I was thinking about Christmas 2002. It was my first Christmas on my own and I was 200 miles from home, but I would be off work for Christmas, with enough of a break to go home. I spent most of December wishing for a white Christmas. On my way home, the snow was getting so deep I ended up spending the 23rd of December in a little hotel just outside of St Joe Arkansas. The heat in the room was a little window air condition unit that also had heat, although not good heat. So stuck somewhere between home where my family was and home where I was living at the time, I watched the one tv station that was coming in, completely blue. The snow was forecast to continue. I slept fulling clothed, including my coat and to say I slept I guess is actually not true. I laid in bed that night, and about 4 am i started hearing water dripping from the roof. The temp had raised enough snow was melting. 
Then I looked outside and saw that the road looked clear, so I continued north. I made it almost to Branson before I was once again forced to drive in near-blizzard conditions. My little Ford Contour was not made for this! My dad ended up picking me up at Walmart 20 miles from their house because that was as far as my car could make it. When I arrived at their house it was almost 24 hours since I had begun my four hour trip home for Christmas. Since then, I've only wished for a heavy frost on Christmas!
Then I looked outside and saw that the road looked clear, so I continued north. I made it almost to Branson before I was once again forced to drive in near-blizzard conditions. My little Ford Contour was not made for this! My dad ended up picking me up at Walmart 20 miles from their house because that was as far as my car could make it. When I arrived at their house it was almost 24 hours since I had begun my four hour trip home for Christmas. Since then, I've only wished for a heavy frost on Christmas! Ok, so if you've been reading my blog you will remember a week or so ago I said maybe it would rain on the rivers so that there would be ample water for kayaking when I was visiting my parents this weekend. Did I state that I wanted to kayak rivers, not main roads through towns?? My hometown received 11 1/2 inches of rain in about a 24 hour period. The nearby river set records for high levels. My favorite kayaking river, the Buffalo, was at 37 feet at Tyler Bend....flood stage is 12 feet! 
Trailer houses went floating down the James River. Banks flooded. All I wanted was a little water for kayaking, not a flood that makes you wonder if you should have built an ark!
Trailer houses went floating down the James River. Banks flooded. All I wanted was a little water for kayaking, not a flood that makes you wonder if you should have built an ark! So be careful what you wish for......
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