Into the Snow We Go
Dec. 24th, 2015 05:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeI have today and tomorrow off, and we determined that there were things we'd forgotten in Reno during our main shopping trip, so we planned to get going early enough to get to the Atlantis to be able to use my 2-for-1 weekdays breakfast ability on my affinity card. Originally we expected this would be the first opportunity to stretch the minivan after having repaired the radiator line, and maybe even get the oil and radiator fluids changed; however, the storm having arrived (we got a little snow while unloading the wood yesterday, and Reno was forecast to get up to 7 cm of snow), we changed plans and Lisa drove us in the Big Orange Van.
Here's a view of the host hotel for the 2011 Worldcon that nobody got to see that August. Lisa drove us carefully into Reno, and the snow that had been intermittently falling in Fernley turned into a solid fall as we got closer to Sparks and Reno. Chain controls were up north, south, and west of Reno. We saw several accidents, one of which was blocking east I-80 (the opposite direction we were going, thank goodness). We bailed off the freeway as soon as we could in Sparks and made our way slowly over surface streets, because people were driving too fast on the freeway, apparently thinking that having 4WD made them immune from physics. As Lisa pointed out, going wasn't the problem — stopping was. Even with her big luggy snow tires, there were spots where the ice and snow were already getting slippery.
It's a good thing we allowed two hours for the drive (the 2-for-1 is only good until 10 AM), because we made it to the buffet with only ten minutes to spare. Breakfast was no charge, because besides using the 2-for-1, I used accumulated casino points to pay for the other breakfast. The restaurant was quiet, and we thus felt no pressure to hurry.
Two hours later (including time spent walking around the convention space post-breakfast), the snowfall had relented somewhat, and you can see here the accumulation.
Because of the snowy conditions, we reduced the number of errands we were going to do, but we managed to get the last of the Christmas meal food purchased (despite Whole Foods Market being out of the simple breadcrumbs Lisa used at Thanksgiving, and a WFM staffer claiming that they have never carried such an item) and headed back home around 2 PM.
NV DOT crews had been plowing, and the sun had peeked out to slightly warm the highway, so the drive home was much nicer than the drive in to Reno. The snow makes the Truckee River Canyon look very nice, I think. This photo is a bit east of the spot where we saw the accident coming the other way five hours earlier.
We got home, unloaded the groceries, and I got the fire restarted and soon had the house warm again. Lisa took a nap, having had little rest the night before. As usual, Fernley got only a light snow, with less than 2 cm accumulation. I swept the walks and spread de-icer on the sidewalk in spots where it's prone to icing, and took the rest of the day off.
Here's a view of the host hotel for the 2011 Worldcon that nobody got to see that August. Lisa drove us carefully into Reno, and the snow that had been intermittently falling in Fernley turned into a solid fall as we got closer to Sparks and Reno. Chain controls were up north, south, and west of Reno. We saw several accidents, one of which was blocking east I-80 (the opposite direction we were going, thank goodness). We bailed off the freeway as soon as we could in Sparks and made our way slowly over surface streets, because people were driving too fast on the freeway, apparently thinking that having 4WD made them immune from physics. As Lisa pointed out, going wasn't the problem — stopping was. Even with her big luggy snow tires, there were spots where the ice and snow were already getting slippery.
It's a good thing we allowed two hours for the drive (the 2-for-1 is only good until 10 AM), because we made it to the buffet with only ten minutes to spare. Breakfast was no charge, because besides using the 2-for-1, I used accumulated casino points to pay for the other breakfast. The restaurant was quiet, and we thus felt no pressure to hurry.
Two hours later (including time spent walking around the convention space post-breakfast), the snowfall had relented somewhat, and you can see here the accumulation.
Because of the snowy conditions, we reduced the number of errands we were going to do, but we managed to get the last of the Christmas meal food purchased (despite Whole Foods Market being out of the simple breadcrumbs Lisa used at Thanksgiving, and a WFM staffer claiming that they have never carried such an item) and headed back home around 2 PM.
NV DOT crews had been plowing, and the sun had peeked out to slightly warm the highway, so the drive home was much nicer than the drive in to Reno. The snow makes the Truckee River Canyon look very nice, I think. This photo is a bit east of the spot where we saw the accident coming the other way five hours earlier.
We got home, unloaded the groceries, and I got the fire restarted and soon had the house warm again. Lisa took a nap, having had little rest the night before. As usual, Fernley got only a light snow, with less than 2 cm accumulation. I swept the walks and spread de-icer on the sidewalk in spots where it's prone to icing, and took the rest of the day off.
