape the snow.

But, hey. I can't go home this weekend. Airport is closed. But I have food and booze to last a week. See you later.

EwLiSttDB

Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow

Beautiful Durango here. Beginning of the week the prediction was 3 snow storms. Two down and two to go. Huh? We’ve had two – Monday night and Tuesday Night (each of which lasted well into the next day). But now they are revising the prediction and saying one for tonight (Wednesday) and then another big one Thursday/Friday.
The two we’ve had so far are well over 10 inches. But, it’s been cold enough that it’s been nothing but beautiful and not a problem to move around. Of course up here in the Rockies they actually know how to take care of snowy roads and how to drive, so not really a concern.

The only ones that apparently don’t understand is Hertz since they did not include a snow brush in the car. Must be like cutting out taking cash on airplanes for cocktails. We just can’t afford those expenseive brushes anymore. I do feel a letter to Hertz coming.

But, I digress. The folks here have a really good idea when it’s going to snow. All you have to do is look west to Los Angeles. When they get rain there…in 1-2 days it will be snowing here. Have you noticed how much rain LA’s been getting lately? While they’re dealing with floods and mudslides, the jet stream ensures that Durango and SW Colorado ski slopes are getting great fresh new powder. SoCal’s loss is SWCO’s gain.

Two other axioms: 1) the snow keeps the temperature up, so not frigidly cold, and 2) the wind hasn’t been blowing so that makes it not as cold either.

Supposed to go home Friday, but don’t know what weather will allow. Here’s hoping for smooth sailing or clear skies.

P.S: Not my pictures since I forgot my camera. Had to borrow the pix. Otherwise, we’d have icicles hanging from the roof and snow piled high on my car. But, would have been difficult to take a picture of me brushing snow at 7 a.m.

P.S.S: And if you didn't see James Taylor and Carol King on Letterman tonight, Youtube it!