Where I live
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This is our home, and shortly after we moved in, it snowed, it really makes for a lovely picture when the snow is on the roof. Looking at our new home and comparing it with our last home, one would think that it snows a lot here. I think Linda and I have seen more snow since we have lived here than has been seen in any decade. This is a wonderful place to live, so clean, no tagging, no trash on the streets, just clean air, and recreation atmosphere year round.
Our last home
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This is my front door during the worst winter here in fifty years. For more photos of this snowy scene or St George, click here. My brother Chris asked me to put this page onto my website. Following is my story of what happened to me during this storm. On Saturday the 7th of December 2013, I spent the day at a training class in Las Vegas. The class ended about 6:30, and by the time I had got to my car to head toward home, it was about 6:50pm Las Vegas time and 7:50pm St George time. I called Linda to tell her I was on my way home, she told me it was snowing pretty hard in St George and to be careful on my way home. On the way home about 20 miles from St George is a stretch of road called the gorge, aptly named because it is a road carved through the mountains generally following the path of the virgin river as it winds through the rocky terrain. About an hour and a half after leaving Las Vegas, approaching the entrance to the gorge, the road was dry, and traffic was moving about 65-70 miles per hour, I failed to notice there was no traffic coming in the opposite direction. Two or so miles into the gorge, the gorge is approximately eleven miles long winding and uphill the way I was going, when the truck ahead of me started slowing and then stopped. At this point the road was a little snowy, with the temperature very cold. Snow was falling lightly, nothing drastic, so I thought the stop to be of short duration. Twenty minutes passed, and I and many of my roadmates had turned off their engines and lights, patiently waiting for tail-lights ahead to signal we were about to move. Two hours passed and nothing was happening, nothing was moving on the other side of the road divider, people were walking past my car to see what was round the next corner. During the next three hours, I had walked up the road, talked to several people, offered a blanket and water to stranded motorists, but everyone seemed to be coping well.
Prior to my trip to Las Vegas, Linda and I had just gotten back from visiting Nick in California, we had taken sleeping bags to use as bedding at Nicks, and when we got home we had unloaded my car including the sleeping bags, but had not as yet put them back in the attic. After opening the garage door I got the distinct impression, in fact a very strong impression to put the sleeping bags back in the car. A prompting I obeyed, the weather was relatively warm and beautiful both on the trip to Las Vegas and all the time I was there, although it did get a little blustery in the afternoon. I am so glad I heeded the Spirit about those bags.
Five hours after I had first stopped, the vehicles ahead showed signs of movement, head and tail lights were switched on, and after a few minutes we were on the move, my toes were freezing, as I had been waiting intently for traffic to move all that time and had not taken time to climb in the sleeping bag. A half mile later we came to another halt, everyone displayed expectant anticipation to return home or reach their destination after their ordeal in the gorge. Finally heat was coming out of my heater vent so I was in no hurry to switch off again, lights ahead once again began to be switched off, so I followed suit. Shortly theafter a police car with lights flashing was seen coming down the road and stopping about every hundred or so feet and talking to the drivers on my side. The time was about 3am, and when I got to ask the officer what was going on, he said there was a truck that had slid off the road and it should all be cleared up by 5am. At 6am, I climbed in my sleeping bag, and kicked up my body heat by about 97 degrees. The light of dawn was breaking and about every fifteen or twenty minutes a big rig truck was seen coming down the hill on the other side doing about 3 miles per hour, jeeps driving the wrong way on the other side stopped and asked the drivers on my side it they needed gas, water, blankets, or medical attention. Sometime during the night a couple of paramedics had been walking up past my car and had asked if I had seen a certain kind of car, apparently a person had been able to call for help during a heart attack. A friend of a friend had already been emergency airlifted out by helicopter five hours earlier. I had seen several helicopters overhead, but assumed them to be news copters, and had not seen any land.
Warm for the most part, 10:15am arrived and I had moved not further, I had spent a little time walking up and down the road talking to anyone who was not in their vehicle, for the most part everyone was of good cheer even though their circumstances were not of a cheerful nature. Once I had gotten back in the car, I could see people up ahead start their cars and trucks, and shortly after that we started the slow drive out of the gorge. The trucks were really having a hard time because the road was ice in a lot of places and many were having a hard time keeping the trucks moving and on the road.
This was Sunday morning and I was scheduled to teach a class at 12 noon, a class I was determined to teach even though I had been awake for well over 24 hours. I got home about 11:30am and Linda told me that Church had been cancelled because of the weather. Within the hour I was in bed, however I was so tired I could not sleep, so I got up, had breakfast, and putted around until I was sleepy.
Prior to my trip to Las Vegas, Linda and I had just gotten back from visiting Nick in California, we had taken sleeping bags to use as bedding at Nicks, and when we got home we had unloaded my car including the sleeping bags, but had not as yet put them back in the attic. After opening the garage door I got the distinct impression, in fact a very strong impression to put the sleeping bags back in the car. A prompting I obeyed, the weather was relatively warm and beautiful both on the trip to Las Vegas and all the time I was there, although it did get a little blustery in the afternoon. I am so glad I heeded the Spirit about those bags.
Five hours after I had first stopped, the vehicles ahead showed signs of movement, head and tail lights were switched on, and after a few minutes we were on the move, my toes were freezing, as I had been waiting intently for traffic to move all that time and had not taken time to climb in the sleeping bag. A half mile later we came to another halt, everyone displayed expectant anticipation to return home or reach their destination after their ordeal in the gorge. Finally heat was coming out of my heater vent so I was in no hurry to switch off again, lights ahead once again began to be switched off, so I followed suit. Shortly theafter a police car with lights flashing was seen coming down the road and stopping about every hundred or so feet and talking to the drivers on my side. The time was about 3am, and when I got to ask the officer what was going on, he said there was a truck that had slid off the road and it should all be cleared up by 5am. At 6am, I climbed in my sleeping bag, and kicked up my body heat by about 97 degrees. The light of dawn was breaking and about every fifteen or twenty minutes a big rig truck was seen coming down the hill on the other side doing about 3 miles per hour, jeeps driving the wrong way on the other side stopped and asked the drivers on my side it they needed gas, water, blankets, or medical attention. Sometime during the night a couple of paramedics had been walking up past my car and had asked if I had seen a certain kind of car, apparently a person had been able to call for help during a heart attack. A friend of a friend had already been emergency airlifted out by helicopter five hours earlier. I had seen several helicopters overhead, but assumed them to be news copters, and had not seen any land.
Warm for the most part, 10:15am arrived and I had moved not further, I had spent a little time walking up and down the road talking to anyone who was not in their vehicle, for the most part everyone was of good cheer even though their circumstances were not of a cheerful nature. Once I had gotten back in the car, I could see people up ahead start their cars and trucks, and shortly after that we started the slow drive out of the gorge. The trucks were really having a hard time because the road was ice in a lot of places and many were having a hard time keeping the trucks moving and on the road.
This was Sunday morning and I was scheduled to teach a class at 12 noon, a class I was determined to teach even though I had been awake for well over 24 hours. I got home about 11:30am and Linda told me that Church had been cancelled because of the weather. Within the hour I was in bed, however I was so tired I could not sleep, so I got up, had breakfast, and putted around until I was sleepy.