Holy SNOW!!!!!!!

Joe and I arrived in Portland, OR pretty uneventfully. Our flights were on time and we got in early into PDX. I knew that it had been snowing all week, but according to my family it was "supposed" to be getting better and my step dad was going to try and come pick us up from the airport. Like we always do, when we landed, I called my family to let them know we've arrived and then they come and pick us up. Jon said he was leaving right then to come and get us. About 5 minutes later my mom called us and told me that Jon was stuck a couple of blocks from the house and so we needed to try and find another way to get to Vancouver since he couldn't even move!

Joe and I knew that the roads weren't very good and we tried to rent a 4WD or an all wheel drive car before we even left CT, but no one had any left. Apparently everyone who lived locally in the area rented these cars so they could get to work since snow this bad hasn't come to the area since 1968! A "normal" snow to the area is wet snow, followed by rain. Usually they will only get an inch or two and it is gone within a day or so. Every once in a while they will get an occasional ice storm, but again, it will melt within a couple of days. They were getting over a foot of snow and it had lasted over two weeks with no sign of letting up! My mom and step dad were stranded in their house for days! The only time they were able to get out and do something was when my sister (who has a Subaru) was able to come pick them up to take them to the store etc.

When we arrived at the airport, I waited for our luggage in baggage claim and Joe went to see if we could rent a car. We were lucky enough to rent the last Subaru Outback that was left in the garage at the airport! We couldn't have been more lucky! Once we got onto the freeway, Joe was appalled at the lack of "snow clearing" and we kept seeing huge boulders of snow in the middle of the freeway! We also saw broken chains from the cars all over the road. Since Joe grew up on the East Coast he had never experienced a "Portland Snow" before where the snow stays until it goes, nothing is plowed, salted, sanded or de-iced. He couldn't believe his eyes as we made our way up I-205 into Vancouver. Once we left the freeway, that's when we really saw the extent of what it was going to take to get home for the holidays. We would have never made it home had it not been for Joe's excellent driving skills in snow and ice and the all wheel drive of the Subaru Outback Wagon. We were passing cars that had been left "stranded" in the snow and ice. I was so proud of Joe for taking it all in stride and getting us home safely for Christmas! Here are some pictures for those of you who have never experienced a "Portland Snow". I borrowed them from the local paper's website since I couldn't take the best pictures myself, mainly because my family's car is still stuck where they left it on Christmas Day! Hopefully by tomorrow the snow will have melted enough for their car to be free so we can get to my sister's bridal shower! Oh, the joys of snow in the Pacific Northwest!

The side streets are the worst because none of it is treated or plowed. Most people just walk to where they need to go to get around since the Vancouver area has a total of 17 plows to take care of the snow!

Chains are a required traction device for all vehicles including 4 WD vehicles on all major roads and freeways.

Since we never get this kind of snow in the Pacific Northwest, no one even has proper shovels to help with the removal! Most everyone we saw was using your typical garden variety shovel to attempt to clear away snow from cars, sidewalks, roads etc.