For The Love Of Pete!

Good grief, people! When it is snowing and the road is a giant, slushy sheet of ice, do NOT cut other vehicles off!

We made a little trip to the North side of Denver today. It was nice when we left, but we also were aware the weather was going to change. We went prepared. It was a little wild to see exactly where the front was. This big, dark cloud bank greeted us at the Air Force Academy. From then on, it was cold. Fine by me...this is, afterall, WINTER! We also saw some flurries, but nothing exciting.

We made it to Brighton without incident, saw to our errand, had lunch at Chik-fil-A (seriously, it's a huge treat for us...we don't have them in Pueblo!), and started home. The North part of Denver was fine, South side was snowy and a bit slick. No big deal, though. People were driving just fine. Then it cleared out a bit, just sort of wet.

Outside of Castle Rock it got nasty! Traffic did slow down, but Jeff and I both commented on how amazing it is to see people still bunched together. Funny thing was that those of us with 4-wheel drive and/or larger vehicles were the ones keeping distance and being more respectful. The small cars were going faster and keeping too close to others. Weird. Anyway, this is where it gets a bit wild.

I was driving, which I'm completely comfortable with, but was also aware the road was no longer just wet. A car in the right lane decided they wanted to move over and essentially cut us off. Not a huge deal under normal circumstances, but without even touching the brakes we slid all over the road (was in 2nd gear and let off the gas). I was sure we were going to hit someone. Idiot. On the plus side, my wonderful 4Runner kicked into gear, applied the traction control (while beeping to let me know we were sliding...kind of funny, really!), and just did what it needed while I did what I needed by turning into the slide, then the other way as we switched slide directions, again without being on the gas or brakes (thank goodness for driver's ed in the snow!) How in the world there was nobody next to us is still a mystery to me (I was positive someone was in the left lane next to us...but by the time we slid that way the lane was deserted), but I'm glad! I promptly locked us into 4-wheel until we were off the pass and Jeff let that person know what he thought of them. It was put back on when we reached Monument Hill because conditions were the same. We've already seen a number of vehicles off the road, all of them with out-of-state plates. Seriously, people were sliding all over the place through the Palmer Divide and on Monument Hill!

So, the next time you're on the road during a snowstorm, don't assume the road underneath is clear and be nice to your neighbor. Even if they're not nice to you. We were lucky, but that won't always be the case.....