Day 120: I'm home safe, but it was a narrow squeak. I firmly believe that NOAA has had an intern on the board for the last couple of weeks because our forecasts have been consistently off by at least 10 degrees (the forecast has been for lower overnight temps), but also for precipitation amounts. Last night, we were supposed to have snow showers with no significant new accumulation. Taking into account the temperature error, I figured it was safe to order groceries for morning pickup. When I got up this morning, it was snowing hard. The temp was predictably 10 degrees above the forecast, and the road was snowy but not icy when I headed out. I wasn't thinking about how treacherous the hill coming up out of Eatonville might be on my way back because I'd seen the sand trucks out doing their job on the way down to Yelm. I decided to come home via Eatonville, and that was almost my undoing. Halfway up the Alder Cutoff, I went into a slide which took me from the guard rail on one side of the road to the embankment on the other. I managed to regain control by not panicking or over-steering, but by the time I was going in a straight line again, my heart rate had shot up to 200. A little bit further on, a truck had gone in the ditch and people were directing traffic around it. As I tried to avoid the guy pointing me into the other lane, I went into a second slide and came within a hair's breadth of sideswiping another vehicle. Y'know, that's 'bout all the excitement I need for February. I don't think I'll go out again until spring thaw.
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