Part of me was a little unsure about this month's 10 on 10. I had nothing planned and wasn't feeling a major touch of inspiration. It's been nice to have a normal, uneventful past month, but because of that, I got nothin'. And then out of nowhere Portland was hit with their once every five year major snow fall. Now, Nabil and I are from Wyoming, so we're no strangers to lots of snow, and while it's nice to live in a place where we don't have to sludge through ice and muck for 5 months out of the year, when the white billowy flakes finally start coming down, I revert back to my 3rd grade self waiting for a snow day.
This was legit snow too. It wasn't the inch or two the Portlanders call a snow storm that ends up melting in three hours. No, this has been an 8 inch, slick powder that has lasted for about five days and now has half an inch of freezing rain ice on top.
One of the great things about this last weekend was how everyone in our neighborhood was out enjoying the day. We love our neighborhood, and love living in an area that is walkable and has gorgeous forest trails. On Saturday I brought my camera to scope out the scene.
After my walk, Nabil and I braved the snow-packed roads and went to see the happenings downtown. Now, I often joke about how when the rain turns white, people in Portland tend to loose their minds. And when it sticks around for longer than 24 hours, it's sheer pandemoniac panic. Abandoned cars on the interstate, school closures for about a week, businesses shut down, the shelves in the grocery store run almost empty. You think I'm joking, but I'm not. This kind of thing just doesn't happen in Wyoming. And before I start sounding a little cold hearted, you should I know that I get it. There aren't enough plows to clear the roads and when it only happens twice a decade, no one
needs
to learn to cope. But, for someone that learned to drive in the winter and where school was only cancelled if there was about 8" of snow overnight and the plows didn't have time to hit all the school bus routes, it's
a little
a lot comical.
So as I was saying, Nabil and I went downtown to find a ghost town. However, there were a few breweries that were open, and we headed over to one of our favorites,
. Needless to say, they were packed. The 4-wheel drivers, the people that live in the area, and a few brave cyclists all met up at the local watering hole. Because really, what is better than good beer on a snow day?
So that's what we have for you from Portland this month. Hopefully it didn't make you too cold. If it did (or if it didn't), make sure you head over to the other 10 on 10ers for a little warm up. Our whole crew is back this month, so be sure to check them all out. It promises to be some outstanding work.
Until next time...
