Life in the Pacific Northwest - Snow Edition

I used to think that the Pacific Northwest was the only place where everything shuts down with 3 inches of snow. There are others ... London for example. And even my own Washington, DC shuts down after about a foot. Glad that we have the company, because after 20 years in the Northwest, I've come to expect that more than an inch means I'll be stuck at home for a bit.

In Portland, the winds off the Columbia River Gorge make everything extremely icey. In Seattle, the hills are what do us in. This morning for example I thought I could take the bus 2 miles down the very steep hill to my office. Seemed much wiser than driving myself or walking. But after trekking to the main street, which is supposed to be a snow route and plowed and iced, all I found was an icey and snowey street and a sign "Do not enter, slow closure," placed modestly in the middle of the street at the top of the hill.

I came home and looked up the snow route for my bus. All it said was, "This route is currently on an unplanned snow route; there is no map or additional specific information about this reroute." This of course left me wondering how on earth you were supposed to figure out where the reroute was, so I decided to work from home.

Yes, I live less than 2 miles away and couldn't get to work. I suppose I could have put chains on my tired and drives, but I don't trust the other drivers to know how to NOT hit me in this weather. I could have walked, but the icey hill was not appealing. So in the end staying home seemed the wiser option.

I've just come back from a nice afternoon walk. The main street is indeed now salted and plowed, and I saw a bus go by that said "Snow Route" on the electronic display. So, hopefully I can go to work tomorrow.

Theoretically it will warm up by Thanksgiving which is good. The snow on my own street will not be plowed ... they just wait for it to melt here.

Ahhhh ... an early winter. Hopefully without too much more snow!