Midnight mini-blizzard

I've taken 3,000-mile winter trips and encountered the worst weather of the journey in the 10 miles between Mancos and Hesperus. That was true last night, too. 

Sandy arrived at the La Plata County airport east of Durango at 11 p.m. The weather there wasn't too bad (thank goodness, or she would probably have spent the night in Albuquerque!), but it got worse as we traveled west from Durango. 

By the time we reached Hesperus, the snow was blowing into the headlights so ferociously that we were creeping along at 20-25 miles an hour, just trying to stay in the roadway. Fortunately, the CDOT plows had already been both ways (bless those folks!), so there was a small line of piled snow at each edge of the highway to guide us. The lighted angel Christmas decoration at the Montoya ranch was certainly a welcome break in those miles of snow-in-the-face. 

The fury of the blizzard lessened slightly as we went through Thompson Park, but then it resumed full-force as we started up Mancos Hill. As we started around the curve to go down the west slope of Mancos Hill, the banshees must have taken control of the wind; it was blowing this way, that way, swirling ... a maelstrom of blowing snow. Though the accumulated snow gave pretty good traction, I crept down the slope, mindful of the many fatalities that have occurred there in the past.

'Twas well after midnight when we got home ... and darned glad to be there! It doesn't look like our total snowfall was very much ... just a couple of inches here at the house ... but it was wild while it lasted! TV