So, after prepping the truck for rain, we get 8 inches of snow.  No wipers, no heater, no fun.

*yeah, its long. 

I tried to go to Mira Loma today (90+miles away), and after being on the road for 1.5 hours, I had only made it to Palmdale (10th St W) and decided to turn back.  Snow with no wipers and no heat don't work.
 
So, I come back home, park the 715, around 9 am and see Cappa had called.  He's a SoCal born and bred guy and is waay excited about the snow, wants to go play.  I say sure, he comes up to meet me and we head out 138 to the 5 and go north.
 
There was a layer of ice or something under the snow... it was really slick... we wheeled for a half hour or so, decide to try some crap that ain't eel snot slick on the side of drop-offs.  We get back to levelish ground, and Cappa has found his front locker isn't unlocking.  We decide to call it and head back.  He tells me that he thinks the freeway would be better for his locked front axle, so I tell him I needed to get some groceries anyway and I'll follow him.  After he takes off like a bat out of hell, we hit some traffic at the last exit before I can bail or sit and stew.  So, I bail over stew and head back.  Grab some gas in Gorman, grab some grub, and head to the 138 to go home.  I hit traffic, dead stopped after only a few miles on the 138.  I decide the hell with it, and turn around to take the 5.  Cappa had told me the 5 was closed, but I was able to get on without running any roadblocks.  Take the 5S, get off, go get groceries and head up my canyon road.  The stupid electronic sign says road closed.  I figure its closed after my town cause that's the only other way back, and they must be rerouting people down that way.
 
Nope, about 5 miles from home, I find the roadblock.  Some dude from the power plant says he got a call to set it up, and the firemen there agree.  He tells me I'm more than welcome to walk in, but there is a 15 car pile up and no way to drive around it.  The firemen say the road is really bad.  I turn around, groceries and all and decide to take some trails and come around over the back side.  Can't be worse than where Cappa and I were.
 
I jump on the trail, and see a fire truck right on my ass.  I pull over, let em pass, they get out ahead a bit, stop, and the driver runs back.  He asks where I thought I was going... tells me he don't care, but everything is closed.  I tell him my intended route, and he tells me two of the roads are closed.  Then he tells me that the guy manning the road block wasn't a cop, and had left.  Looked at the Jeep, told me he'd heard that there were accidents all over the road, but with this thing and the 4WD I should be fine.  Then he adds, "at your own risk."
 
LOL, don't have to tell me twice, I was back up the road and through those roadblock signs in a jiffy.  With increasingly worse conditions, cars and trucks on the side of the road, obviously slid there (from their tracks) I'm slowing it down.  From about 4 miles out, I was under 10...I'd been in 4WD since the road closed signs... I started seeing more accidents about 3 miles out from home, and dropped to under 5.
 
At one point, where one of those pics was taken, 4WD wasn't enough and I had to lock the front differential to go forward.  Locked it in and went.  There was a guy with a tractor (in the far distance of the GPS pic) pulling the cars out of the way.  I had a couple big 4WD trucks behind me, we get up to where the traffic (nothing but 4WD trucks, most with chains at this point) is backed up waiting for the tractor to get crap outta the way, I slammed a right at a street sign, not even sure it was a street, no tracks to be seen.  But the GPS had it, so why not?  The two trucks behind me followed without even slowing all the way down.
 
Weave through more trees and stuck soccer-mom mobiles, and I make it home to this scene.  Fortunately I still have electricity, the house is warm and all is good (so far, knock on wood).  Anyway, that's my story from arctic storm watch 2008.

3001- 715 on a two-lane, 55mph highway with no one around.

3005 (lead image)- The view from the driver's seat right after wiping windshield.

3008- Just playing in snow before (or so I thought) heading in for the day. 

3010- getting gas before heading out wheeling...

3013- Red in the White snow.

3015- Red2 in the snow trying to get up a hill (damn eel snot)

3016- Cold cows who thought I was stalking them.

3020- The 5 Freeway South just north of Gorman

3023- One of many wrecked cars within miles of my house.

3024- One of many Oak tree limbs in the middle of the road.

3025- More accidents ahead

3028- Couple accidents, couple abandonments.

3030- The approx max speed I went on the road up the canyon for the last 3 miles

3031- 715 in the center, with Mini (blue YJ) to the left, and the WK Grand on the right.  Neighbors in the street asking if I can pull them out.

3038- Snowfall accumulation.