Monday November, 22nd.........
Steve and I began our "trek" home for Thanksgiving late afternoon on Monday. We were anxious to get on the road and hopefully miss the huge snow storm which was in the forecast for the upcoming days ahead. We were making GREAT time until we came to West Yellowstone and found this HORRIBLE sign set up in the middle of the road. Up to that point the roads were NOT that bad and I could NOT understand the big deal as to WHY they had to close the roads. I was thoroughly DISGUSTED with the whole ordeal. I figured it would be just a temporary closure and tried to convince Steve that we would be fine just hanging out in some parking lot, rather than pay for a few measly hours in a nearby hotel. By the time we arrived in West Yellowstone it was about 2:00 am and I am such a stickler with money. I thought it would be a HUGE rip-off to pay for a room when I was convinced that we truly did NOT NEED IT!
Well, once again Howie proved me wrong! After sitting in the car for at least an hour I realized that we would possibly freeze to death if we did not head inside to one of the hotels. I was luckily able to sweet talk the front desk clerk to lower the price to a reasonable rate since we were not going to be there that long. He agreed! YAY! Well....Little did I know that this nice hotel would be our "home" for the next three days. We were DEFINITELY snowed in and GOING NOWHERE fast!
I could not believe the amount of snow that fell just over night. We woke up to ENORMOUS snowbanks blanketing our hotel.
The snow drifts were half way up our windows. It was CRAZY how high the snow had crept thanks to all of the wind!
Howie went out in the blizzard to check things out. Wow there was a HUGE amount of snow out there. Glad it was him outside instead of me. I am a huge wimp when it comes to COLD!!!
Can you say BUUUURRRRRRR?
He is a crazy man to go out there in that thin shirt with NO COAT and NO HAT! People probably thought he was NUTS!!! Hope he doesn't get sick for the holidays.
Steve at his best.....acting silly just to make me laugh!
My funny, funny husband! He's a goon and I LOVE IT!!!!
As the days passed the snow just grew higher and higher on the window. It felt like we were living in a cave. Kinda cool!
During our stay in Yellowstone I was stuck there in the hotel with a pretty bad spider bite which I got a day before we left.
It was looking pretty bad on Tuesday. As the day went on, with no hope of the road opening, Howie talked me into going in to the nearby clinic to get my finger checked out.
I can't believe how painful it was. We were not sure exactly what had bit me but I suspected a creepy spider from our duplex in Billings. It was getting worse day by day and it felt as if something was actually eating the tissues in my finger.
We could not even get out of the hotel's parking lot. It took Howie a LONGGGG time to dig out our car so that we could leave.
The snow was piled up higher than our car.
Once Steve got our car dug out....we drove a few feet and got stuck. He dug some more and we were STUCK AGAIN! NOT GOOD!
There are some perks to being a WOMAN! I was tucked comfy cozy in the warm car while my sweet husband slaved outside in the storm. Poor Howie worked for at least an hour out in the BLIZZARD trying so hard to get me in to the clinic for help. Awwww....the things he does for me :) I think he loves me a little bit!
It was a complete and TOTAL white out as we drove a few blocks away to the clinic. You SERIOUSLY could NOT see where to turn. We finally arrived safely and headed inside.
I had to laugh when we got inside. There I found OUR Wallpaper!!! I found it quite funny that my family was back in UTAH peeling this stuff off the bedroom walls and the exact stuff was there in the office. Awwww a piece of home....I guess if I was NOT going to make it back in time for Thanksgiving then this was just a small reminder of what I was missing. It cracked me up!
Well they were not able to help me much because the only doctor in town was stuck in Bozeman and the roads were closed there as well. After a few phone calls we were able to get some prescriptions for my sore finger. Maybe now I could get some relief from the pain!
Well they were not able to help me much because the only doctor in town was stuck in Bozeman and the roads were closed there as well. After a few phone calls we were able to get some prescriptions for my sore finger. Maybe now I could get some relief from the pain!
Here are just some photos of the snow levels in West Yellowstone....
Can't get into this building....and if you are in....then there is NO GETTING OUT!
Look at how much snow is on the balcony! This was only day two in Yellowstone. By the time we finally were able to leave it was MUCH worse!
The tractors and snowplows worked nonstop trying to clear the roads...
On Wednesday we were told that the roads would probably not be opened for another few days. We were going to miss THANKSGIVING :(
I was thinking about just having Howie drive through it anyway, but we found out that those people who tried going through the blocked road, got a HUGE ticket. We waited and waited hoping for an announcement that it was cleared and we could leave.
Later in the afternoon we found out that they removed the sign. We were good to go!
This adorable dog was ready to go home for Thanksgiving too!
I love St. Bernards.....Reminds me of our "Rocco"
WELL....Finally Wednesday, late afternoon, we had the go-ahead to drive through to Idaho.
The roads were a bit scary but it was a GORGEOUS drive!
Visibility was pretty bad at times but I love the way the snow just blew across the street. It was fine until a car or a truck drove past....then it would flip the snow up and become a COMPLETE and TOTAL white out until the snow settled down once again. Luckily we had a GPS to see if there were any turns in the roads. That way we could see what to expect during our WHITE OUTS! Pretty CRAZY!
A cool circular rainbow around the sun . Looked much cooler in person than in these pictures. It was hard to capture on film. But it looked awesome!
Nice sunset!
I was so glad that I was NOT heading the other direction. There was traffic backed up for MILES and MILES and MILES. Gotta be hating it!
HOME!!!!
Well....we made it home early Thursday morning. NO TIME TO MAKE A FEAST! We decided to take April to "UP-CHUCK-A-RAMA" since it was just the three of us. Her girls were with their dad and Ash was with Tyson's family.
April was a TROOPER! We stood out in the FREEZING cold waiting in line for over and hour!
Finally inside....time to THAW out!
Well this is NOTHING like home cooking but it will do. It actually tasted quite delicious! I can't believe how many people were there that day. The only problem with going out to eat for Thanksgiving is....NO LEFTOVERS :(
Funny story....As we were leaving the restaurant lobby I said , "Man they are packed like sardines in here!" April asked, "What are Catholic Sardines?" I laughed so dang hard. I think it is time to get this girl some hearing aids. LOL
The three of us had a nice time together. We headed off to watch movies and relax for the day. April looked gorgeous today (as always) so I snapped a few picts of her new haircut and her adorable smile! I love her and I am so THANKFUL to have her as my daughter. It was nice to be home :)
Blurry but cute!
Two people in my life that I am SOOOO Thankful for!
More pictures of my finger after I got home. Getting a little better!
Well it was nice to make it back in time for Thanksgiving. We have a REALLY busy week planned. Time to spend with family and friends. Really looking forward to it. Thank you April for sharing this day with us.
I love you and feel blessed to have you as my daughter!
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!
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