Blown Away

Yesterday here in northern Utah we had a Hurricane. True story, wind speeds reached over 100 MPH in some areas and the damage was amazing. Luckily, here in South Ogden, we didn't quite get the worst of it, the areas just due south of us were hit the hardest (Farmington, Centerville, and Bountiful). Marty and I were without power all day until about 5:30 in the evening. Yesterday was a huge wake up call, we need to get our emergency kits put together! First item on that list is a camping stove, we definitely take heating up our food for granted. So thank you Mother Nature, for that powerful reminder to get our food storage and emergency supplies together.

{Via}

The commute to and from work yesterday was horrendous. On the way to work I had to grip the steering wheel with both hands to keep my car from blowing into the other lane. There were trees, emergency vehicles, and all kinds of debris in my path. I was forced to weave in and out of neighborhoods in order to keep moving forward. I felt like I was in a movie, I have never seen so much damage first hand. I turned on the radio to distract myself only to find that they were advising that everyone stay home if at all possible and they kept adding to the total of rolled over semi trucks. I was so relived when I finally made it to work unharmed. Luckily Marty didn't have to go to work and he came and kept me company. We had to be creative to keep ourselves entertained with no power. How did the pioneers do it? They didn't have TV, or internet, or iphones, what did they do when the weather forced them to be inside all day? On my drive home nearly all the traffic lights were out, therefore, every intersection becomes a 4-way stop. Let me tell you, that is a highly inefficient method, it took me twice as long to get home! I never thought I could actually be grateful for traffic lights, but they really give you more freedom to travel and ensure more safety than I gave them credit for. Sometimes it was difficult to tell which car had the right away and I saw a lot of close calls. The highlight of my drive home was when Marty informed me that our power finally came back on. We were planning on just going out to eat, but when I passed all either closed or packed restaurants, I was relieved that we wouldn't have to join the hungry masses. 

{Via}

{my father-in-law's report of the damage}

This morning also felt like a scene from a movie as I drove through the aftermath of the windapocalypse. The traffic lights were back on, but they were all turned askew. Trees and branches lined the roads waiting to be picked up by the city. I saw a couple of cars that had been smashed flat by trees. The streets were paved with lost shingles. Everything around me felt surreal. The best part was witnessing the community come together to repair the damages. It's always amazing that life keeps moving forward no matter what happens. I found a lot of new things to be grateful for yesterday. Most of all I am grateful that all my people are safe and unharmed, with a few exceptions in property damage. We survived.