The Snowpocalypse

So, in case you haven't heard, Flagstaff was pummeled by an enormous amount of snow last week. The National Weather Service said it was the second biggest series of storms in Northern Arizona history. At least eight local businesses, including Jay Lively Skate Arena and Bookman's, had their roof collapse because of the weight of all the snow. The interstates were closed all around Flagstaff, and people were basically stuck at home for days. Traveling by vehicle for any reason was just ridiculous. At my house, we measured five feet of snow.

As a result of the impossibility of travel, and the impossibility of even clearing and finding a place to put all the snow, The Coconino Center for the Arts was closed Thursday, Friday and Saturday. An extremely rare, three-day closure in the middle of an exhibition we really want people to see. We will return Monday morning and start digging out to open for regular hours on Tuesday. Come by and see us!

There was so much so snow, there were times when I didn't know if I could get dug out. There were times when I thought, "This is a record-breaking storm, but it's not that bad, we're staying on top of it." And other times, I would stand outside with my shovel and just laugh out loud because of the craziness and beauty of it all. The world had become cold and white. Everywhere. It was at times, beautiful, exhausting, scary, amazing, and fun.

I woke up every morning for six straight mornings and started my day by shoveling obscene amounts of snow. Shoveling is hard enough - add to it that, towards the end of the week, we had to lift each shovelful up and over a five or six foot mound of snow that had built up through the week. You know it's a lot of snow when you have to scrape three inches of snow off of the SIDES of your car (see photo). Everyone in town was tired, weary, sore and hurting by Saturday morning. I woke up Sunday and did not have to shovel. I was so thankful I almost cried.

I learned in the process a couple of things. Flagstaff is something like the 5th snowiest city (cities with 50,000+ population) in the country. It is also the 8th sunniest. I love that juxtaposition, fits my personality perfectly. Our good man, Joe Cornett, says that shoveling snow for thirty minutes is the exercise equivalent of jogging four miles. I believe that one.

And I learned that Flagstaff is a town full of great people. As I shoveled, people would walk by who I did not know and we would talk, laugh together and share stories about this crazy storm. On Facebook, I heard stories of people digging themselves out and then helping elderly neighbors dig out. A couple of gals walked around the neighborhood and offered to shovel snow off of roofs.

As I had dug out 90% of my driveway, I was working on the berm created by the road snow plow. The berm was thick and mostly compacted ice and snow, making it slow-going and really hard on the back. I thought for sure I wasn't going to get through it. Standing there, looking at it while my back felt like it was going to fall off, I was spent. And out of the blue, a guy pulls up in a mini-dozer and offers to clear it all for me. Done! This was like a snow angel falling out of the sky. I offered him money, he refused, I made him take it. This town is so cool.

Moving forward now, I do wonder about all this snow in the next four months. Is it going to cause problems in terms of mud, or in terms of just being in the way? Getting into the Center to clear out more this week already has my back aching in anticipation. And we're at least two work days behind on all the projects we have up in the air, so we'll be working double-time to get back up to speed.

It's a lot. And it's been quite a week. I'm tired, but I'm also feeling more positive and more hopeful in general. The whole ordeal makes me feel better about the place I live, about the reality of community, and about we humans.

The impact of this storm on Flagstaff, and particularly on the mindset of Flagstaff, has been amazing. The event isolated us all, as we were all stuck in our homes, or limited to walks. I kept up on things, and felt a little less alone, by checking Facebook, reading and sharing stories of how we were all coping. Despite that feeling of isolation, I feel strangely closer to everyone in Flagstaff. We all experienced something intense together, we all had to survive this storm with our wits intact. As we see our friends again over the next few weeks, this storm will be Topic #1. It connects us all.

Cheers,
JT