And we thought WE had snow!

Are you sick of snow pics yet? Well, for any of you from around here, these should make you feel better... because they're NOT our snow! They're pics of California snow, believe it or not!

My friend Mark, whose comments you've probably read fairly often, is part owner of some lake cabins they rent out every summer. Here's what it looked like up there just this last Friday:

Note the street sign below:

(Can you guess which one is Mark? Hint: Vikings stocking cap!)

Yep, there ARE cabins under all that white stuff!

And as Mark says, the cabin below is "being scooped out California style."

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Says Mark: "They have to scoop the snow away from the side of the house so when the snow on the roof warms up and slides off it has someplace to go. Otherwise the weight sliding off is so heavy it caves the walls and for sure the windows in and then the cabin collapses."

For more info, plus a picture of the view without the snow, see Mark's wife Cindy's blog here.

Another guest post... sorta

These photos were sent to me by my friend Mark, the displaced Minnesotan who now lives in Fresno, CA. He REALLY misses snow and cold. So a couple weeks ago he sent me these pics that he took out there, I guess so I can feel bad that I live here and not there. ;-) No, really he was explaining what his 47-mile drive was like heading home from up the mountain:

"Fresno is and was cloudy and overcast with the temperature in the low 40’s, but just up the mountain at 4,000 ft. and above it is clear, sunny and warm. The temperature at 5,000 ft. yesterday was 55 degrees and snow was melting. This weather phenomenon is call an “inversion layer” where the cold air gets trapped in the valley by the cloud layer and the high pressure system holds the cold air down. So the clouds never burn off and we are cold and damp and the mountains are sunny, warm and full of snow."

This was his view from the highway:

Looks like a frothy ocean, doesn't it?

What an incredible view!

As he drove down, you can see that it was really a cloud layer, or fog.

Look how he's driving right down into it:

And we know what it's like to drive in fog:

(Click any photo to enlarge.)

Awesome photos, huh? Thanks, Mark! Somehow, I'm not convinced to move out there, though, despite the view and the warmer temps. I'm not a lover of fog. I'll stay here and continue to complain about the snow and cold. ;-)