4/21/08

White Out At Dawn

Do you remember the scene in the movie "Dante's Peak", (filmed in the Silver Valley, in case you didn't know) where the kids are in the humvee, and the ash is coming down so hard they can hardly see anything around them.

That was what it was like this morning on the Fourth of July pass at 4:30 a.m. while I was driving to the Spokane Airport to catch my 6:30 a.m. flight to Boise.

I was disappointed, but not surprised as I pulled out the of garage this morning, and saw the fresh blanket of white snow on the lawns. But it really wasn't snowing much at that point.

As I approached Cataldo, it was snowing a little harder, but still not bad. A snow plow was heading east in the other lane.

Then I drove past the Rose Lake exit, and all of a sudden, I was in a white out. Blizzard conditions. Severe weather advisory weather. The flakes were huge. I couldn't see anything in front of me.

I slowed down to 25 mph. I put it into 4WD Lo. (Thanks again, Lord, for this wonderful vehicle.)

I watched the jersey barriers on the left side of the road to make sure I stayed on the road.

I passed semi's stopped, with their drivers getting out to chain up.

Thank goodness it was so early, and there wasn't much traffic.

Thank goodness I had left early enough, so I knew I had time to make my flight.

Once I made it to Wolf Lodge, the snow subsided a bit, and I was able to see. The road cleared, just a bit wet.

I made it through Coeur d'Alene, Post Falls, Spokane Valley, and Spokane, and made it to the airport at about 5:50 a.m.

As I approached the gate, the nice steward tells me to line up for boarding.

On the plane I was, safe and sound.

Thank you, Lord!!!

3 comments:

Idaho Dad said...

White-out at Fourth of July Pass. I did that at 10pm, a few weeks ago coming back from our spring break road trip.

Horrible, nerve-wracking, white knuckle experience. I never want to do it again!

Christy Woolum said...

I agree... thank you Lord. I heard on the radio when I was driving to work that the Pass closed because of two Semi wrecks. I am glad you made it through. Enjoy your stay.

Nita Jo said...

I loved reading your story as much as hearing it in person. I'm so glad you made that plane and we got to visit over breakfast.
Made my day! Let's pray the trip home is uneventful!