Enjoying Snow

It’s been cold here in Arizona. Even here in Flagstaff, where we are use to the snow, we have been getting bitter cold temperatures, minus 30 degrees F. That might be typical for you northerners but for us that’s something different. We are more use to a cold snap of around zero or ten degrees F- still cold, but no 30 below. Phoenix even saw some snow (graupel really- snow pellets- but still). It’s been cold.
The last two winters have caught me saying, “I’m done with this.” Meaning, I am done with the cold and the snow. Last year we had record snow. This year, so far, record cold. I have got to stop saying that. :)
Flagstaff is one of the closest sources of snow for Phoenix residents, many of whom have never seen the white stuff. I think it is kind of neat how these folks celebrate the snow, even if some of their choices are a little sketchy. Just about any convenience store and gas station has the cheap plastic sleds for sale. Barring that, I have seen people use good ol’ cardboard and trashcan lids.
Once they have their “ride” they head to the hills or hill or bump, and any bump will do. Really. I have seen them slide down the bulldozed piles of snow at Target. One favorite location is a small hill at Northern Arizona University that is perfect for little kids, after a snow it is swarming with people. But all around town, anywhere there is a slope, and where they can get away with it, people are sledding and building snowmen. The regular visitors and townspeople venture into the woods onto bigger hills and designated snowplay areas.
Now you may think I am mocking these people but I am not. They are enthusiastic and having fun. They see snow and they think, “magic.” One of my favorite sites is the line of snowmen along I-17 coming up from Sedona. I assume these are built by families who are truly new to snow and can’t wait another minute to get their hands on it. In past years I have always just seen the snowmen, lines of them, at least a dozen greeting you as soon as the dirt turned to snow. This year I got to see them in creation, at least twenty cars and trucks pulled over by the side of the interstate (!). Kids throwing snowballs. Parents taking photos. Some families already in the act of creating the snowmen.
My goal is to try to remember their enthusiasm, their joy in something I just kick at and go, “bah!”