| Above, following a December 2018 snow storm. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
According to the National Weather Service, our next chance (30%) for snow is this afternoon and tonight.
There is still some snow on the ground from the storm that came a few days ago.
The forecast for today and tonight:
Now that the sun is (somewhat) up, I took a look outside at last night's snowfall.
Supposedly, we're to get more from this storm today. There is also another storm coming in around Wednesday/Thursday.
I took a couple of pictures of the front yard a few minutes ago:
Finally, we have some actual measurable snow.
I took a look (and a couple of pictures) outside and it appears we've received about an inch to an inch and a half of the white stuff.
This will make the drive eight miles today to the post office in Continental Divide to mail my bills and pick up my mail.
Looks like I'll have to get my snow shovel out of the garage.
Here's today's snow (so far):
| Above, at Cottonwood Campground in Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Winter camping is something that I've rarely done.
The first time I've camped in cold weather was ten years ago while at Joshua Tree National Park. It got very cold after sundown. I had my propane heater on overnight. Early the next morning, I still had plenty of propane, but the heater's fan drained the house battery. I ended up leaving the park early.
RV Travel has posted an article on cold weather camping tips and safety hazards to avoid. It ends with a video.
It begins with:
When temperatures drop and leaves turn, plenty of RV owners start thinking about winter camping. Some do it by choice, others because they have no better housing option. Either way, cold camping can be rough on both people and rigs if they go in unprepared.
The video guide at the end of this post from Josh the RV Nerd at Bish’s RV walks through real-world tips to stay safer, protect the RV, and avoid some very expensive and dangerous mistakes.
To read more and see the video, go here.
Finally, we received our first snow of the season. It came overnight.
It wasn't much, maybe a trace. I was able to see it once the sun came up.
I did manage to take this photo of it:
| Above, the recreated sniper's nest in the former Texas School Book Depository building at the Sixth Floor Museum. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Our next chance for snow showers is coming tonight. At least, that's according to the National Weather Service. They say we have an 80% chance of precipitation (rain and snow showers). We'll see.
The storm that showed up on Thursday did give us some rain, but no snow.
Here is the forecast by the National Weather Service:
Today is noteworthy as the 62nd anniversary of the JFK assassination in Dallas, Texas. For those who are interested in the assassination or are just history buffs, a visit to the former Texas School Book Depository should be put on one's "bucket list" of things to do. I visited it four years ago.
The building now houses the Sixth Floor Museum with plenty of exhibits on the assassination, including the corner window that was Lee Harvey Oswald's sniper's next.
For information on the Sixth Floor Museum, go here.
| Above, the front yard this evening. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
I had to go to Thoreau (about 14 miles east) to pick up some groceries and have an early dinner at Lil's Cafe. On the way, I did get some snow shower pelting in Coolidge, but that only lasted a minute or so.
I understand that another storm is coming in on Saturday. Maybe we'll get our first snow then. According to the National Weather Service, there's a 70% chance of rain/snow.
| Above, snow on November 9, 2020. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Snow has started falling this afternoon in the Williams and Flagstaff areas of Arizona. That means it will reach here either tonight or tomorrow. Well, usually.
According to the National Weather Service the brunt of the storm will hit here on Thursday.
Here's their forecast:
| Above, following a 2019 snowstorm. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Whenever rain (or snow) hits Jack Rabbit Trading Post near St. Joseph, Arizona, I can usually tell that we would be getting it in a few hours.
Yesterday morning, Cindy at Jack Rabbit Trading Post posted on Facebook that it was raining there. Sure enough, a few hours later, it hit the Gallup/Jamestown area. The was the first rain we received in weeks. It was the same storm system that gave Southern California a big deluge.
According to the National Weather Service, our next chance for rain or snow will come later in the week (around Thursday).
Here's their forecast for this week:
| Above, looks like I'll have to get out the snow shovel from the garage. |
It looks like autumn rain is coming later this week and, along with that, the first chance of snow showers.
A few weeks have passed since our last rain, so any precipitation is most welcome.
According to the National Weather Service:
| Above, yours truly at the shooting area last year. Photo by Larry Lucier. |
We plan on doing our shoot this coming Monday. The weather should be optimal for the shoot. My Weather Channel app forecast 72° and, so far, the National Weather Service forecasts "near 68° on Monday.
The National Weather Service forecast:
I haven't yet decided which guns I will be bringing.
I have a space heater going next to me but that isn't helping much. Now I know why.
It is 31° outside.
Brrr!
On the way home from Moab, Utah yesterday, I took a slightly different route home from the route I took Friday to Moab for the John Wayne Cancer Foundation "Grit Series" marathons.
The route I took was one I took before from Monument Valley a year ago. It had me pass by Shiprock and into the town of Shiprock, New Mexico.
I needed to get gasoline there as I spent very little in Utah. Their gas prices were around $3.40/gallon, whereas New Mexico were around $2.84/gallon.
Despite rain squalls, the town of Shiprock (in the Navajo Nation) was busy with several flea markets and a carnival. I did manage to take the below photos of Shiprock before reaching town.
Last year, rain hit the Ridgway, Colorado area about the time the John Wayne Cancer Foundation's Grit Series marathons ended.
Everyone had to hurry and pack up equipment as the rains started.
This weekend, the marathons will be held outside of Moab, Utah. I am heading there as a volunteer.
It looks like there is a chance of rain in the vicinity according to the National Weather Service:
Today
| Above, no driving, Jeep or otherwise, today due to rain. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
It doesn't look like I'll be doing much, or any, driving today. Jeep or otherwise.
Right now, it is raining here in Jamestown, New Mexico.
I do have to go into Gallup this week to pick up my prescription refills. But I won't be doing so today.
According to the National Weather Service, the weather here this week is looking like this:
Last evening, overnight and currently, we're having the most intense thunderstorm in quite a while.
It started during the evening after I got home from dinner in Gallup and it continued on and off overnight. It is currently doing so now. When I went to bed, the lightning seemed right out of a Frankenstein movie or even King Ghidorah in Godzilla movies.
For your entertainment, above is the creation scene from Bride of Frankenstein (1935).
According to the National Weather Service for Jamestown:
While watching the news, out of the corner of my eye, I spotted this rainbow through the window. I grabbed my phone and took the above photo from my front porch.
It had been a dry monsoon season until about three weeks ago. Now we're getting the badly needed rain.
| Above, the below weather coverage area. |
It was a good thing that I got the Jeep to the mechanic's yesterday morning. In the afternoon after 3:00, we received some more monsoon rains in the Jamestown area.
I'm not complaining, it had been a dry monsoon season for the most part. But that changed a bit over the past two weeks.
According to the National Weather Service, more thunderstorms are expected during the next few days.
Today
| Above, the RV is protected from the harsh winter temperatures and snow in its barn. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
After buying a house and moving to New Mexico seven years ago, one of my "must-dos" was to have a garage (or barn) built to store my motorhome in.
The elevation where I'm at is 7,000 feet. During the winter we get snow and cold temperatures and, during the summer, it does get into the 90s at times. I needed the store my RV in a place that would protect it from the weather extremes.
That it the topic of a new article in RV Travel. The article is "Why Storing Your RV Outside Can Be A Bad Idea".
It begins with:
Every year hundreds of thousands of RV owners all across the country need to store their RVs. Whether it is due to harsh winter conditions or because work and school activities limit the time they can “recreate,” RVers must find the best method to put their unit into hibernation. Trying to find a nice, heated, indoor facility can be difficult and very expensive. So most of them are forced to store their RVs outside, which is not always a good idea and can create some very expensive issues.
To read more, go here.
| Above, a normal monsoon season. Photo by Armand Vaquer. |
Finally, we're getting some more monsoon season thunderstorm activity in the Gallup-Jamestown area.
For the past two days (and last night), we've been getting some rain in the area including a few downpours with accompanying lightning. This is welcome as it has been a relatively dry monsoon season.
According to the National Weather Service, the week is shaping up as follows: