Christmas 2010 is a-comin!

I was on my home yesterday afternoon when I got a call from CJ who was at work. She said the bridge over Payton Creek "almost got her" today. I had a mental image of a large troll like creature, covered with moss, reaching up from under the bridge and taking a swipe at the Durango as it careened overhead. I was unceremoniously brought back to reality when CJ said that the bridge was very icy and that she was concerned about crossing it later that night. The hot apple cider/vodka/honey drink would have to wait. I had to make stops to get gas and the makings for dinner first so it was dark as I turned off of HY2 and onto that gravel forest service road known as Mt Index Rd. I had no trouble at all in my truck and soon turned onto our side road. Again, no problems and as I approached the bridge I saw that it was in much better shape than when I had crossed it some 14 hours earlier. I crossed without incident and was wondering about CJ's mental state when I saw the tracks. The road had been plowed. I was elated. The elation however was short lived. As I approached our driveway I saw that it was blocked by a 2 foot high berm of snow and ice. The snow plow does not clear the berms from the driveways. It was raining, dark and about 34 degrees. A fine soft evening in the mountains perfect for shoveling snow. Yea, right. I cleared the berm first and then made several passes onto the driveway trying to make sure CJ would be able to get the Durango up to the cabin. I then saw that I was going to have to do more shoveling. On my second shovel full of wet snow and ice I felt a pop in my back. Two seconds later, as I knew it would, the pain hit and hit hard. I made it into the cabin, out of my boots and onto the couch just before the pain hit in full force. Having been through this before, I knew I was going to be out of commission for at least two days. Not good. Lets hope the Christmas season gets better from here on. I'm not impressed so far.