Mon 15 Dec 2008
Dakota Blizzard
Posted under Musings and Ramblings | by ramongonzalezjr | No Comments Yet, But You Can Leave One
What a weekend!
We just got back from the longest one niter I’ve ever been a part of. The band was booked for a corporate party for 3M Saturday evening. We left Fargo, ND for Aberdeen, SD just a little before noon on the 13th. The further we went into South Dakota, the thicker the fog. As we closed in on Aberdeen, it was almost too much.
The cold during load in at the Ramkota was biting. It does make for a quicker unload. We set up the gear, and settled into our rooms to prepare for the evenings festivities. 3M put on one heck of a buffet spread. Dinner was about 6:30, and speaking for myself, we went about filling ourselves up beyond reason. At the close of dinner, we enjoyed a hypnotist show. That was pretty cool. The band started about 9, and we played until after 1am. Fun, fun, fun. By the time we finished, the wind had kicked up to an astounding 40mph. The blizzard had indeed begun.
We tore down a little bit of the equipment, then turned in for the night. The next morning, we checked on the weather. According to the radar, it looked as though we would be able to finish tear down, load up, and be on our way just behind the last of the blizzard. We figured we would be chasing it back to Fargo.
One step outside, we knew better. The wind was still howling like mad. The interstates had closed, and we were stranded. We decided to finish tear down, and load the truck. After packing all the gear in the appropriate cases, Stubby went out to get the truck. The wheels just spun and spun. There wasn’t even that much snow behind the orange beast. A few pushes, and we freed the truck. Next obstacle was to get the truck backed up to the door for loading. More drifts. The hotels tow truck tried to clear the way, but got stuck, then burned out reverse trying to escape.
Realizing any progress was not going to happen, we hopped into the truck and headed to town. Jenny had arranged for us to stay with some family. On the way, we looked for a place to eat. We drove down the road, scraping the frost from the inside of the windshield as we went. We stopped at an Arby’s only to be chased out for coming into a closed restaurant. "Who let you in?" The under qualified fast food worker was not happy with our presence. Who knew? The door was unlocked. Anyway, we found a place to eat some hot food. Hardee’s was more than glad to take our money. A Big Great Outdoors THANK YOU goes out to the Aberdeen Hardee’s. You guys ROCK!!!
The rest of the night was nice and relaxing. We watched all the appropriate mind numbing TV, and enjoyed a family style lasagna dinner. I am sure we kept our host awake later than he is accustomed.
Monday morning, we dug the truck out of the drive, to retrieve our gear. The plows were still clearing the way. After loading the equipment, we headed back home. The roads were clear, but still very windy. Finally, home sweet home.
During our absence, Fargo managed to get a load of its own snow. Nine and a half inches. The third biggest snowfall in Fargo history.
The one niter we thought was going to be a simple score, turned into 52 hours. Still, there is nothing else I’d rather do.
Enjoy the snow….and stay warm.
Ramon
Bring in 2009 in style. It has been a long twelve months. We’ve seen gas prices soar, and seen them come back to where it is once again bearable (Did you ever think you would be cheering for $1.59 gas? Those of you who don’t remember $.99 and under gas, you are lucky. You’re already used to spending to get around). We watched a presidential campaign end with the election of the country’s first African/American President, Barack Obama. Ramon’s Cubs came close, again, to getting to the big series. Oh yeah, The Great Outdoors got their first release, " A Day On" placed in Froggy 99.9′s rotation. Celebrate the coming of the New Year, but keep those police at bay, and be safe. We hope to see you in Superior, WI for the marathon New Years Eve celebration at 
