Wow, I never knew there was only one link across the country. Learn something new every day.
The bridge at Nipigon is the only road – one lane each way, but due to be doubled. At the same location there is a railroad bridge – one track. At the top of Lake Nipigon, there is another railroad (one track) but no service road. There are no logging roads that connect the west side of Lake Nipigon or points north to the east side of Nipigon or points north. In other words, there’s a whole lot of nuthin’ up here, with one thin ribbon for folks who want to cross through.
Heading west of the Nipigon Bridge, there is Hwy. 11/17 (closed today) until you get past Thunder Bay where 11 (open) and 17 (closed) split into separate roads. Heading east of the Nipigon bridge, 11 (closed) and 17 (closed) split on the eastern side of the Nipigon Bridge.
Today, folks from the west can get as far as TBay, and then either turn around and head home, or take 61 south to New Orleans. Folks from the east can only get as far as LongLac on 11 or White River on 17. Folks in Nipigon, Schreiber, Terrace Bay and Marathon (essentially the top of Lake Superior) are cut off until things clear up.
6-12" of snow in Minneapolis last night/today, with more if you go farther north. And not a fun snow. A 1/2 wet, wring it out like a sponge snow. Followed by record lows tonight (20°F).
My boss walked by yesterday and joked “Summer’s over, the leaves are starting to turn”. I wonder if it’s time to pull out the Christmas carols again.
The Canadian Shield is one of the most significant geographical differences between Canada and the US and affected the patterns of western settlement and national expansion.
In the US, each generation of pioneers could move west and start farming, and then their children could mover west and repeate the process. It encouraged the mythos of the rugged individual free from government, etc.
The Shield is different. It’s about a thousand miles of rock. It’s not arable, and not easily passable. The only way to expand through it in the 19th century was to bypass it, by going south to the US or boats on the Great Lakes, or by punching a railway through it to the prairies, where there was lots of arable land. That meant that western settlement and expansion in Canada was dependent on a central government that had the resources to get that railway built.
Poli-sci and poli-historians in Canada argue that that difference in the settlement pattern helped set the Canadian mind-set towards a more statist model of government.
I offically declare this to be Spring. I’ve had enough of the traditional portents that are obviously full of bs ( I fully intend to stomp every ^@@**! butterfly I find this year as I am immune to hurricanes where I presently am…
I took my Christmas lights down today, and I’m putting on Dagmar’s summer shoes on Monday, so that’s it, it’s Spring, case closed!
N.B. Dagmar is my trusty 2007 Subaru Legacy Wagon, fro those of you who might wonder…
I was feeling all smug earlier today as I was reading this thread, thinking “it’s RAINING here now, snow is melting, we’re gonna get spring!”
Then it started snowing again.
We have 3 more inches in the front yard.
Screw it, I’m putting the Christmas tree back up, and next weekend we’re gonna be cooking a turkey and opening presents.
My MIL called us from the Cities and started out with “Merry Christmas!” We were not amused.
I’ve had over three feet of snow in the last nine days and we are supposed to get more on Monday. We went from a very warm and dry winter through February to getting our annual yearly average snowfall in March and April. My daughter’s tennis season started a month ago and they haven’t been able to play one match yet.
I don’t complain because we really needed the moisture, but it is getting a little ridiculous.
WTF? Now the Weather Network is predicting wet snow Saturday afternoon. Arrgghhh!!!
My second semester of classes has just ended, and I have three assignments to hand in. I was going to go to the passport office in Whitby and start my renewal application, but I may just stay in bed and pull the covers over my head.
Don’t forget the rye.
Awesome!
ETA: Although now we can see all of your videos there, Richard!
I’ll pick some up tomorrow, as they are forecasting yet more snow for Sunday.
I just saw a bumble bee in the garden. Could it be… spring?
This is pretty much what we have as well, though it’s not snowing anymore. Woke up to maybe 6" on the ground. The pugs were not happy, nor was their mother who had to shovel a spot for them to do their business.
It’s never gonna end.
Yesterday, a large brown patch appeared in a sunny spot in our back yard; appeared to be composed of churned up dirt and rotting grass. Æsthetically rather unpleasing, really.
Fortunately, today’s snowfall has already covered it up and restored the white uniformity of our back yard.
No worries. I was writing on outdoor adventure stuff long before the www became so popular, so I’m used to my name being out there.
Today I got to experience the good side of snow. What a lovely day of skiing up on the Nor’ Westers, with a fellow who knew a heck of a lot about the flora and fauna.
The slog up the mesa and across the top in deep, thick snow has left me exhausted. Coming down off the Mesa was a blast.
Here’s a pic of the mesa close to the top: ImageShack - Best place for all of your image hosting and image sharing needs
Well, I got some. Just in time too, as now, it’s snowing again.
It snowed here this afternoon. Just a few flurries, though. I think the northwestern weather wall is still mostly holding; it’s supposed to be 6 and sunny tomorrow, then mostly sunny and up into the teens for the rest of the next two weeks.
Oh hell no. Seriously? Is it even safe to go out like that? Give me a third of that amount of snow and I’m calling in sick for the week