Hazy Shade of WInter

The Bangle's song really describes the weather around Salt Lake that has kept me off my bike this past week. There's a patch of snow on the ground, the sky is a hazy shade of winter. Temperatures dropped this past week and it's rained and snowed most days. Like I said before, I'm kind of a fair weather biker, so this has put me back into a car for my commutes.

An example of the weather comes from my weekend. I took a flight to Lake Powell to escape the winter up here and look at houseboats. (Thanks, Vanya, for flying us.) Most of the way down, the clouds were hovering just above the plane, and because of the cold (-10° - -20 ° C) temperatures, we couldn't punch through without a risk of icing the wings. So, we were funneled down the valleys of Utah and over low passes to get the Page, AZ. Once we got south of Bryce Canyon — and began our descent — the skies opened up and it was glorious and warm. Then when we landed we were warned of 40 MPH winds possibly coming later that day. After our business down there, we headed home, but couldn't make the turn to the west to get on the right route home. The freezing clouds just made a wall to our left side the whole way. We ended up following the low lands up to Price, where we were hemmed in on all sides with mountains and clouds. So, we had to park the plane there and bum a ride home through a snowstorm. (Thanks, Mom.)

Today I'm looking out at a beautiful day, that just happens to be stuck in the single digits (Celsius). I may be able to eke out a ride yet, but it's just teasing me daily. 

Oh, and Happy St. Patrick's Day! I'm a wearin' the green. Are you?