The Ski Lodge Operators are Happy Campers this year from The Sierra, The Rockies, Michigan to Maine

Reminds me of my friend Dr. Pat at UMass, Boston, that sent me an image of a snow shovel sticking out of a pile of snow with the caption, "I'm in here somewhere". This image come to me from a friend of a mutual friend who was a local TV personality in the Great Lakes. My former neighbor was also a TV personality when I was in high school. Heck, I was a TV personality briefly, too. A group of my peers that included me sang on WHBQ-TV in Memphis once before. That was in the days just before Elvis was really getting his rock together. So much for that. It really makes me feel old, now.

Last week Truckee, California (North Lake Tahoe) had their second big snow of the season and the big bolder that were on US Highway 50 (yes, the same highway that goes to Ohio University, in Athens, Ohio where they once had a city ordinance that it was illegal to water ski on city streets when the Hocking River would flood in the Springtime.) The problem is this...don't you see. Lake Tahoe is a major ski resort area. It's in the Sierra Mountains. They have to blast to clear snow to avoid avalanches, which in turn can cause those big bolders to be shaken loose enough that with more snow, any vibrations can cause them to tumble to the roads below. Which, in turn, must be blasted to remove them from the roadways in smaller pieces.

The current atmospheric river out over the eastern coast of California is moving this way. This morning, Truckee, is about to get another of there 4-feet plus snow storms as it has already begun to cover the roadways and build on the snow already accumulating for previous storms. That system is there today. The good thing about this one for us, is that it will be bringing warm air to Texas. It is going to be 70°F tomorrow, Saturday an Monday again, here in Dallas. Just 10 days or so ago, we were in the single digits with wind chill below 0°F.

Do I miss the snow? Yes. What I don't miss is shoveling it: never did mind driving in it though. Still, I do love photographing it when we get a little here now and then. I do know that there are a lot of family planes, charters and those that come by Amtrak or those that fly in for their stays at the Ritz-Carlton, on the west side of the ski slopes that face Truckee's Airport and the Carson range of the Sierra Nevada. 

Texas weather isn't bad this time of year. Although, my Edison bill for the first 10-days of this billing period has jumped to double what it was last year at this time. Yes, E.R.C.O.T., you guys try to justify the increase with your dashboard reporting and smart meter on line. It's still double in price for electricity even after you state that my usage is 31% lover than that of my neighbors. What a joke that is. I practice conservation. My neighbors leave their porch lights on 24-7. My thermostat is set for 62°in winter and 78° in summer. Other than that we are good. Mostly!

 Still looking for the image that Pat sent with the snow shovel sticking out a pile of snow in Boston's winters past. It's in one of my archive post, I'm pretty sure.