Even though I knew I had two classes coming up, I had agreed to fill in for one of the aides during the last two weeks of February. Technically, my two classes started on President’s Day which I had off. Still, I struggled through that first week and did not make the best grades compared to the other ones I have been getting.
It snowed on the last Sunday in February. The next morning I had three messages on my phone: “Buses will be delayed for two hours on Monday morning” “Buses will be delayed for two hours on Monday morning” and “School has been canceled for Monday." I thought I'd take advantage of having the time off and get a better jump start on my classes than I had the week before. I was able to listen to the live lecture and had completed one discussion post before taking what I thought would be a short break
When I lived in Salt Lake City, it was rare when anything closed due to snow - even with several feet on the ground. I appreciated the many times UDOT worked around the clock trying to clear the main roads and eventually get to the side streets. It is safer to have dry roads.
Roads were still busy with cars regardless of the weather - some drivers had experience driving in the snow, but there were several behind the wheel who should have been taking public transportation which was my preferred method of transportation to use on those wicked snowy days. UDOT had the equipment for dealing with the snow.
The roads in Oregon are very different from the ones in Salt Lake. Schools close when there are less than two inches on the ground. Even though they call it a "snow day" it is really about the conditions of the road which are windy, only two lanes (one lane per direction) no guard rails and major drops - thus if a vehicle slides due to the ice or moisture, it may go off the road and over the edge - not a good thing for anybody but really not in favor with a busload of children.
Aside from the roads and lack of equipment, this part of Oregon also has many wimpy plants that are also not conducive to even a light snow. Anything more than two inches seems to be too heavy. The plants take on a new shape if they don't topple over. We had lost power in Utah due to trees or other items falling over power lines, but not like this. The snow in Oregon is a slushy snow. Heavy wetness. Nobody who lives here has ever recalled snowfall like what came down the last week of February.
I had made plans. Lots of plans. There were clothes on the bed which I needed to put away. I had only posted one discussion and would need to post for my other class. Plus I needed to set up a Linkedin account as part of my grade. Right before the power went out, I had headed toward the closet where we keep the vacuum cleaner. I never made it to the door. I had accomplished only one thing that was on my to-do list. I still haven't put all the clothes away. How ironic, as that was the only chore I have had that hasn't required electric power.
So what's the first thing we do when the power goes out? Wait a few minutes to see if it will come back on. Run out to the shed and make sure the lamps, batteries, propane, cords, and gasoline are where they are supposed to be. We thought we were prepared. We had those things. We have food storage, water, a snow shovel.
Roland dragged out the generator as we didn't know how long we'd be without power and needed the outside light to hook up the generator before nightfall. It wouldn't start, however. We had to look for an alternate.
Several years ago Roland had purchased a portable heater called Big Buddy. We had it first in the Kearns house and moved it with us to West Valley and then out to Oregon. We had never even used it before. It was still in the box.
We had several batteries including D batteries. In addition to what was in Roland's office, we kept exactly eight D batteries in a bag tied around our lantern as that is how many it took. We hadn't stored any batteries with the Big Buddy. Roland found enough to get it going but was short two which we borrowed from the lantern supply.
On Tuesday morning Roland had suggested we drive to Eugene. He thought we could go to the library to hang and get warm. We also needed to purchase some items. As we passed Winston and Roseburg, there were signs of power – but not all of Roseburg. Not all of Winston.
Walmart was open in Roseburg. We ended up picking up items there and at Costco. It’s just as well that we didn’t go to Eugene. We would not have arrived as I5 was closed from Cottage Grove to further up in Lane County. It sounds like it was closed for quite a while.
I took the opportunity to use the wifi on Roland's phone and looked up the phone numbers for my instructor's so that I could call the following day if our power was restored. Even without the wifi, I believed I had a way of retrieving the numbers without wifi. I did have to call on Wednesday morning.
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