Snow!

I tend to get a bit skeptical when the weather people predict that there will be snow in Little Rock. For the most part, the snow always seems to dodge the city. Maybe it's the lower elevation in the city, or the trapped heat in the concrete, or whatever. But the mountains will get snow and we'll just get a dusting. So I was sure we wouldn't see much snow when it was predicted to hit last Sunday. And if it did hit, I just knew I would have to wake up and drive to work in whatever mess the winter weather caused.

But to my surprise, it did in fact snow. Little Rock got about about 5-6 inches of snow. And it was just snow - no ice or freezing rain. The snow began to fall Sunday afternoon, and quickly it started to accumulate. I was happy, and hoped it would be enough to shut down the office on Monday (it was - and I got a free day off!).

When the snow started to stick, I realized that I should maybe get the camera out for a few pictures. The snow had already begun to stick on the roads, which made me hesitant to head out very far. I ended up visiting a park close to my apartment. I passed by the people rushing to Wal-Mart to get their milk and bread, and instead headed to the Park By The River, in Maumelle.

The snow was falling at a good clip, bringing with it that interesting silence that you can only hear during a snowfall. This was taken while walking down the road through the park, looking back up at my footsteps. I don't know what happened there in the middle part of the shot, where my steps take a weird turn for no apparent reason.


This was taken by the river, where the trees were slowly being covered with snow.


And heading back to the car, I passed by this scene. There is small lake in the park, which did look nice in the snow...


I got back in the car and cranked up the heat. My hands were frozen, and my jacket was covered in snow. The main road by my apartment was covered in a slick white sheen of snow, and cars were already sliding around. I headed home, wondering if I would have to go to work in the snow the next day.

I woke up at 6:30 and called the inclement weather hotline at the office. And lo and behold, they actually shut the office down! I was amazed, especially since I remember trying to drive to work last year during another rare snow fall. The company I work for is headquartered in Detroit, so I'm sure the corporate office doesn't appreciate one of their branches shutting down for a laughable six inches of snow.

I slept in on Monday, and decided to head out into the snow. The roads were slushy, but mostly clear. I grabbed the camera and headed out. My first stop was Burns Park, in North Little Rock. I wasn't sure if that was a good idea. I didn't know if the roads would be clear or not. Luckily, a few other people had the same idea as me, since the roads were drivable.

I did slide once on the road through the park. The traction control on the car beeped when this happened, perhaps to let me know that the car was sliding around in the slush.

I stopped at the old pioneer cabin at the park. This old home was built before the Civil War, and was the home to the first family that settled on the lands that is now Burns Park. The snow was deep, and thankfully, not many people had trodden through the snow there.


The next stop was the covered bridge in Burns Park. There were a few people out there, including some taking pictures. This is a shot of the Boy Scout trail, which runs for several miles through the park.


And the covered bridge:




It was getting late, and dusk was starting to settle in. I didn't have much time for another stop, and decided to drive up to Fort Roots. This is a neat spot, it was once a military base, with many neat old buildings that were built in the early 1900s. The fort was built on the "big rock," the hill along the river that was the opposite of the "little rock" just downstream. The hill has perhaps the best view of the downtown Little Rock skyline. But you have to be careful up there. Fort Roots became part of the VA Hospital, and the security guards don't like people up there taking pictures (because it's a hospital, for patient privacy or something like that).

I drove by the parking lot that houses the security guards, and saw several of their cars parked and covered with snow. Still, I didn't stay up there too long (it was cold), and worried that I would get busted. But the view from there is awesome....


And finally, one last shot of the snow from Fort Roots. There is some really neat architecture up at Fort Roots, since many of the buildings were built at the turn of the 20th century. This old building is right next to the road, actually this was taken from inside the car.


It was a cold week here after the snow storm hit. While it was sunny, the temperatures rarely got above freezing. The snow lasted for several days before melting. Coming soon (tomorrow? maybe), will be a new slate of pictures, including some with snow in it...