After a flying trip to see the grandkids and my daughter in southern Idaho, I found myself in the middle of a raging blizzard in central Idaho as I headed back to Montana. The wind began about 5 a.m. on Sunday morning in Southern Idaho but the sky was blue and there wasn’t any snow so I headed out for the Bitterroot. Little did I know what was to come.

By the time I reached Carey, just east of Sun Valley, there were snowflakes flying in the wind and the roads were getting a bit slick. But it wasn’t anything I hadn’t braved before so I wasn’t too worried. I drove on through Craters of the Moon where there were just a few problems seeing the roads because of the incoming weather.

But the weather was getting more ferocious. The roads were sanded, something I’ve never seen in Central Idaho, and the snow was getting deep in a few spots. I really didn’t think it was snowing that much because the snow was coming in sideways due to the heavy winds. I plowed on, thinking that once I got around the hills by Arco, things would get better.

As I drove through the Nuclear Reserve, the roads weren’t bad, except for the antelope that I almost hit. I thought I was done with most of the bad weather. I made the turn and headed towards Salmon but didn’t get but maybe a couple of miles when I knew this was not going to be an ordinary road trip. The wind was howling down the canyon and it was all I could do to stay on the road, let alone see the lanes.

“It’s a good thing there isn’t much traffic,” I thought to myself as I kept an eye to the side of the road. Then I thought that maybe it wasn’t so great because there would be no one to come along to help me if I got stuck.

I inched my way up the canyon with visibility decreasing by the minute. When I saw the lights of Lone Pine, a little dent in the road 42 miles south of Leadore, I pulled in to stretch my fingers. They had been glued to the steering wheel and were beginning to cramp. Lone Pine is a step back in time. They serve great hamburgers and have maybe three cans of pop in the cooler and five candy bars for sale. There is a wood stove to keep the cold at bay and a friendly smile to greet you. But this time, the people were just a little tense and everyone knew this was not an ordinary snowstorm.

While we were all discussing the weather and the roads, another car came flying in. The driver came in and immediately asked for a phone, as there was a bad wreck on Gilmore Summit, the pass between Lone Pine and Leadore. This area of the country doesn’t have cell phone coverage and so strangers and neighbors alike have to rely on each other for help. The proprietor of the little café immediately radioed the authorities and then filled us all in with information regarding both the wreck and the roads.

We weren’t sure if the road was totally blocked and so I contemplated trying to make it through the storm and over the pass. But when I pulled out onto the road, I couldn’t even see past the end of my car. So I turned around and headed back towards Mud Lake. After talking with spouse, I decided I didn’t want to try going over Monida Pass and would instead head to Rexburg to my nephew’s place and spend the night there.

That is how I found myself sitting at the kitchen bar, helping my great niece, Brooklyn, with her homework. She was writing a story and needed some help. It had been a long time since I had been a homework tutor and it took me back to many other tables where my kids would sit and write, mostly under protest, their home work. Brooklyn was writing about the water park and aside from a few dramatic sighs, sat right beside me and wrote her story as I decided to write this. We discussed what words to use and how to put them together. It was really quite fun. With the wind raging and the snow blowing, I was glad I had this port in the storm. Sometimes there is a rainbow inside of blizzard. We just have to look for them.

Ravalli County Gene Hughes Invitational track meet results

Boys

Team scores: Corvallis 196 Hamilton 149, Darby 79, Stevensville 59, Victor 26, Florence 6

100 – 1. Devin Leonardi, Ham, 11.50; 2. Ben Dixon, Cor; 3. Isaac Hunter, Ste; 4. Jalen Pfau, Ste; 5, Andrew Doran, Ham.

200 – 1. Tyler Bonngard, Cor, 23.63; 2. Pfau, Ste; 3. Dillon Wood, Ham; 4. Allen McCarty, Ham; 5. Doran, Ham.

400 – 1. Mahlone Jessop, Cor, 53.57; 2. Wyatt Lawrence, Ham; 3. Tyler Coorough, Vic; 4. Brian Cutter, Ste; 5. Hunter, Ste.

800 – 1. Drew Zeiler, Cor, 2:05.44; 2. Lawrence, Ham; 3. Jake Jessop, Ham; 4. Aaron Johnston, Dar; 5. Doug Raymer, Dar.

1,600 – 1. Matt Stout, Dar, 4:55.34; 2. Seth Garbett, Dar; 3. Sean Abrahamsen, Dar; 4. Chris Jessop, Cor; 5. Zac Newbary, Flo.

3,200 – 1. Garbett, Dar, 10:53.19; 2. Stout, Dar; 3. Abrahamsen, Dar; 4. Chase Stoker; Cor, 5. Cody Bradford, Ste.

400 relay – 1. Corvallis 44.0; 2. Hamilton; 3. Victor; 4. Darby.

1,600 relay – 1. Corvallis, 2. Hamilton, 3. Darby, 4. Corvallis JV, 5. Victor.

110 hurdles – 1. Slater Powell, Cor, 15.21; 2. Justin Morgan, Cor; 3. Bonngard, Cor; 4. Holm, Ham; 5. Austin Christopher, Ste.

300 hurdles – 1. Powell, Cor, 42.25; 2. McCarty, Ham; 3. Morgan, Cor; 4. Eli Kultgen, Ste; 5. Christopher, Ste.

Shot put – 1. Dalton Sybrant, Cor, 54-8; 2. Andy Walters, Dar; 3. Matt Smith, Cor; 4. Brady Anderson, Ham; 5. Caleb Hadley, Cor.

Javelin – 1. Austin Landis, 188-3, Cor; 2. Matt Smith, Cor; 3. Devon Jessop, Cor; 4. Jake Jessop, Ham; 5. Andy Walters, Dar.

Discus – 1. Dalton Sybrant, Cor 159-3; 2. Landis, Cor; 3. Tye Exner, Ham; 4. Walters, Dar; 5. Hadley, Cor.

Long jump – 1. Leonardi, Ham, 20-3 ?; 2. Hunter, Ste; 3. Coorough, Vic; 4. Brian Coble, Ste; 5. Saxton Coorough, Vic.

Triple Jump – Hunter, Ste, 41-7; 2. Leonardi, Ham; 3. Eli Rogers, Ham; 4. Ethan Schwere, Cor; 5. Reid Baerlocher, Flo.

Pole vault – 1. Dylan Wood, Ham, 11-0; 2. Leif Holm, Ham; 3. Steven Jessop, Cor.

Girls

Team scores: Hamilton 130, Darby 122, Stevensville 110, Corvallis 70, Florence 32, Victor 9

100 – 1. Brekka Johnson, Ste, 13.17; 2. Hillary Weidown, Ste; 3. Kelsey Isherwood, Ham; 4. Amanda Mays, Flo.

200 – 1. Johnston, Ste, 27.65; 2. Michelle Jones, Ham; 3. Paige Squires, Cor; 4. Weidow, Ste; 5. Isherwood, Ham.

400 – 1. Johnson, Ste, 62.95; 2. Mays, Flo; 3. Gavlak, Ste; 5. Krystal Haake, Ste.

800 – 1.Heather Demorest, Dar, 2:35.25; 2. Courtney White, Cor; 3. Cheyenne Oliver, Dar; 4. Natalie Bremer, Ham; 5. Natasha Baumgarner, Ham.

1,600 – 1. Demorest, Dar, 5:54.81; 2. Kari Ledford, Dar; 3. Ashley Albert, Ham; 4. Oliver, Dar; 5. Tori Porcello, Ham.

3,200 – 1. Demorest, Dar, 12-44.37; 2. Ledford, Dar; 3. n/a; 4. Oliver, Dar; 5. Megan Pack, Ste.

400 relay – 1. Hamilton, 55.20; 2. Corvallis.

1,600 relay – 1. Hamilton 4:40.76; 2. Corvallis.

100 hurdles – 1. Squires, Cor, 50.58; 2. Weidow, Ste; 3. Sarah Jakober, Dar, 4. Britney Chilcott, Ste; 5. Molly Brewer, Ste.

300 hurdles – 1. Squires, Cor, 50.58; 2. Jakober, Dar.

Shot put – 1. Mariah Cress, Dar, 34-4. 2. Megan Kratofil, Ham; 3. Megan Leathers, Flo; 4. Jakober, Dar; 5. Brandy Segar, Vic.

Javelin – 1. Cress, Dar; 128-0; 2. Whitney Cranmore, Cor; 3. Brianna Morris, Dar; 4. Albert, Ham; 5. Jakober, Dar.

Discus – 1. Megan Leathers, Flo, 87-4; 2. Cranmore, Cor; 3. Kratofil, Ham; 4. Moriah Hughes, Ham; 5. Rachel Hudson, Ham.

Long jump – 1. Johnson, Ste, 15-8 ?; 2. Rachel Wetzsteon, Dar; 3. Chilcott, Ste; 4. Nicole Mitchell, Ham; 5. Kaurie Albert, Ham.

Triple jump – 1. Johnson, Ste, 34-4; 2. Wetzsteon, Dar, 3. Jessi Brunett, Ste; 4. Chilcott, Ste; 5. Megan Baker, Ham.

High jump – 1. Cami Westfall, Ham, 4-6; 2. Molly Brewer, Ste; 3. Marissa Rivera, Ham; 4. Lauren Lawry, Ham.

Pole vault – 1. Porcello, Ham 8-0; 2. Baker, Ham.

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