The Proof Against Winter

[Bob Boze Bell]

January 11, 2013

Still quite cold out (for Arizona). Supposed to get down below freezing this weekend. The chill makes me in the mood to do more snow scenes.

 

When my grandfather, Carl Bell, passed in 1982 (he was over ninety and still driving but slipped on ice when walking out to start the car), I flew back to Des Moines, headed for the funeral in Thompson, Iowa. We landed in a raging snowstorm. It was 20 below with the wind chill factor. We landed on an ice packed runway. The week prior a plane in Boston had slipped off the runway into the water because of ice. My father flew in from Vegas and my cousin's wife brought extra clothing for us to wear to leave the terminal. We drove in what looked like a tunnel of ice to their home in Des Moines and the snow blew across the road and made travel of any kind very touch and go. In fact, they closed the freeway going north, delaying our departure by 36 hours (and they had to delay the funeral as well, not to mention my grandfather's burial. They had to freeze him until Spring to complete the burial!) and when the freeway finally opened we saw semis buried in snowdrifts all the way to Mason City.

 

When we finally made it to Thompson in a rental car, my dad and I wanted to go out to the farm (my grandparents had moved to town for health reasons). Fortunately the roads had been snowplowed out there so we took off and made it to the gate. I got out with my camera and stepping behind the car, took a panorama of the snow and the farm, taking five photos. The photos floated around my studio for decades before I finally took the five pics to Michael Feldman's Custom Frame Shop and he and his right hand man, Josh, made a panorama of the scene and framed it. It hangs in a place of honor in our living room. This morning, I grabbed it off the wall and took it out to the studio for inspiration and reference. Here it is on my art desk:

 

I used this historic, panorama photo for the inspiration to do my Daily Whipout:

 

North Toward Minnesota

 

My grandfather's farm was north of Thompson, Iowa and about ten miles south of the Minnesota line. We seldom took this road north from the farm. My dad's cousin, Donnie Bell, had a farm to the north (the grove at left, in distance) and my father walked beyond there to the country school he and his sister Doris attended when they were little (1930s).

 

Long story short: I love this kind of winter scenery, at least in pictures.

 

"When people say they love winter, what they really mean is the proof against it."

—Old Vaquero Saying

[Nicholas Narog]

Your paragraph about the icy roads really relates to my life as of now. Roads in MinneSNOWta during the winter season (September- May) can be treacherous. Not just because of the snow and ice- but because of the other drivers. Both my father and I were hit on the road this winter- totalling our cars.

As for the tunnel of ice- I took this picture in historic Chaska, MN about a month ago:

[img]http://i7.photobucket.com/albums/y257/jnicktem/image_zps844f7e77.jpg[/img]

[Marion Payne]

It's neat to have photos of your grand father's farm to rekindle your memories.   Also, your kids get to see real proof of their heritage.  I have a painting in my dining room of the farm my grandfather grew up on north of Dallas, TX at the turn of the century.  It was painted by his sister and all his brothers said she got it perfectly.  My great-grandfather raised and trained horses and mules for people in the area and also the army.   Marion

[anthony martin]

  One thing I don't miss since moving out here to so. California is driving in the stuff.I remember one morning when driving a long commute to grad school I hit an icy patch going around a corner,spun about six times and ended across four lanes in a field with most of my exhaust system twisted like a pretzel and laying about a hundred feet from the car. After collecting myself I continued driving to the university.I raised some eyebrows when my car noisily roared into the student parking lot! Winter snow is pretty to look at but lousy to drive in.

[Dave McGowan]

Nice pics from both of you.

Yesterday I went up to Mile 132 (Dawson Creek is Mile 0) to deliver Diesel to a site where one of our customers is building a pad for a gas plant. Coming back there were some great views but I didn't take any pics; too busy watching the traffic and staying on the road. A busy highway.

[Sue Cauhape]

It's even less fun to live in snow unless you're a skier/snowboarder. Here's a pic of our house in Truckee, CA and yeah, that's what a normal Sierra Nevada winter looks like.

[Bob Boze Bell]

Sue, that is beautiful, but I'm sure not much fun to dig out of!

[DieselDaze]

That is a lot of snow!

[Murray A. Gewirtz]

Bob, that's a pretty white-out whip-out.

[Bob Boze Bell]

Ha. You funny dawg you.

[DieselDaze]

Bob, we are in the process of relocating from the Mid-West.
I can relate to your story/pictures/paintings well.
When the snow/ice was on the ground, the temps were lucky to reach "0" and the wind would sometimes slow to 15~20mph, we use to joke that the only thing that stops that cold Canadian wind was "Old Man Jenkins" fence, and it blew down in the storm of '68.