Driving Hwy 285 through south park, CO can be quite the adventure. The largely flat and straight road, at almost 10,000′ is generally quite easy. But when the winds start blowing off the high peaks of the mosquito range and hit the treeless expanse of this area, the driving can be as bad as it gets. Friday, December the 21st, on my way to the front range from Crested Butte for Christmas, was as bad as it gets.
I found out later that winds gusted to 109mph that night. I was in the middle of a chain of vehicles that could only be seen on the rare occasions when the wind died slightly. Most of the time, I could barely see the tail lights ahead of me and occasionally the dotted line. The wind was blowing so much snow sideways that my brain was having trouble recognizing when I was stopped or going. In fact, it even made me nauseous at times.
Through it all, though, I was actually kind of enjoying it. Far too many people in the United States are so disconnected from the natural world- after all, how much do you really notice outside of your vehicle with all the rear seat entertainment systems and ipods and gps’s that bark directions at you? Hopefully, a storm like this reminded some of those people of just how small and insignificant they are when the wind blows 109.
Well, I’m not sure what that has to do with Christmas, but I thought I would post it anyway 
Meanwhile, it looks like a nice little storm will hopefully be giving Colorado a white Christmas, with some other storms lining up right behind it. So I guess that’s my Christmas wish- a safe winter for all, and to all a snowy night.
