Yesterday was warmer here in Denver than Miami

tamrock · Feb 3, 2020

We had a high of 74 yesterday and I took my dogs in a T-Shirt for a walk around the town lake and other folks were in shorts. This morning is black ice, freezing rain and now snowing with an expected high of 24. Heck my grass was turning green yesterday, so that'll be a bit of a treat for this bunny in the yard on this cold morning. Soon I'll be heading south to Alamogordo New Mexico, but I'm gonna let the mess of traffic iron out a bit before I head south. Checked the roads down below and the notorious Raton pass looks to have been spared of the winter blast this time, which is very nice as that can be the worst ever place to encounter a winter storm and I've been down there in one once. I still rate it as the top severe winter storm I've ever been out on the road in. Way worse then what I've ever encountered on the high rocky mountain passes.

Mattock · Feb 3, 2020

Ill have to say the worst one when I was driving was in Flagstaff my pa told me you aint been in a storm tell you been in one in Flag and man was he right.

tamrock · Feb 4, 2020

Long time ago I got into a spring snow storm in Flagstaff. I was heading to Phoenix and remember all the single axle tractor trailers spinning out going north on 17 and a couple motorcycles pulled over and parked under an overpass. Huge snowflakes were coming down. I got into a 2 hour I25 road closure yesterday down by Toma road going south yesterday due to a wreck. Took me 45 minutes to inch up to an exit and my gps took me all around a route that ran me through Palmer Lake and finally back to I25 south. A cold mist was coming down icing up my wipers all the way to Trinidad were I'm at this morning. Pretty cold down here this morning with a fresh snow on the ground.

A2coins · Feb 4, 2020

I used to love driving I 17 through Flagstaff just gorgeous nice pics what was that Vanhalen song. This must be just like living in paradise and I dont want to go home

Diggin' History · Feb 4, 2020

cyzak said:
Ill have to say the worst one when I was driving was in Flagstaff my pa told me you aint been in a storm tell you been in one in Flag and man was he right.

Same here. I was trying to get to Albuquerque and ended up having to stay in a motel just prior to heading down the mountain - they [Highway Dept.) had stopped all traffic leaving Flagstaff unless they were 4 wheel drive vehicles with Snow Chains.

If memory serves me correctly that was in '97.

What a mess that was!

Cheers.
-DH-

tamrock · Feb 4, 2020

I hit bad weather all the way from Denver to Albuquerque and then again on the road from Socorro to Carrizozo. So much for my looking forward at going to New Mexico thinking the weather was gonna be nice. This is a pretty wide spread cold front all up and down the east of the continental divide.

Mattock · Feb 4, 2020

Just keep the little lever engaged and take it easy looks like there is more coming high temp today 20.

tamrock · Feb 5, 2020

cyzak said:
Just keep the little lever engaged and take it easy looks like there is more coming high temp today 20.

It was 2° when I hit the road from Trinidad last Tuesday morning. It's cold down here in Alamogordo with a little fresh snow on the ground this morning. Cool thing is I get to look at a big hole underground. I gotta hook up with an escort this morning and follow it 60 miles into the desert. I probably can't take any pictures.

Mattock · Feb 5, 2020

They must want to keep that place off the radar -8 this morning and does not look like its going to get much better.

tamrock · Feb 6, 2020

cyzak said:
They must want to keep that place off the radar -8 this morning and does not look like its going to get much better.

it's definitely a place off the radar I've ever been to. It was from this gate I followed an escort 60 miles into a vast openness to a mountain range and we drove ball to the walls to the site. I saw a huge 23 by 23 foot tunnel being driven and above the tunnel the surface was being excavated flat to a specific height above the tunnel. The tunnel was being heavily rock bolted and then lined with thick layers of shotcrete. Apparently the whole purpose of this excavation is then to be destroyed. After my visit I was then again escorted to another gate from the one I entered and let out with instructions to follow a dirt road to a highway and then for the direction I wanted to go turn left and that would take me into Carrizozo New Mexico. From there I headed to Socorro where I spent the night. All over that open country I saw dilapidated sites and remnants of what I can only think were places of the cold war era and old phone box stations every so many miles.

Mattock · Feb 6, 2020

I always found it interesting what are government does out in that New Mexico desert a excavation like that you think it would be for something of a permanent facility.

rginn · Feb 6, 2020

Unusual weather Sunday. Dillon set a record high of 53, but the bottom dropped out and things got back to normal the next day. Right now we're on tap to get 2-3 feet by the weekend. It's snowed all day, but hard to tell how much cause the wind is blowing it around.

rginn · Feb 6, 2020

And just checked cotrip.org, and I-70 is pretty much shut down through the 'mountain corridor'.

tamrock · Feb 7, 2020

cyzak said:
I always found it interesting what are government does out in that New Mexico desert a excavation like that you think it would be for something of a permanent facility.

They build these heavily reinforced underground bunkers in order to study the effects of the massive ordnance air blast technology. This diagram shows the type of underground excavations the contractor I visited are constructing. That's why it's so far out in the middle of nowhere.

tamrock · Feb 7, 2020

RGINN said:
And just checked cotrip.org, and I-70 is pretty much shut down through the 'mountain corridor'.

I took the East 470 belt about 6pm last night from the south end all the way to the north end of the metro in order to avoid the slow traffic on I25 and blowing fine snow was coming down so heavy you could barely see 20 feet in front of you. I'm sure glad I wasn't coming home on I70 last night.