The mid-day sunshine in Grass Valley, CA, 12/28/07
This is the same view, roughly, on a pleasant Fall afternoon.Our holiday visit with our Daughter Laurie and Granddaughter Danielle has come to an end. Their flight left Sacramento at 0600 hours this morning and they were in Nashville when they called just before 1300 hours. They then had the six-hour drive to Hickory, NC, and home ahead of them but they planned to visit friends for a day or two before doing that.
For them, one of the things that would have made their trip west even better was a white Christmas but, unfortunately, that just wasn’t in the cards. Christmas was cool with some clouds but no rain or snow.
Last night, when their hours here were at an end it began to snow and, by 0200 hours had built up to about 3” on the ground. That’s certainly not a major snowstorm for here; we’ve had as much as 33” overnight. Our home rests at 3000’ above sea level at the very top of a small mountain.
Except for the snow that could be seen in the headlights of the car the world was a black void. Driving through downtown Grass Valley on our way to the freeway revealed what looked like a Kinkaid painting with thesnow-covered roofs and lawns of the old Victorian homes glowing in the street lights.
It was very pretty but the roads were white and big fluffy white flakes fell rapidly.
For them, one of the things that would have made their trip west even better was a white Christmas but, unfortunately, that just wasn’t in the cards. Christmas was cool with some clouds but no rain or snow.
Last night, when their hours here were at an end it began to snow and, by 0200 hours had built up to about 3” on the ground. That’s certainly not a major snowstorm for here; we’ve had as much as 33” overnight. Our home rests at 3000’ above sea level at the very top of a small mountain.
Except for the snow that could be seen in the headlights of the car the world was a black void. Driving through downtown Grass Valley on our way to the freeway revealed what looked like a Kinkaid painting with thesnow-covered roofs and lawns of the old Victorian homes glowing in the street lights.
It was very pretty but the roads were white and big fluffy white flakes fell rapidly.
Swimsuits may not be required but a wetsuit might be in order. We set our Softub spa up indoors for this trip home and it has been very popular with everyone.We were amazed that the road remained white down to about 1300’ above sea level and there were still snowflakes in the light rain all of the way down to near 1000’.
The trip to the airport was uneventful and we got them off on their way home. Going home could have been a different story if the snow had continued to coat the roads but, by the time we got near Grass Valley it was clear the temperature had climbed enough and enough traffic had been out to clear the paved roads. The private road with 11% grade up to our home was a different story but the Jeep did just fine.
The Azalea will have to wait for the warmer days of early spring. In the meantime, BRRRRRRRR!
It has stayed cold all day with the high being around 36degrees so there has not been a lot of melting going on. Another very small weather system is due to move through tonight bringing a bit more snow before fair weather returns for our trip back to the desert.
1 comment:
Thank you so much for having us. The Holiday was beautiful with or without the snow that finally did come our way. It was great to be around everyone and finally get a chance to meet and spend some time with Kevin's brood. We look forward to our next visit though most likely without snow then either!
Love ya
Kiddlets
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