More #$!% Snow!

We warmed up, but we have wind tonight. Gusts to 50 so far and it sounds like she's just getting started. Should be interesting with the soggy ground. The local sheriff is on his annual rant (which I very much agree with!) about the so-called "scenic buffer zones" the loggers have to leave when they clear cut the trees along the highways. This time it was the weight of the ice that brought some of them down, but the problem lasts all through the stormy season. With no forest to disperse the wind, the trees on the south side of the roads frequently end up on the roads. And no matter which side of the road the power lines are on, they usually fail to hold up the trees.
 
Mike,

Interesting article on the scenic buffer zones. I'm not so sure I'm against them as I think the problem is not in the buffer but the size - e.g. IF you're going to require a buffer, THEN you really should require one that is deep enough to hold up in a storm. On the highways this is less of an issue since it's purely aesthetics that are driving the buffer zone - e.g. you could get rid of them, it would "just" make the road uglier. Where buffer zones are a much more serious issue are along rivers and other streams. Here the trees help prevent erosion which in turn keeps the rocks in the spawning beds clean enough to permit salmon spawning. Last year I took a float trip on the Olympic Peninsula (the Humptulips). The buffer zones along the upper Humptulips were completely wiped out during windstorms the previous year. The amount of bank erosion was disgusting. In some places, the bank had been washed away 150' back, 80' tall for long stretches of distance. Must have put 1000's of tons of dirt into the river. So it's very clear to me that at least along river banks, the buffer zones have to be much deeper in order to protect against this. Of course, this will reduce harvest for many landowners and there are definitely economic interests against increasing the width of the buffer zones.
 
Like Roger it has been snowing on MI for a while...roughly 2 inches on the ground. This snow is a lot worse than the last for driving too, very slippery since it's right around freezing. I just drove around a bit and had no trouble going up any hills but it's definitely slick going down. Be careful out there!
 
We're 140 miles east of El Paso. Forecast here is for partly cloudy, but in San Antonio -- which is where we are heading -- the forecast is for freezing rain (ice pellets.)

Warren
 
Warren, It did snow like a bandit for a while on Whidbey last night and got up to maybe 2" but it is melting very quickly. Keep safe.

Merv
 
I found the real reason Roger hates the snow so much. Here's a pic of the last time he tried skiing in the stuff.

(Here is the story on TheSmokingGun)



0106091vail4b.jpg
 
TyBoo":3pyswlmc said:
I found the real reason Roger hates the snow so much. Here's a pic of the last time he tried skiing in the stuff.

{image clipped}
Click to expand...

Mike,
That's just me "cracking" a smile at how funny you are. Thanks for the laugh.
 
Tyboo Mike - Is that one of those ""rigged" internet pictures, or is that for real? Good to hear that you gave up smoking - will add many years of boating. I've slowed down so you won't have any problems keeping up with me. Edna & I are coming to the SBS, weather permitting.
When I read all those lamentations about snow, I have to chuckle. Here in Montana snow is really important for moisture. We are a semi-arid state with an annual 11-13 inches of moisture.

In 1988 I took a superintendency in Monmouth-Independence near Salem, Oregon and committed a huge faux pas when one of the rare snow storms hit the area. It snowed four inches one day. Under board policy, the superintendent had the authority to close school. I saw no need for that, not fully understanding how innept the local folks are when driving in snow. That and also the volume of traffic. In Montana the only time school closed in the winter was if the boilers broke down or if the power went off. If the roads were too bad for the school buses, they just didn't run. Most of my staff lived in other communities - essentially communters. But I took a real public relations beating. Believe the board was encouraged to fire me, but with a multiple year contract in hand prevented that. Anyway, from that point on when it snowed, I closed schools, once for four days. That particular year the school year was extended four days, and the staff and students took me to task again. I believe it was then that I took up boating seriously.

John
 
Yellowstone":2a52cpfg said:
Tyboo Mike - Is that one of those ""rigged" internet pictures, or is that for real? Good to hear that you gave up smoking - will add many years of boating. I've slowed down so you won't have any problems keeping up with me. Edna & I are coming to the SBS, weather permitting.
When I read all those lamentations about snow, I have to chuckle. Here in Montana snow is really important for moisture. We are a semi-arid state with an annual 11-13 inches of moisture.

In 1988 I took a superintendency in Monmouth-Independence near Salem, Oregon and committed a huge faux pas when one of the rare snow storms hit the area. It snowed four inches one day. Under board policy, the superintendent had the authority to close school. I saw no need for that, not fully understanding how innept the local folks are when driving in snow. That and also the volume of traffic. In Montana the only time school closed in the winter was if the boilers broke down or if the power went off. If the roads were too bad for the school buses, they just didn't run. Most of my staff lived in other communities - essentially communters. But I took a real public relations beating. Believe the board was encouraged to fire me, but with a multiple year contract in hand prevented that. Anyway, from that point on when it snowed, I closed schools, once for four days. That particular year the school year was extended four days, and the staff and students took me to task again. I believe it was then that I took up boating seriously.

John
Click to expand...

John, part of the problem you experienced in Independence and Monmoth is that the voters there have kept it "dry". With no booze, people have to complain about something, and a school superintendent is just about as good a candidate as any. The other part of the issue is that the people who don't know how to drive in snow are the folks from LA that needed 5 acres and a horse to complete their dream.

On the topic of the photo, it was on Good Morning America today. Meredith Viera had a couple os salty insinuations about the situation.

Regards,

Steve
 
Steve - living in Canby you have a good handle on what snow and ice storms do to the valley. Shortly after purchasing my first Far West II in 1996, the Willamette went out of its banks in the spring. There wasn't enough clearance under the bridge at Salem crossing to 99W for the C-Dory to go down stream. All the ferries were shut down above and below. A fellow boater and I took the Far West II from Independence up river past Corvallis. It was quite a trip, dodging all the debris, but we made it without any incidents. The Honda 90 didn't miss a beat -lucky for us because even though I did have good rode with me, I'm not sure we could have safely anchored anywhere. Our good lord does protect fools I discovered over the years. That may be the first C-Dory ever on the Willamette above Salem. Hope you can make the SBS. Take care.
John
 
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