“It never snows in Sequim. At most, maybe 2 inches.”

I heard that several times after I decided to hunker down here for the winter. I hoped that would be the case, but I never took people’s weather declarations too seriously. When it “never rains” somewhere, I end up in the worst rain on record. When the temperatures are “always mild”, I end up in a deep freeze or the hottest temperature ever.

So, I was not too surprised when light snow fell last Monday. “This will be fun, I thought,” and it was. Wheeeeee! Snow. The entire town shut down after a few inches, including stores, schools, and city offices. I wrapped Tango up in his nice doggie jacket and we walked all over the empty town. Still, after a day or two, I remember feeling relieved that was over.

YakTrax that fit onto my boots.

However, it was not over. Later in the week, forecasts called for another 6-8 inches of snow over the weekend. I watched a neighboring RV pull out on Thursday, and I briefly entertained the idea of heading south for a few weeks and meeting up with friends who are basking in the SoCal desert. Instead, I rationalized that, ” 6-8 inches is not all that much, and forecasters are overly dramatic these days, anyway.” Instead of fleeing, I stocked up on food, checked out movies and magazines from the library, and filled the propane tanks. I also had the good sense to rustle around in the van and dig out my YakTraxs and the super heavy boots that I wore during Wyoming winters.

Next time, I will follow that intuition to flee. We ended up with nearly 2 more feet of snow and more is coming in tonight and into Tuesday. It started around 10 AM on Friday morning and continued for over 24 hours. When I opened the RV door to let Tango out on Saturday morning, he jumped into snow that was deeper than he is tall! The look on his face was priceless, but he managed to clear out a small space and take care of business. When the skies cleared, the entire area was completely snowed in. My car could be socked in until the end of the week, or when I decide to dig it out. There is nowhere to go, though. The roads are solid ice with a topping of deep snow. Eventually, I cleared enough of a path that we could walk through the RV park. By Sunday, I  was able to walk all the way to the store to shake off my cabin fever. Sunday night, the Grammy awards entertained me and helped me forget that I am living in a tiny space with snow piled up all around me.

Now, it is Monday. The town should be digging out, but the forecasters are calling for up to 1 foot of additional snow. This is as bad as anything I experienced in Colorado or Wyoming, except that no one can handle it here. Nearly everything is still closed except Walmart and the QFC grocery store. It is just crazy. I still have a few movies and can watch things from the Hulu library online. I have lots of food and supplies and can walk around to keep me somewhat sane. Still, I am done with the snow.

The photos below show the inverse relationship between my joyful, adventurous attitude and the depth of the snow:

Sooooo excited. Isn’t this a fun adventure!!!

Tango loves the snow and we walk whenever the snow takes a break.

Hmmmm. Not sooo bad.

Yikes, it is getting deep (my van)

Tango seems to be saying “Uhhhh, if it gets any deeper, my parts will start freezing”

Time to get inside and do some cooking. Apple-topped French Toast going in the oven.

Back outside later, “Holy Mackeral! This is serious.”

Yep, two feet on the picnic table. As you can see, the snow is up to the frame of my RV.

Alice, my car, lies patiently under that snow mound.

And, there is more on the way today and tonight. It is no longer “a snow day”, but a snow week. The city and schools don’t have much heavy equipment to clear access to schools, stores, and public buildings. Everything remains closed!