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Thursday, March 01, 2007

Apparently NOT Off to Omaha.

Well, I have had an interesting last day and a half. I left Grand Forks, ND around 9:00 A.M. eager to make my mark at the Missouri Valley History Conference. Well, I knew the weather was tricky as a winter storm was forecast, but when I checked the Weather Channel before leaving, things looked good for me to make there. Then, South Dakota hit. From Grand Forks to north of Watertown, SD I-29 was relatively clean and visibility was good. Once into Watertown, things went downhill.

I stopped for a bite to eat and gas there just to be safe. Snow was gently blowing across the highway, but not enough to cause trouble. Once on the road south again, conditions worsened until outside of Brookings, which is about 45 miles south of Watertown, when snow began blowing across the road and falling heavily to create near whiteout conditions. I stopped in Brookings and one young lady's car was off the road trying to exit and spun in the opposite direction. That told me that it was too dangerous to continue. I checked into the Days Inn and contacted the conference chair explaining the situation, but still hopeful that in the morning I could make it. Once in the hotel, I looked at the radar and found that had I pushed on to Sioux Falls, I could have made it, as it was not snowing south of there. This made me a little angry at myself and the weather.

Well, I kept an eye on the forecast as if it were forecasting the end of the world and found out by evening that there was no way I would make it to Omaha, as blizzard conditions were to develop in the area I was at this afternoon and to the south. I called the conference chair and explained the situation and he arranged for someone to read my paper, which is going on now. I decided to get the hell out of Dodge and try to get back to Grand Forks to avoid the blizzard. Nothing beats driving over 130 miles on snow covered, and I mean COVERED interstate highway for death defying. Once into North Dakota, things improved, especially near Fargo. I must applaud the fine highway workers of ND, who treated the interstate so well around Fargo and north that most of it was just wet. South Dakota has much to be desired, as the highway was covered with snow that forced me to drive 40 mph when the normal speed limit is 75 (40 is the minimum allowable).

Needless to say, I am upset with the weather preventing me from attending the conference, but glad to be okay and home safe. I want to extend a hearty thank you to the staff of the Missouri Valley History Conference for allowing my paper to still be presented. I wish I could be there, but winter had other plans. I will post the paper sometime this weekend. On a side note, do NOT ever reserve a room through Days Inn at the cheap "buy now" rate as you can't cancel it for anything, believe me I tried. Well, that is all for now, stay safe and warm if you are dealing with snow like I am.

1 Comments:

Blogger Cat is my co-pilot said...

Thanks for the advice re: Days Inn cheap "buy now" rate. :) Sorry to hear your trip got cancelled.

I'm enjoying your blog. I look forward to returning at a more reasonable hour and reading it all the way through. 'night!

Friday, March 09, 2007 4:42:00 AM  

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