snow crazy and thanksgiving

i must preface this post with a disclaimer. i am a native floridian. i grew up without snow. i have survived life with a blissful ignorance of anything related to the white stuff. now, living in the pacific northwest, i still am able to retain my naivete. i mean, it’s not like i live in a winter wonderland. the snow level rarely drops below 1000 feet and when it does, everything shuts down.

all of this to explain…i am secretly terrified of snow and ice. so…imagine my dismay when i decided to travel to mt. hood for thanksgiving day. my sister and her friend flew in from gainesville for thanksgiving week. my sister has never seen snow before. i felt it necessary to broaden her horizons…yes, i’m a fool. timberline lodge sits at about 6200 feet on mt. hood in oregon. i thought it would be a great place for thanksgiving dinner. after all, the shining was filmed there. what more do you need to put you in the holiday spirit? well, thanksgiving day brought a winter snow warning with 4 feet of snow possible. might this be the time to mention…i’ve never even driven in snow. oh…and of course…chains were required. my theory…if you have to add linked metal to your tires (which are designed to roll) and head over slippery stuff while at high altitudes…than you are likely going to perish. so after purchasing my first set of chains, packing the car with candles and blankets, and leaving instructions in case of death…we were off to timberline.

at about 2500 feet, we were required to chain up. snow was just starting to come down…my sister andrea and her friend megan were loving it. it took all three of us to manage the chains. question for you… what good are gloves if you can’t work anything with them on? the chain thing reminded me of the grand canyon theory…it takes twice as long to hike back up the canyon as it does to descend. for me…chains worked the same way (in reverse). it took twice as long to finish the first tire than the second.

we made it to timberline, ate dinner, and managed to never once reference the shining or jack nicholson. we headed to the car to leave and had to dig it out of the snow. we picked up a hitchhiker/snowboarder on the way down the mountain and megan flirted with him like crazy. as megan says, “you know those floridian girls.” all in all, i think the three of us decided it was one of the best thanksgiving’s we’ve had. the snow was crazy, andrea and megan were awesome, and i can chain up…all while never saying “redrum”.

This entry was posted on November 27, 2006 at 12:18 am and is filed under life. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response or trackback from your own site.