Snow Day - Happy Jack

Four days after our Sedona trip we were back on the road for another snow trip. This storm was warmer than the previous so it had rained on the plateau and melted all the snow. Instead of going to the lower-mid elevations this time we went to the rim at around 7,500 ft. I-17 was still a mess and I didn't want to fight everyone driving up to Flagstaff. I was on-call so I had to have signal so the plan was to drive up the Mogollon Rim and find a place were I have signal. 

There was a lot of snow around the 260 and 87  intersection and a good hill but no signal. I headed towards Happy Jack. We turned up north at Lake Mary Rd then took Old Highway 87. Where it stopped there was a F-250 backed in. So I headed down a private road to make a u-turn. When I got back to the F-250 a sedan was coming up so I moved to the side. This is when things got fun. The sedan didn't turn, it just went back and I had stopped on ice. When I started to move I started sliding down a hill on the passenger's side. I thought no big deal, I'll pour some kitty litter under my tires and be on my way. Well that didn't work. The F-250 tried to pull me out but this guy was kinda a dipstick that didn't know what he was doing. He started sliding as well so he went to put on chains but they were the wrong sized chains. So he tells me my best bet is to go 100 yards down the road to where I turned and the guy there has a backhoe. Eventually I realized I'm not getting out so I ran to the guy's house for a little help. 

Before I even get to the front porch the home owner comes to see what I need. He tells me he'll put on his boots and help me out. By the time I get back to my truck I can see the guy in the F-250 splitting. So the guy who owns the backhoe shows up first in an off-road vehicle with his wife and tries to pull me out with a winch. I kept sliding. So he says no problem, let me get the backhoe. He comes back with the backhoe and a 30,000 pound towing strap. I was talking to his dad and he said he took the corner hard with the backhoe the day before and said he knew it was going to be a problem later. Well it was, the next day! Anyways he pulled me out with no issue. But then I'm on the road, again sliding on ice. So he turns his backhoe around and uses the big scoop to widen the road and make an 8 foot tall hill. He got me off the ice and we were on our way. We thanked him for his help and he said no problem, I got to do something fun. Really nice guy that didn't seem bothered at all. 

We drove down the road to the Happy Jack Lodge, where they have a Verizon tower but decided not to stay there. There is a good hill but there was a lot of people and I didn't want to deal with that. So we turned around and went a mile down the road and had our own private spot. This time we did things right. The kids had better clothes, I had a stove, hot chocolate, chili, and a heater. I was over prepared though. I got the heater turned on and we didn't even need it. It was 37 degrees but in the sun at high elevation it was actually so warm I took off my shirt and went full Alabama for a while.

We only stayed a couple hours but it was a fun trip and I didn't get paged. Now we know where to go, and where not to go, when I'm on-call or not. 

Driving into Camp Verde. The clouds are from all the evaporation. I was cool once we were down in it because we could see all the snow evaporating and rising.

Doh.

That's the way to get pulled out.

Dean didn't get cold this time.

Dean and Maurina.

Maurina and Ollie.

All three of my little turd butts.

Ollie.

The save everyone's vision I put my shirt back on for this picture.

We were all sitting around drinking our hot chocolate. I look over and there is Zach peeing. You think he can just drop his pants a little? Nope. He has to pull them down under his knees.

Best buds and worst enemies. Haha.

Rumor is Ollie doesn't like the snow and doesn't like being cold.  I think he is over that stage. He didn't mind mean Uncle Joe throwing snowballs at him and threw a few back at me.

My little marshmellow. I caught him doing an army crawl across the snow. Guessing he likes the new clothes.

No he didn't fall and twist his neck. He was laying down intentionally trying to push his head down in the snow.

Snow baby got back.

Yes, still in Arizona.

Old Lake Mary Road. One of the few patches where the road wasn't cleared.

 

Snow Day - Sedona

The last year we have been in a really bad drought. Last week we finally put a dent in that when we got dumped on nearly every day for a week. It's been two years since it snowed in our area. Normally we get a light snow every few years where we are (at 1900 feet elev). Two of the storms last week were 3 days apart and the forecast was that we would get an inch of snow. I watch the weather very closely and it looked like a believable forecast. Two years ago they were calling for trace amounts, this time they were calling for up to an inch. The day before they said it was going to snow was just like the previous snow day. We started with heavy rain, then hail, then cold, and Daisy already had snow in the afternoon. I thought for sure the forecast would be right and we would get snow overnight. Well, it wasn't.

I woke up several times that night looking outside and checking the radar. Radar started showing snow over us around 4 am but it was melting before we could even see it. A pocket of warmer air was hugging I-17 all the way up to the plateau north of Black Canyon City. I woke up surprised that Daisy had very little visible snow from our house. It was a little disappointing but didn't change our plans, we were going to the snow that day. As we were getting ready between 8-9 that morning we got a light mix of what looked like snow but was probably graupel. It was pretty pathetic and melting within 30 seconds of hitting the ground.

We got a late start that morning because I haven't done a lot of driving while it is snowing in this state. I did a little research that morning about the different salts they use on the road and how cold it has to be to freeze which each salt. I decided at ten we were definitely safe. The roads were clear for the most part. We didn't know where we were going until we were on the road and then Natalie decided Sedona. We got up to Sedona and couldn't go past Bell Rock off 89A. Apparently a big rig jack knifed and they were turning everyone around at the round about. We decided to cut west at the round about and parked by the OakCreek Country Club. 

It turned out to be a pretty good spot to hang out. There weren't too many people. There were good views, and it snowed the whole time we were there. We hung out for a couple hours then tried to go back north but the road was still closed. So we stopped at the Holiday Inn and let the kids get out and play for a while. We could watch the road closure from there and we finally decided we were going to give up and go home. Well just as we were pulling out of the parking lot I could see the hazmat truck leaving. We flipped a u-turn and headed downtown.

We drove up to one of the best easily accessible lookouts, the airport. After a good snow the views up there are amazing. Well today wasn't one of those days. It was a whiteout! All that waiting to get into the city and everything was shutdown so we turned around and went home. 

Three days later we had another storm forecasted to come in. No snow this time for the Phoenix area but the mountains were going to get blasted. This was Dean's first time getting to really play in the snow. He liked it, until he got cold. Once he was cold he was crying for the truck. Natalie ended up getting him some better clothes for the next trip.

After our afternoon hail storm.

That is Black Mesa and Tonto National Forest covered in white. Normally we don't even notice the mountains behind Gavilan Peak and Daisy Mountain.

Natalie took this picture from the Outlets just a half mile down the street.

Daisy Mountain around 3-4 in the afternoon.

The kids outside when we got some graupel.

We went from a prediction of 1 inch of snow to this graupel. The kids still thought it was cool and they were shaped like snowflakes.

Outside of New River.

This green sign marks 3000 feet elev. Daisy Mountain is 3160 ft. Lots of frozen saguaro up here.

Just north of Black Canyon on the plateau. 

Coming down the hill by south of Camp Verde.

Coming into Oak Creek.

Video of us driving through the snow.

South side of Sedona.

This is where we had to wait for traffic to clear.

Hanging out on the golf course.

And he wonders why we call him Rico Suave.

Dean was obsessed with this flag pole on the green and wanted to build a mountain of snow around it.

The max temperature was 31 degrees yet that little puddle wasn't frozen. I think it had some runoff with salt from the parking lot.

Dean isn't as miserable as he looks. He was trying to catch some snow with this tongue and I just got the picture at the wrong time.

Waiting for traffic to clear at the Holiday Inn.

This is from the Sedona Airport. I'm sure the next day the view was amazing with snow covering all the red rocks.

Leaving Sedona. 

On the way back home. I don't know what is going on here. It looks like a mix of snow plus maybe the wind blowing the snow already on the mountain. Looked really cool.

From Sunset Point.