Winter Sparkle

It is a rare thing indeed to receive snow in the Willamette Valley. However, on Sunday night we were treated to several hefty inches and sub-zero high temperatures. Those temperatures are lasting which means the snow and ice is too.

On Monday, our local mass transit system basically shut down. I got up at the regular time, expecting to be met with a shuttle that would take me to the nearest station where buses could pick me up. I waited for a good ten minutes before an official looking vehicle approached, but not to pick me up. Instead, they told me that a bus had tried to make it up the hill but had instead gone sideways and was completely blocking the street a ways down the road. At that point, they said not even shuttles were coming up so just go home and stay warm. I texted my boss and told her as much.

Around 10am, my boss called and said she was able to catch a bus 15 blocks from my house (near hers). I bundled up and headed out. Working my way down the frozen street, I passed several elated children, one of whom asked whether I was having a snow day like her. I chuckled and said that I was going to work and she produced an incredible look of pity. Why was I trying to go to work anyway? The weather was absolutely horrible. The chances of me slipping and breaking something were quite high, but nonetheless I persevered. I made it to the point where my boss was picked up. Rather than a shuttle, I was again met with the same official vehicle who again said a bus had slid and blocked traffic. It wasn't my boss's bus, thankfully. I inquired about the shuttle and was again told that the road was blocked, but hopefully in an hour or so it would be clear. This was at 1pm. I headed back home.

Robin and I spent the cold afternoon bundled up and watching TV. Kitty was curled and purring loudly in my lap. We watched people go for walks and take sleds down the street. It was a wonderful sight indeed.

We didn't get any new snow overnight, so I rose early to see if the buses were running normally again. They weren't, but I was confident the shuttle system must at least be going more smoothly. I set out early with the intention of making it to the station from which buses were running. It's a good 45 minute walk from my house. This was the same station to which shuttles were ferrying riders. When I left it was 10 degrees outside. The air stung my ears and nose like it never had. I couldn't remember the last time I was in this kind of cold; including ski trips to Mt. Hood. I kept an eye out for the shuttle on my brisk morning walk. I also kept an eye for buses, on the freak chance they chained up and dared to climb the hills.

It was a good thing I didn't rely on the shuttle system as on my entire walk I didn't see one, yet I passed many people waiting for it. At one stop, a guy said, "Looking for the shuttle?," I said, "Yep, but after yesterday I'm not trusting it. I'm walking to the station." He paused for a few seconds before saying glumly, "I've been waiting for thirty minutes. How far is the station from here?" I told him it was another twenty minute walk and he stood there kicking the snow. After a few blocks I glanced behind me to see him follow suit.

The walk out of our hills isn't treacherous at all, considering a nice path winds gently down and between the steep inclines. The only thing preventing a successful decent would be the inch thick ice under foot, but I took it easy and kept my eyes towards the ground. Many blocks from the house, the path spills into one of our local parks. I walked under ice-covered branches and into a field where the sun was just cresting a hill. The entire city was lit up and sparkling like I had never seen before. The sky was a piercing blue, almost swallowing the umber tinge of morning sunlight. I stopped for a moment, opened my mouth and breathed deeply. The breath was short-lived, as my body reacted with a hearty cough thanks to the 10 degree air. I laughed at my stupidity, as breathing that deeply should probably be done through the nose considering the temperature. I looked around and smiled at the gleaming landscape. I picked up my feet and began moving straight across a field, happily crunching through snow.

I am very, very glad of my decision to walk through this weather and into a waiting, warm bus. Mid-western friends of mine often regale me with stories of bracing cold and unforgiving amounts of snow. But here in Oregon, when we're lucky enough to get snow, it isn't often that it sticks around. I'll settle for the cold in order to have a morning walk like that. In fact, I plan on doing it again tomorrow.

ADDENDUM: When I was dropped off at the station after work, I expected the shuttles to ferry me close to home. In fact, our local transit system had provided only two 7-person vans to accomplish this task, and there were at least twenty people waiting for them. When they pulled up, I was cut off by a young lady who pretended not to hear my protest as she buckled in. The drivers told us it would be another 30 to 45 minutes before they returned. I promptly put in my earphones and began the walk home. While I still enjoyed the icy cold weather, walking in the dark on ice isn't the best thing one should do. But hey! Maybe I could fall and shatter my elbow or something. Only two more surgeries to go before I get down to my goal weight!!