Snowmageddon! (or Who Needs to See the Road? )

Wow, we had an incredible weekend! Friday found us in Milwaukee, WI, enjoying Monty Python's Spamalot [ link ] and getting a chance to hang out with our Sapphire Princess buddy, Andy Hoesl. The show was awesome and Andy plays a monster trumpet throughout. We even went out afterward and had some delicious German beers and brats. Ja wul!

'Tis but a scratch!

Upon awakening in the morning, Erika took over as driver of the Pocket Rocketeer, and off we zoomed towards St. Paul, Minnesota. We understood we were to be driving into some snow, so we left early with a song in our hearts and some coffee in our bellies. Little did we know precisely how bad it was going to get.

We saw lots of these

The snow started getting thick and heavy by mid-Wisconsin and then it was all downhill from there. We drove by dozens (and dozens) of cars that had fallen off the road and just as many tractor-trailers, some falling off the road and on to their sides.

Yeah, like this. Scary, non?

The roads were barely plowed and in some instances, the blowing snow had covered the road for what seemed like miles. White-out conditions made the driving ridiculously hazardous and all four Pockets were on High Alert, staring intently out the windshield or windows, guiding the van to the left or the right to stay on the road. Danny had the special task of being on Wiper Patrol, which included hanging out of the window of the moving van, mid-blizzard, and clearing the wipers of snow and ice. Thanks to the diligence of all the Empty Pockets, we finally managed to get off the highway and into St. Paul, where we thought we might be able to find some plowed roads. WRONG.

That bus is stuck, yo

The City of St. Paul had been forced to shut down the plows at 11 that morning and the streets were just as dangerous as the highway. After powering our monstrous van to it's destination, we unloaded in the blowing snow and started our gig for the evening at the James J. Hill library. It stopped snowing at 8 pm, but with nary a snow plow in sight, we wrapped it up and headed to our hotel where the staff told us they were stranded (!) because of the snow. Well hell. With everything in St. Paul closed, we climbed into bed and decided to check the travel conditions the next day.

This snow was smerious

Sunday found only a handful of plows on the streets and with most of the major roadways as hazardous as our trip in. We even got a textie from band-bud-for-life Andy Hoesl saying the Spamalot tour bus was stranded in Springfield, IL after sitting on the highway behind a 13-car pileup. What was a band to do? Snow day in St. Paul! One of the best things about St. Paul is the indoor Skyway system, [ link ] an elevated series of halls and malls that is more than 5 miles long and connects 47 city blocks. You can even rent apartments there. Yowzers! While most of the business inhabiting the Skyway were closed due to the snow, we got a tip that a pub down the way called The Bulldog [ link ] was open, so we hitched on down and enjoyed what has become our favorite restaurant in St. Paul. They even had truffle flavored tots. Delish!

Oh yes, and beers. They had many beers.

We spent our snow day relaxing in the hotel, with a small ten-minute excursion to a local drug store being dragged out to an hour and a half, including pushing several vehicles up an icy road and then getting stuck ourselves and having to push the van, loaded with gear, up the same icy-hill-road-of-doom. Thanks to the wonderful St. Paul residents who came to our aid, we couldn't have gotten moving without you! With that experience firmly in our brains, we hunkered down in the hotel room and refused to move except for to fetch more delightful food and beer at the Bulldog. You guys rock for being open. Seriously.

We awoke Monday morning and began our descent into Illinois. The roads had been (mostly) plowed and the drive was fairly smooth, except for the occasional slow-down where road crews were recovering trucks that had driven off the road during the snow. (see horrifying picture above) The drive was smooth and without incident and we all managed to get home safely on Monday evening, having survived yet another dangerous situation by being on-top of our game and working together as a team. A harrowing experience was brought to a close and despite the cray-zee weather, we enjoyed ourselves.

Plow that snow!

So, to all of you out there, be safe in the upcoming winter driving season and make sure you have a blanket and an emergency cold-weather kit in your car, just in case the weather gets the better of the situation.

Rock on,
-Nate Bellon(bass)