Let it Snow

Monday morning brought with it the start of a big snow storm.  We went up to the property to get a hike in before we got snowed in.  It was just starting to snow and it was just gorgeous.

On the way down from the mountain we decided to stop by Safeway to get a few things -- knowing we wouldn't be going outside for at least a day or two.  It seemed like everyone else in Trinidad had the same thoughts as Safeway was really crowded.

We put a few things in our cart and I said to Les, "As much as I loathe Walmart, what we need is so much less expensive there."  So we trekked on over to Walmart.  There are only 2 places to buy groceries in this little town... Safeway and Walmart.  I absolutely refuse to buy meat at Walmart.  Ever since the Beef Stroganoff incident when I bought some beef at Walmart and made my usually delicious Stroganoff.  The meat had a plastic-y texture and didn't even taste like beef.  I have no idea what we were eating, but we couldn't go past a couple of bites when we had to throw the whole thing away.

So we picked up some soups and bread and snacks for Les.  Then we left and on our way home, we were following a white Toyota pickup.  He turned onto Santa Fe Trail in front of us and I saw how his truck was skidding while going around the corner.  I said to Les, "Wow, he's going way too fast."

The roads were icy and snowy.  It was really cold and the snow was starting to come down harder and harder.  We lost sight of the Toyota as he sped away.  Then when we went over a little hill, sure enough.  He had a head-on collision with a woman in an Escalade.  Both cars were totalled.  The man in the Toyota was bleeding from his forehead, but he couldn't get out of his truck.  The woman in the Escalade was standing out there in just a sweater.  No hat, no gloves, no coat.

We stopped to lend a hand.  Les directed traffic around them while I made the woman take my gloves and put them on.  I insisted that she get her coat out of her car, but most of the doors were jammed from the impact.  She was shaking so badly she could hardly get the gloves on.

It turns out that the man in the Toyota is the man who drove when we took a trolley tour around town this last summer.  A very nice man, but we left our trolley ride suspecting that there was more than a little embellishment to his stories.

We stayed with them until the police and fire department came.  Then we left.  It turned out that both of them were just fine.  Both of their airbags went off so it could have been much worse.

The next day I got a call from their insurance agent thanking us for stopping to help.  (Another sign of small town hospitality.)  We stayed in until Wednesday while we waited for the snow to stop and the roads to be cleared.

I love this place!