A SNOWSTORM I WON'T FORGET!

      It was the early 1980's and Spring break and time to go skiing in Colorado with the kids. Aspen was our destination. We usually drove straight through from West Des Moines and it took 12 hours or so.

       The night journey going out through Nebraska  was pretty boring. The real thrill was in the morning cutting down I-76 to Denver. It was the greatest anticipation possible, waiting for the first glimpse of the Rocky Mountains. I still get goose bumps thinking about that first view of those beautiful mountains.

      The only way into Aspen during March was out I-70 to Glenwood Springs and then down Highway 82 in to Aspen. Another thrill along the way west of Denver was going through the Eisenhower tunnel that cuts through the mountains before getting to Dillion and Frisco.

       The skiing and all that went with the area was not disappointing. Aspen at that time was like a very upscale western town.  One of my favorite memories besides the skiing was sitting outside in a a covered hot tub with a mountain view and all the while snowing.

      The day before we were to leave, we heard that a big snowstorm was coming and we decided to leave a day early so as not to get stuck there. We drove back and got just east of Denver on I-70 and were met by a highway patrol blocking the highway from further travel. 

      I made the decision and a wrong one to go north to Cheyenne and try to go around the storm. No GPS or smartphone to advise me any differently. We filled up with gas at Cheyenne and headed east on I-80. It was a beautiful sunny day and absolutely dry until about 50 miles east of Cheyenne. Then the fun began like night and day!

      My ex-wife May was driving and the kids were in the backseat and didn't have a clue what was ahead. Just like someone had drawn this line in the road, the snow was thick and heavy and we were drawn into just tracks from the vehicles ahead of us as far as the eye could see.

       We were moving so slowly that the speedometer was barely moving. Maybe 2-5 miles per mile. Along the way we could see an exit ahead and it seemed like it took hours to get there. 
Cars were bumper to bumper up the exits to attempt to get off or just get gas. Thank goodness we had filled up with gas from the start and thankful no one got stuck, or ran out of gas along the way. It would have all come to a halt! That in itself was a miracle. 

       We stopped for a while where I-80 and I-70 merge along the South Platte River. It was amazing that the kids never complained once. We finally came out of it outside Ogallala, Nebraska. It was just raining there and the rest of the trip was a cakewalk. A trip that normally took 12 hours had turned into a 24 hour surreal journey!