Winter Wonderland

Well, it's here. Winter has finally come to South Dakota. Here in the extreme eastern part of the state, the snow is wet and heavy and somewhat resembles a K-Mart slushie. In the western part of the state, however, the snow may be the same consistency, but that's where the similarities end. Deadwood and Lead received about 47 inches of snow, according to reports, while the corridor from Rapid City to Spearfish received somewhere between 12-18 inches. Sixty-mile an hour wind gusts caused drifts 10-12 feet high across the central part of the state, stranding over 300 motorists. By the time the storm reached us in the east, it had become weak and deflated. As a result, we only received about 3-5 inches, which is just fine with me. It's just enough to encourage me to curl up on the couch with a blanket, a cup of tea and a stack of essays. Winter Wonderland indeed.