Snow bound - by choice

We're snowbound in Nephi.  Most people get snowbound when they don't have a choice.  They are stuck.  Well, we have a choice--we could actually leave and head north today but we're not going to do that.  Nope, we choosing to snow bind ourselves here in Nephi and enjoy another night of $47 ambiance in The Safari Motel.

Why are we doing this?  OK, let's review the circumstances.  First and foremost, we are south of the infamous and legendary 100-mile Salt Lake City metroplex.  Even on the best of days, driving this gauntlet is harrowing and hazardous.  The only really good time to drive this ridiculous stretch of madcap mayhem is on a summer Sunday morning.  All other times it is risky business to drive the Salt Lake stretch.  I can't even remember how many trips where we purposely timed our travel to camp on the edge of the nightmare Saturday night and "make a run for it" on Sunday morning.

The opening of The Legacy Parkway has helped ease fear and loathing--somewhat--but the no matter how you slice it, no matter how you dice it, it's STILL the infamous Salt Lake City I-15 corridor.

Yesterday--Tuesday, there were 204 accidents in Salt Lake & Utah Counties.  There were 17 accidents just in the I-80/I-15 spahgetti bowl interchange!  Currently, there is an official Winter Storm Warning for the entire I-15 corridor from roughly Cedar City to Idaho.  It's likely that 4 inches will fall during the day.  That's not much snow in normal circumstances.  Here in Salt Lake--it's a recipe for 100's more accidents today.  For some unknown reason, Salt Lake City area driver never seem to slow down.  The State Patrol is pleading with people to slow down but their pleas are falling on deaf ears.

I've looked at the UDOT hotrod website that shows traffic conditions and virtually the entire metroplex is showing 30 mph driving conditions with lots of red squiggly lines.  The red lines mean traffic is stopped because of an accident.  It might take all day just to get through the Salt Lake corridor and one of those vehicles involved in an accident could be our own beloved truck.

Meanwhile, that same beloved truck sits peacefully outside out window, enjoying the snowfall that is accumulating on its windshield.  No risk of getting totaled here!

The weather tomorrow promises to be clear.  The wreckage from all the accidents will have been cleared and the UDOT trucks will have done their duty and made the roads relatively safe for passage.  If we leave on the far shoulder of the morning drive time, we should be OK.

This room here at the Safari is one of the best rooms we've had in a long time--excepting a major chain motel, of course.  The room itself is large enough to be a spacious house in a 3rd world country.

We opened up our Blizzard Boxes this morning and have been happily rummaging through our heavy duty winter clothing.  We had a "hat contest."  We tied.  We each have six warm hats.  I think I beat Susun on the glove count--I have 7 pair, she has six.  She has a new pair of Sorel boots to wear this morning and I have my trusty Yak-Trax.  Our walking sticks are out in the truck so we can safely so for a snowfall stroll later this morning.

It's a good thing to be here.  Susun just walked back from teh office and they dropped the price a few dollars for our second night and gave us a real coffee maker with Starbucks coffee.  Ah, small town perks, eh?

Susun was also delighted to discover they opened a movie house here a mere 3 months ago.  Nephi has less than 5000 souls here so that's interesting someone decided to invest in a movie house.  Susun is a movie fanatic so I suspect I will get roped into a movie today.

It's nice to be marooned by choice here in Nephi.  I get a real day of relaxation--can't work on NOTHING!  YEA!  Meanwhile, I get to organize all my winter clothes and gear and actually go outside and see if it's correctly configured.  This is clearly turning out to be a win-win situation.

So, I guess it'll be a once in a Blue Moon travel day tomorrow as we transit from the Heart of Utah into Tater Nation once again.  I can hardly wait to have an audience with the Nation's potentate--King Tot.

More soon--thanks for reading--Cheers, J&S