Well, We Got Snowed On

Well, We Got Snowed On

Like the Donners on their way west, we too got snowed on … but we didn’t have to resort to cannibalism. Instead, we’re shacked up at a hotel in Raton, New Mexico. Now that the snow has stopped and we can see more than a few yards ahead, we can tell that this is a pretty cool town. We’ve already hit up their library, their local coffee shop, the Raton Museum, and the store that sells beer (seriously, there may only be one).  Here’s what we drove through today. It was insane.

It started nice in Oklahoma.
It started snow-free in Oklahoma (just windy, very windy ... and cold).
Then it turned into this right after we got into New Mexico.
Then it turned into this right after we got into New Mexico.
View our the side window.
View out the side window.
Visibility 20 yards.
Visibility 20 yards.

We thought we’d have a bad day today, then two good ones to see northern New Mexico.  But the forecast for tomorrow?  It keeps dropping.  We’ll have to figure this out.  We may need to run to the south. Or to AZ.

Edit from Lisa: I don’t think Paul conveyed this fully: this is the worst driving I’ve ever experienced.  And I’m from the snow belt of upstate New York.  The visibility was often zero, and the wind was blowing so hard that the gusting snow was creating these weird, shifting shapes and patterns that were messing with my eyes.  Add to that countless tumbleweeds, speeding semis (UPS gots to get there on time), and the inability of New Mexico to plow their roads, and my first impression of the state I’ve been dying to get to is not great.  But now that the clouds have cleared and Raton has been so awesome (and beautiful), I’m warming up to it a little bit.