Cool dreams
04/09/13 05:24
I
t’s that time of the year. The spring blizzards are blowing in, depositing their loads of snow and trapping those who are unaware, unprepared, or just plain used to getting trapped in the high country. According to new reports there are at least 317 people trapped at the Mt. Hutt ski area. They had to close the mountain at about 11:30 in the morning after blowing and drifting snow made it impossible to see. The low visibility extended to the upper section of the access road. With wind gusts up to 45 mph, it was a complete white out. A few cars made it down the road, but finally it was too dangerous to allow any more people to attempt it. The good news is that those stranded are at a ski resort. Manager James McKenzie said, “We’ve got plenty of food, hot drinks and space up here in the base building, so if we do have to hunker down, our guest will be warm, dry and well looked after.”
A quick walk outside, however, and you’ll know that we aren’t at Mt. Hutt. In fact, we aren’t even in the same hemisphere as Mt. Hutt, New Zealand. Here, the weather is more August than September at the moment. I don’t think it got below 70 degrees last night. That’s strange for us. We’re used to the nights getting cold by this time of the year. There were several days in early and mid August when there was a chill when I got up and a mist on the lake. The last few days around here, however, have been hot and dry.
Thank goodness for ceiling fans. They are a truly marvelous invention for a home like ours. That fan quietly turning over the bed makes sleeping conditions very comfortable and allows for a good night of rest even when it isn’t as cold as I’d like. I guess I’m just not a warm weather person. I’m sure that if I lived in another climate, I’d learn to adjust, but I like the cool weather and don’t even mind the cold. By this time of the year, I’m getting tired of mowing the lawn and the last few days’ dust have gotten me sneezing. I don’t really have many allergies that bother me, but I do seem to have a head full of dust these days. My eyes are dry and seem to need a few extra drops and I’m ready for fall weather to set in.
Of course we are used to beautiful autumns here in the hills. We get a few cool days and then the weather perks up and we have pleasant weather for looking at the changing colors.
At least that is the way it goes most years.
This year is a bit unusual. They were releasing school students early last week as high temperatures hovered near 100 degrees. It is supposed to be a bit cooler this week with highs in the ‘90’s, but that can be pretty hot in buildings without air conditioning. The Rapid City School District has both schools that do have air conditioning and those that do not. Some of the older buildings can get very hot when temperatures outside soar.
It probably isn’t as hot here as the Nevada desert where they are cleaning up after another huge Burning Man festival. The annual Labor Day arts festival, counter-culture festival, party, rock music festival, mostly beyond description event has been going on in one form or another since they burned an eight-foot-tall improvised wooden figure at Baker Beach near San Francisco. By 1990, the figure had grown to 40 feet tall and the festival had moved to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Crowds were approaching 1,000 people. Last year more than 50,000 people attended and the 40-foot figure was atop a 50-foot pavilion. I’ve never been seized with a desire to attend the event, but I read about it in the news. What once was a rather spontaneous celebration now is an institution with organization, corporate structure, budgets, and the infrastructure necessary to provide for the giant crowds. My basic hunch is that it is a bit like our Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Some people really get into it. Some of us prefer to watch it from afar. Some people, doubtless, attend both of the events.
I’m dreaming of getting snowed in at Mt. Hutt.
I know a few ski bums who have taken a year to follow winter around the globe. The ones I know found skiing in the South American mountains to be excellent and the altitudes sufficient to make it possible to ski year round on only two continents. It is not a lifestyle for families with young children, and it takes a pretty fat wallet to sustain skiing around the calendar. I suppose a few of the people who show up in Warren Miller ski films can made a living skiing, but most of the ski bums I know have to spend their summers fighting fires to have the cash to support their lifestyles. I used to know a few who spent their summers as river rats, guiding on the Salmon and Snake rivers, but that is a young person’s game and most give it up after a few seasons.
So I will be looking for cool spots closer to home. The lake always provides a respite from the heat and if it gets too warm, it is a good idea to practice rolling a kayak, which requires and supplies a cool head. I also have a sailing canoe, which in the hands of an inexperienced sailor like me is an adventure in getting wet.
And we live in the hills. We know that the weather will be changing. Hot or cold, our weather doesn’t last for weeks on end. And we have had a remarkable year. We expected a long, hot and very dry summer with way too many fires, but the spring snows and summer rain came in such a way that the high country is still pretty green. Even around here, where things have been drying out quickly, we got a good rain shower last week and it would be reasonable to expect more rain this week.
And I know the cool weather is just around the corner.
But my friends, who notice me being distracted can’t tell whether I’m daydreaming about heading to the lake with a canoe or skiing down Mt. Hutt in New Zealand. My fantasies aren’t limited by budget. I do have a good life.
A quick walk outside, however, and you’ll know that we aren’t at Mt. Hutt. In fact, we aren’t even in the same hemisphere as Mt. Hutt, New Zealand. Here, the weather is more August than September at the moment. I don’t think it got below 70 degrees last night. That’s strange for us. We’re used to the nights getting cold by this time of the year. There were several days in early and mid August when there was a chill when I got up and a mist on the lake. The last few days around here, however, have been hot and dry.
Thank goodness for ceiling fans. They are a truly marvelous invention for a home like ours. That fan quietly turning over the bed makes sleeping conditions very comfortable and allows for a good night of rest even when it isn’t as cold as I’d like. I guess I’m just not a warm weather person. I’m sure that if I lived in another climate, I’d learn to adjust, but I like the cool weather and don’t even mind the cold. By this time of the year, I’m getting tired of mowing the lawn and the last few days’ dust have gotten me sneezing. I don’t really have many allergies that bother me, but I do seem to have a head full of dust these days. My eyes are dry and seem to need a few extra drops and I’m ready for fall weather to set in.
Of course we are used to beautiful autumns here in the hills. We get a few cool days and then the weather perks up and we have pleasant weather for looking at the changing colors.
At least that is the way it goes most years.
This year is a bit unusual. They were releasing school students early last week as high temperatures hovered near 100 degrees. It is supposed to be a bit cooler this week with highs in the ‘90’s, but that can be pretty hot in buildings without air conditioning. The Rapid City School District has both schools that do have air conditioning and those that do not. Some of the older buildings can get very hot when temperatures outside soar.
It probably isn’t as hot here as the Nevada desert where they are cleaning up after another huge Burning Man festival. The annual Labor Day arts festival, counter-culture festival, party, rock music festival, mostly beyond description event has been going on in one form or another since they burned an eight-foot-tall improvised wooden figure at Baker Beach near San Francisco. By 1990, the figure had grown to 40 feet tall and the festival had moved to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. Crowds were approaching 1,000 people. Last year more than 50,000 people attended and the 40-foot figure was atop a 50-foot pavilion. I’ve never been seized with a desire to attend the event, but I read about it in the news. What once was a rather spontaneous celebration now is an institution with organization, corporate structure, budgets, and the infrastructure necessary to provide for the giant crowds. My basic hunch is that it is a bit like our Sturgis Motorcycle Rally. Some people really get into it. Some of us prefer to watch it from afar. Some people, doubtless, attend both of the events.
I’m dreaming of getting snowed in at Mt. Hutt.
I know a few ski bums who have taken a year to follow winter around the globe. The ones I know found skiing in the South American mountains to be excellent and the altitudes sufficient to make it possible to ski year round on only two continents. It is not a lifestyle for families with young children, and it takes a pretty fat wallet to sustain skiing around the calendar. I suppose a few of the people who show up in Warren Miller ski films can made a living skiing, but most of the ski bums I know have to spend their summers fighting fires to have the cash to support their lifestyles. I used to know a few who spent their summers as river rats, guiding on the Salmon and Snake rivers, but that is a young person’s game and most give it up after a few seasons.
So I will be looking for cool spots closer to home. The lake always provides a respite from the heat and if it gets too warm, it is a good idea to practice rolling a kayak, which requires and supplies a cool head. I also have a sailing canoe, which in the hands of an inexperienced sailor like me is an adventure in getting wet.
And we live in the hills. We know that the weather will be changing. Hot or cold, our weather doesn’t last for weeks on end. And we have had a remarkable year. We expected a long, hot and very dry summer with way too many fires, but the spring snows and summer rain came in such a way that the high country is still pretty green. Even around here, where things have been drying out quickly, we got a good rain shower last week and it would be reasonable to expect more rain this week.
And I know the cool weather is just around the corner.