After weeks of surfing NOAA and weather.com for long-range forecasts, we targetted this weekend for Byron and my 5th Annual Low-Overhead Highly-Flexible Ski Trip, this time with James and maybe another along. And OMFG were the storms stacking up. Right at the end of a week of puking snow. Unfortunately, Byron’s work was also stacking up, as was mine orthogonally, as was the sunshine. This caused great angst – neither of us wanting to break the tradition, but respecting the respective constraints on eachother’s schedules. Byron ultimately bowed out gracefully and gave James and I his blessing for a great trip. This was the epitome of “no friends on powder days.“.

We hit the road at 4am, but it was already heavy rain. Should have left the night before and deadheaded to the hotel parking lot. Snow was blowing sideways when we hit Camp Verde, and discovered I-17 was closed at Sedona. No way out, and it would only get worse for the next 2 days. We drove 2 hrs home, I went to work. It sucked. A friend of mine in Durango told me the snow in his front yard was up to his nipples – douche bag.

G was trapped inside daycare from the time they opened til I got her at 6:30. The wrong one of us went bell-to-bell cause of the snow. I convinced her she was antsy, mostly cause i was antsy; weather this different you need to experience, for all the unrelenting weeks of 104. I talked G into the Pink Park where we could play in the mud and feel the wind, and hang out and salvage a scrap from the day. She was happy enough climbing to the attic to look for her old boots, or wearing Beckie’s all night. The Park only lasted 15 minutes, the storm will last 2 more days.

I will hit Wolf Creek this year!! and technically, I have never eaten scrapple, but I have made many scrapple-inspired dishes from leftover hams and turkeys, delicious meat-like casseroles and meatspready loaves of meaty-tasty soup. Once you’re resigned to eating the scraps, such minor differentiations are insignificant. Now I have a day off and its raining too hard to ride anywhere and I don’t wanna trash my bike? Ride to and hike Wind Cave? Pass the cajun seasoning.