Another Winter Storm

As we have learnt to keep a bit of an eye on the weather we knew another winter storm was coming our way so we made sure we we were home by the time it started. What was being reported was we were going to get a good one, so we battened down the hatches and waited.

That night we got: strong winds, rain, sleet, ice rain and to top it off snow! It was reported that to get this combination was unusual, yeah we are hearing that wherever we go, we just don't believe it anymore. We ran the two heaters topped up with the furnace to keep warm and to stop our water tanks from freezing. We woke up to a snow covered field that only yesterday was bare. Interestingly enough, although the weather was bad the casino, which is open 24 hours, had a steady flow of punters all night long. Some people are keen to lose their money!

We awoke to snow, again



The next day we just waited it out, did a quick drive into El Reno but basically stayed close because there always seems to be a "second" front behind the first and it was supposed to be worse. During the day the snow pretty much turned to slush and the temperature remained at below zero.

Keeping our beers cold and wine warm, always a challenge


Yes Australian Yellowtail 1.2 litre for $12


So again we prepared not so much for snow but for freezing temperatures. Living in a trailer is one thing but in freezing temperatures it requires even more thought. Frozen pipes usually means busted pipes. So we ensure we have propane (LPG), we insulate our water pipes and leave taps on a slight trickle all night. By the time we went to bed it was minus 3 Celsius.
By 3 am it was minus 7 Celsius



We woke up to slush that had turned to solid ice, puddles that were 2 inches deep had frozen solid.

All our American and Canadian friends not doubt will read this and go "so what" but us Aussies who until Christmas this year had never seen snow fall from the sky it's amazing. We survived the night with no damage but had to seriously start thinking about whether we should move on which obviously depended on the state of the roads. I had to go to town to refill one of our propane tanks so as advised I started the truck up to warm it up after such a cold night. Truck started, went and had a coffee, 20 mins later the temperature gage still had not moved! I headed to town and left Rose with the final decision on whether we move. I returned and she was packed ready to go.

The next problem we encountered, and one we hadn't even considered, was that the snow had turned to ice on top of the slides so they could not be retracted. I had to climb on top of the trailer and chip it away, keeping in mind that the whole roof was covered in ice, so on hands and knees I crawled to each slide and chipped away.

Felt like an ice rink on 13 foot up! (Rose never misses an opportunity to take a photo! )


Scrapping the chipped ice off



Ice removed, slides in, we hitched up and headed west hoping for better weather.

Posted by RnR on their IPad

Location:El Reno Oklahoma