Since this was to be our first Christmas
together, John and I wanted to have a real Christmas tree, freshly cut from
the forest. We obtained a permit from the Apache-Sitgreaves Forest Service to
cut a pine tree near Woods Canyon Lake, so on December 6, we drove up to the
Mogollon Rim to do so.
The Rim was covered with snow that day, and there were winter storm warnings
in effect for all of northern Arizona. We could see the clouds gathering in
the distance and knew that the storm could hit at any time. That meant that we
had to hurry so that we wouldn't be on any of the forest roads when it started
to snow.
Looking for the perfect Christmas tree was harder than I thought. We wandered
around two different sites before we finally found the tree that we wanted: a
six-foot tall pine with few bald spots. John cut it down with his handsaw, and
we loaded it into the van.
It was still early in the day, so John suggested that we take the scenic route
home: Highway 260 through Show Low, then south on US 60 through Globe and
Superior. It seemed like such a good plan...
As we drove towards Show Low, we noticed that the winter storm clouds were
gathering fast; the storm was due to hit at any time. After stopping for lunch
at the Country Kitchen, John and I decided to get out of the high country
before it started to snow heavily.
On the way to the Salt River Canyon, we were hit with light snow flurries. We
stopped the van to take pictures and to catch snowflakes on our tongues before
continuing on. We also made one more stop to do the same...and that was when I
lost my earring (the same earring I had lost while camping near Escudilla
Mountain)! Of course, I didn't discover it until we were ten miles down the
road. John did the chivalrous thing and returned to the last place where we
had stopped. We searched everywhere, and just as I was about to give up, he
found it. I called him the Great Finder of Lost Earrings.
We continued onwards through the snow flurries along US 60. Then, as we drove
into the Salt River Canyon, the snow stopped. We thought that, since we were
out of the high country, we had seen the last of the snow. We were so wrong!
As we passed into Globe, the snow flurries returned. As the temperature
dropped to freezing, it began to snow harder and harder. By the time we
arrived in Miami, the snow was sticking to the ground. A mile west of Miami,
there was already two inches of snow on the ground. John and I stopped the van
and took pictures of the desert Winter Wonderland while snowflakes fell all
around us. It was the most wonderful thing I had ever seen! I felt like a
schoolgirl again as I dashed around through the snow.
Then it started snowing even harder. We continued driving until we came to a
traffic jam only a mile away, at which point the roads had become icy and
dangerous. John described it as a huge conga line of cars trying to go down
the mountain: "Everyone slide to the left, everyone slide to the right,
everyone slide forward, everyone brake!" There were accidents everywhere, and
the top speed that we could travel was ten miles an hour. What had started as
a beautiful winter wonderland had become a disaster, and we were both scared
that we wouldn't make it.
However, as I've mentioned many times before, John is a very skilled driver.
He let some air out of the back tires to give him some more traction, making
it easier to drive through the ice. Then, with his hands tightly gripping the
steering wheel (and his buttocks gripping the seat), he carefully drove down
the mountain, through the snow and ice.
Then, as if it couldn't get any worse, two miles before we reached Superior,
the fog rolled in, making driving conditions even more dangerous.
Finally, as we drove through the tunnel leading into Superior, the fog lifted,
the snow stopped, and the ice was gone; it was smooth driving all the way back
to Phoenix. Happy to have made it out alive, John and I went home and opened
up a bottle of wine, which we drank while we decorated our Christmas tree. |
