Winter beauty
People often warn you of the negative aspects of winter in South Dakota – horror stories of blizzards, unsafe roads and unbelievably low temperatures. While true, this part of the world offers unreal beauty as well.
Yesterday was our wedding anniversary – Jan 11th
1997: that’s 7 wonderful years together.
We went to the nearby church in Fort
Thompson; which was our first time there. After Mass, Father asked if anyone
was celebrating a birthday or an anniversary. Well, we happily, though
sheepishly, raised our hands and were acknowledged with a round of applause. We
stayed afterwards for coffee and doughnuts and had some very enjoyable
conversations with the local Native American people. We then went on a
stunningly beautiful drive. The huge Missouri river, which is at least 1mile
across, is now iced. People can be seen here and there sitting out on a chair
and trying their luck with ice fishing.
The surrounding hills were dotted with
intermittent snow making a spectacular backdrop. We meandered up the hills in
our car and then down to the nearby town of Chamberlain, which is nestled at the
bottom of the valley. The roads and highways are usually lacking traffic and
this makes for a great trip. We called into ‘Al’s Oasis’ for the buffet lunch
of chicken, spare ribs, potato, corn, gravy, salad and sweets for $9 each –
can’t beat that!
In winter people talk of ice, snow, sleet, frost, hoar frost, hail, ice crystals, freezing rain, and flurries – but what’s the difference? One of the most beautiful sights here is the occurrence of frost. Whilst only happening rarely, the accompanying pictures show why this phenomenon can take your breath away. Frost, for the scientific mind, results from high humidity. A layer of cold air on top of a warm layer of air, condenses, since it is heavier and drier and forms frost on everything including trees, gates, fences etc.
For hoar frost:
http://www.jimreedphoto.com/catalogphotos/Blizzards/BZ07.htm
For blizzards:
http://www.jimreedphoto.com/catalog/blizzards.htm
Flurries are light snow falls
For other explanations of sleet, ice, freezing rain, snow etc.:
http://ww2010.atmos.uiuc.edu/(Gh)/guides/mtr/cld/prcp/home.rxml
