Donner, party of 5...of 4...3?

I've lived in/around SacTown all my life and yet I've never been up to Tahoe when it's snowing. That changes tomorrow. Finally succumbing to the multi-voiced nagging, I and Missus Koko are taking the three Koko-ettes up to a rented house in South Lake Tahoe. Thing is the Nat'l Weather Service has just issued this lovely and inspiring little missive:

NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SACRAMENTO CA
ISSUED BY NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE SAN JOAQUIN VALLEY - HANFORD CA

30 PM PST THU JAN 6 2005

.ANOTHER STRONG LOW PRESSURE SYSTEM MOVING ACROSS THE EASTERN
PACIFIC IS EXPECTED TO BRING STRONG WINDS AND SIGNIFICANT AMOUNTS OF
PRECIPITATION TO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA. THE LEADING EDGE OF THIS
STORM WILL APPROACH THE NORTHERN MOUNTAINS AND THE SIERRA NEVADA BY
EARLY FRIDAY MORNING. ANOTHER COLDER STORM SYSTEM DROPPING SOUTH OUT
OF THE GULF OF ALASKA WILL MERGE WITH THIS FIRST STORM BY LATE
FRIDAY. THIS WILL BRING MUCH COLDER AIR INTO NORTHERN CALIFORNIA
BEGINNING FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY. SNOW LEVELS WILL RANGE FROM

000 TO 5000 FEET ON FRIDAY BUT WILL LOWER INTO THE FOOTHILLS
STARTING FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY AND CONTINUING SUNDAY. SNOW IS
EVEN POSSIBLE OVER THE HIGHER ELEVATIONS OF THE NORTHERN SACRAMENTO
VALLEY FRIDAY NIGHT INTO SATURDAY AS MUCH COLDER AIR MOVES INTO THE
AREA.

TOTAL SNOWFALL ACROSS THE SIERRA COULD RANGE FROM 3 TO 5 FEET AT THE
5000 FOOT LEVEL...WITH EVEN MORE ACROSS THE PASSES ALONG THE SIERRA
CREST. ACROSS THE FOOTHILLS AND NORTHERN MOUNTAINS ACCUMULATIONS OF
UP TO A FOOT ABOVE 1500 TO 2500 FEET ARE POSSIBLE...LOCALLY LOWER IN
THE SHASTA LAKES REGION. IN ADDITION...STRONG WINDS WITH GUSTS OF 60
MPH OR MORE ARE LIKELY AT TIMES...CREATING WIDESPREAD WHITE OUT
CONDITIONS.

STAY TUNED TO NOAA WEATHER RADIO AND OTHER LOCAL MEDIA FOR FURTHER
DETAILS OR UPDATES.

WEST SLOPE NORTHERN SIERRA NEVADA-WESTERN PLUMAS COUNTY/LASSEN PARK-

308 PM PST THU JAN 6 2005

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM FRIDAY TO 6 PM PST
SUNDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SACRAMENTO, CA HAS ISSUED A WINTER
STORM WARNING.

SNOW...HEAVY AT TIMES..WILL BLANKET THE SIERRA NEVADA FROM EARLY
FRIDAY THROUGH SUNDAY AFTERNOON. A FOOT OR MORE OF NEW SNOW CAN BE
EXPECTED EACH DAY WITH THIS STORM. ADDITIONALLY...STRONG SOUTH TO
SOUTHWESTERLY WINDS WITH GUSTS OF 60 TO 70 MPH ARE EXPECTED TO
ACCOMPANY THIS SYSTEM. FROM 3 TO 5 FEET OR MORE OF STORM TOTAL SNOW
ACCUMULATION CAN BE EXPECTED BETWEEN FRIDAY AND SUNDAY ABOVE THE 5FOOT LEVEL...WITH EVEN MORE LIKELY AT THE HIGHEST ELEVATIONS OF THE
SIERRA.

PERSONS PLANNING TRAVEL INTO THE HIGH COUNTRY OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL
DAYS SHOULD BE PREPARED FOR HAZARDOUS DRIVING WITH BLIZZARD
CONDITIONS AT TIMES. CARRY CHAINS...WARM CLOTHING AND CHECK THE
LATEST ROAD AND WEATHER INFORMATION BEFORE DEPARTURE.

EDIS-01-06-05 1532 PST

Oh! My! God! What the freaking hell am I getting myself and my family into?! It may even be too stormy to play in the snow which is the whole reason for going up there. I was thinking that if they like it then we could go up again later and maybe we could afford some snowboarding lessons.

Assuming, that is, if we ever return...

Lego's blog

Cruisin' the Catholic Converts message board after a long absence I ran across a link to Legatus' blog My City Was Gone.

The man royally pissed me off a while back for reasons that have since been resolved and need not be gone into out of respect for the parties involved. However, I must give him his props: he's a smart guy and decent writer. Not sure about this "Jimbo" dude. I remember him from the Catholic Converts board but not like I was actually paying attention to him. That board, by the way, is a staunchly arch-conservative Catholic board somewhat out of step with most Roman Catholics in America (and proudly so). Still it is a repository of Catholic knowledge and resources. Just don't let it be your ONLY source. Then again, I may just be another one of the "neeples".