Sunday, December 14, 2008

In case you were wondering, -40 degrees Celsius is the same as 40 below zero Fahrenheit.

For those of you who think you are reading an RV related blog, I can see why you would be confused.
Well, let me tell you, the temperature in my fifth wheel this morning was -40 (-40.6, actually), and I'm quite sure the same was to be said for the truck camper.

Makes me wonder if I drained all the pipes properly?
Fortunately, I was able to read this from the remote thermometer by my bed, and did not have to experience this in person.

So, what does a sane person do when this happens? They get the heck out of there asap to somewhere a whole lot warmer.
So what did I do? After putting as many logs on the fire as would fit into the wood stove, I decided it would be a great morning for a nice refreshing outdoor - hot tub!
So, before I went off to work, I spent a relaxing 15 minutes under the stars getting warmed through to the core. There was no wind, so getting out is not a concern at all. Just watch out for metal door knobs and doors that lock behind you when you close them.

I was planning to go for a bit of a ski today, but ended up getting my work truck stuck in deep, cold snow. It did well till it was pushing too much with the front bumper. A bit of shovelling solved the problem of being stuck or getting cold.
Dang, forgot to take any incriminating photos!


Speaking of being stuck, this car did a much better job of getting stuck than I.
Seems the driver zigged when the road zagged, and the car was partially buried.
The driver took advantage of an ambulance ride, but did not appear to be seriously hurt :)
It's that time of year again to brush up on the avalanche rescue skills, so we headed out to participate in some scenarios involving buried dummies, buried tranceivers, and the rescue dog.
You will be glad to know that all the dummies survived the dog bites and probe strikes.

In the 'narrowly averted carnage' department there were a couple of new entries.

This truck was getting 'tired' (haha) and sent a couple of wheels on 'walkabout' while driving down the highway.
One wheel hit on on-coming semi truck, but it was a glancing blow that did minimal damage.
If it had hit a small car, or started to bounce ... you can guess the results.
And, earlier that day another big rig got 'direction-challenged', and exited the highway by crossing the oncoming traffic lane - fortunately without including any other vehicles in his icy dance.
He did come up against the wildlife fence along the highway and removed a few of the posts.
Once again, no one was hurt, except a large elk silhouette sign that was flattened. At least this time, only a plywood elk was killed.
On the bright side, perhaps if the cold snap continues, it will kill off a lot of those nasty pine beetles that are planning next years infestation and eastward spread.

Till next time ...

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