Well, the U.P. is gorgeous in winter… but when it starts to snow… woof!! …and they really *don’t* plow the highways up there… what they do do is put grooves through the road edges and the center lane, so when you start to drift out of the invisible lanes on the invisible road, you have some warning before you plow into that tree, or drop off into that ditch… always a good thing to know that you are about to suffer major injury… gives you a moment to come to grips with the situation.
Actually, we emerged from the storm just fine, but not too much fun to drive in…
We were in the U.P., of course, because it was time for Brittany to report to Northern Michigan University for school! We have her all checked in, registered for classes and books purchased.
Interesting point, the bookstore wanted $500+ for her books. Amazon and Barnes and Noble asked for $149… combined! We opted not to purchase at the bookstore.
In any case, she’s now away at college, and the nest is now empty… which is weird. I know every parent goes through this, but it’s weird… and empty… and weird…
…but I’m very happy for her, and I know she will SHINE!!!! It’s what she does…
…but next winter she can just take the damn train!
LOL There’s a reason my father left the U.P. at 14…..and those trees should be skinnier.
Oh now… the trees were just like that in the Lake Superior National forest… everywhere else was skinny, though…
Well done! Navigating the great snowy north, seeing your child into adulthood and fledging her to the relatively near branch so that she’ll soon soar out on her own- the primary job of every parent…well, maybe not the snowy north part. Just for reference, the worst snow I was ever caught up in was in Tennessee. Actually had to get pulled from our car by the national guard. A mere 2 feet of snow as I recall. Still would have made it through if not for the other yahoos…
An Indiana man being stopped by 2 feet of snow… shameful!
No, no. I wasn’t stopped by the snow. Quite the contrary actually (but that’s a story for another day). Twas a truck drivin’ dumb arse that blocked the highway and stopped the parade. Followed shortly thereafter by the dumb arse grader driver (yes, large dirt moving grader machine that was the highway dept’s best option) who got stuck trying to unstuck the semi. Fun, fun…
Ah… been there… had a similar problem on a bridge overlooking a canyon in Arizona once… once you’re forced to stop… you’re stuck!
Holy savings on the books, Batman! Very smart to check other options. A pity that wasn’t a possibility back in our day. : /
The second frame is spot-on accurate for winter driving visibility. A double suck-minus that you had to look at that all the way home, but hooray for making it one piece!
Once we were through it, it was kind of amusing to look back on… I do hope Brittany learns to enjoy snow though because she is going to be seeing a whole lot of it!