Into the Storm

A few days ago, on my birthday, I was planning on having a small celebration with a few friends, which involved popping the cork on an eighteen-year-old bottle of Bordeaux wine from my basement. Those plans quickly dissipated, however, when news came that a load of rescue dogs needed transport from Wolf Point. The weather was going to turn bad – or I should say, worse – which would make driving very hazardous for a few days, and dogs needed to move. So instead of the original celebration, I took off for Miles City, a drive of two hundred eighty miles, a little after six in the evening. There had already been one bad storm, which ended the day before, and for most of the first hundred miles the driving lane was ice. By Columbus, the ice covered both lanes and what little traffic there was moved slowly. Finally, after Billings, the roads cleared up, but by Forsyth there was more ice, plus snow blowing sideways. It was not a fun nighttime drive.

I finally arrived in Miles city – where the temperature was minus ten – and checked into the hotel at half past ten. The room was cold, so I turned on the heater and went over to Wendy’s to get some hot chili. I expected it to be slow at that time of night, but when I walked in I saw fifty high school kids in line, just beginning their orders. It was the team bus from Jordan, in town for a game. The coaches and bus driver were last in line, so we chatted as the fast food paradigm played out before us. And I have to say, I was impressed. The young manager and the kids working there, though clearly working under stress with such a big order, never broke stride, cranking out burgers, fries, and drinks at a steady pace, with clear communication and remarkably polite cooperation, until every kid had their food. It only took ten minutes. I was the last customer of the night and I enjoyed my chili.

As I made my way back to the hotel I noticed the landscape. Usually when we facilitate a transfer in Miles City, we let the dogs out to relieve themselves on one of the grassy areas beside a restaurant or hotel or gas station, and even in winter there is usually not too much snow. But eastern Montana has been hit hard this winter, and in order to keep the streets and parking areas clear, the city piled the snow in every available spot, creating ten-foot mountains where there should have been snowy lawns. Even on the five-lane main street, the snow was plowed into the middle lane, five to six feet high, with a gap every block for the intersections. And there was more snow coming over the next three days!