Overnight closures continue, but 8 hour daytime closure scheduled for Tuesday, April 3rd. Also up to hour delays in daylight hours are anticipated the rest of the week.

Be careful out there, we could have more slides after today’s rain. There are several unstable spots down here, I’ve noticed.

CALTRANS PRESS RELEASE
Today’s Date: Friday, March 30, 2012 @ 4:30 pm
District: 5 – Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, Monterey, Santa Cruz and San Benito Counties
Contact: Susana Z Cruz (Bilingual) or Colin Jones
Phone: (805) 549-3138 or (805) 549-3189
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

HIGHWAY 1/CARMEL TO CAMBRIA ROADWAY- UPDATE #5

DEMOLITION WORK TO CLOSE HIGHWAY 1 FOR 8-HOUR PERIOD ON TUESDAY

MONTEREY COUNTY — Hwy. 1 at Pitkins Curve/Rain Rocks (Mile Marker 21.3), about 25 miles south of Big Sur, will be shut down from 8 am until 4 pm on Tuesday, April 3 for crane and demolition repair work, Caltrans officials today announced.

No vehicles will be allowed through the construction zone during this 8-hour period. Alternate routes in and out of Big Sur are Highways 68, 101, 46 and Nacimiento-Fergusson Road.

In addition, three more days of major repair and roadwork from Wednesday, April 4 until Friday, April 6 between 8 am and 4 pm will result in traffic delays up to one-hour in duration. One-way traffic control with flaggers will be in effect.

The highway remains closed overnight from 8 pm until 7 am daily between Limekiln Creek and Lucia until further notice.

The steep hillside remains unstable. Inspection and removal of unstable rock continues.

Hwy. 1 was closed on March 28 at 9 am in both directions at Pitkins/Rain Rocks (MM 21.3), 25 miles south of Big Sur due to a large boulder and debris that came down just south of the ongoing rock shed project.

All businesses in the area remain open.

So far, only a few drizzles this morning. I did have a report of a slide resulting in one land closed yesterday, just north of last year’s slide at Alder Creek. In checking in with online and phone sources, it does not seem to be a problem today. With the rain expected later today, and through tomorrow, rocks, mud, and other dangerous conditions may come to Highway One, so be very careful. This next week brings more rain, and long-range predictions are for very unsettled weather the first week of April, also. I’ll update this with the current NOAA forecast discussion, when it is released later today.

As I said a day or two ago, these are probably the last announcements to go on the front page, and I’ve already started to post USFS press releases on that page, and announcements, while they might be mentioned here, will shortly all go to the announcement page to the right. This happens every year when we get into spring and more and more events are planned. But these two deserve mentioning.

Celebrate the coming of Earth Day in Big Sur with dinner and a great movie, Thursday, April 5 at 6:30pm.
Members of B-SAGE (Big Sur Advocates for a Green Environment), who’s mission is to “Educate ourselves and others on living a sustainable lifestyle,” and the Big Sur Grange are showing the Hope Dance film, 2012: A Time for Change on Thursday, April 5, at the Big Sur Grange in Big Sur Valley. This film’s theme; From Conscious Evolution to Practical Solutions, presents an optimistic alternative to apocalyptic doom and gloom and will be introduced by Bob Banner, founder of Hope Dance Films.
The monthly Grange potluck will be at 6:30 p.m. Bring a dish to share and your own place setting. The movie will start at 7:00 and a $10.00 donation is requested for the movie, however no one will be turned away. Come out to visit and enjoy this intriguing movie.
Also, on April 21st and 22nd, Big Sur businesses and organizations will be offering special promotions and profiling their sustainable practices for the Earth Day Weekend Celebration. Watch local media outlets for more information, contact B-SAGE at: http://www.facebook.com/BSAGEbuzz or phone 831.667.8823.
Dinner and a great movie-Thursday, April 5, 2012. Potluck dinner at Big Sur Grange, Hwy 1, Big Sur, 6:30. Movie at 7:00. $10.00.
****************************************************************************************************
From Pacific Valley School PTO:
If you know anyone that would be interested in signing up for a booth space please forward this to them.
This years’ Spring Tide Arts and Crafts Festival will be held April 21, 2012. 10 am to 6 pm
Vendor set-up will be from 8 am to 10 am the day of the event.

The Festival is sponsored by the Pacific Valley Parent Teacher Organization and held outdoors at Pacific Valley School. This years proceeds will fund a grant to be awarded to Scholar/Athletes Fiona and Lily Buzzard to further their volleyball education and activities.

Registration fees to reserve a 10’ x 10’ space are $50 before April 12. Fees will increase to $65 the week prior to the event.

Checks should be made out to Pacific Valley PTO and mailed to:

Spring Tide Festival
HC 67 BOX 1796
Big Sur, CA 93920 … or hand delivered to the school office

Any questions should be directed to springtide@wildblue.net

Wow, what a day this has been! Not only am I not “feeding the fire” I am sitting with several doors and windows open. Talk about confusing the flowers! Unbelievably clear and blue – with snow melted in all but the shadiest of north-facing spots. There is still snow on Cone Peak, but its level creeps upward throughout the day. What a wonderful way to spend the first full day of Spring – watching the snow on Cone Peak recede. Hope your day was as pleasant.

And here, finally, is this morning’s view of Cone Peak. Isn’t she lovely?

I’ve decided that raising a fire is about as attention-demanding as raising a puppy. Don’t get me wrong. I love, love, LOVE my wood stove. Never want to be without it, any more than I want to be without my dogs. But I have to tell you, I’ve done little else but take care of it the last few days. I started a fire on Thursday, and it hasn’t gone out, yet. Yes, it has been that cold up here. Freezing temps, which is kind of necessary to produce all the lovely snow. It’s a good thing for me that for some inexplicable reason, cutting wood is one of Rock Knocker’s favorite pastimes … right behind eating and you-know-what. Whenever he can, he just loves to cut wood. Fortunately for me, I have lots of downed dead oak limbs, from various wind storms, and some dead madrone, and sundry other available sources of joy for him. No live trees are ever harmed in pursuing his passion. He wouldn’t dare. He knows these Valley Oaks are my living relatives. Pine … not so much. But pine is not good for wood stoves. They serve only three purposes, as far as I can tell. One, lovely pinecones; two, nice smell; three, they go up like Roman candles in a wildfire.

And on a slightly different note: “The vernal equinox will occur 10:14 p.m. tonight, marking the start of spring. Ironically, the region experienced some of the most unsettled weather of the winter this weekend with widespread hail, heavy rain, gale force winds and reports of snow.” (This from my weatherman in San Luis Obispo.) I guess I will see my first Spring snow, a week after I saw my first Winter snow! He also had this to say: “Another cold front will pass the Central Coast on Saturday with rain and more unsettled weather. Rain will turn to showers on Sunday with snow levels dropping to about 3,000-feet.”

Okay, that’s today’s post. I may add a lovely photo of Cone Peak bathed in snow later, as the sun is shining, and I got a couple shots off while it is. I have a couple announcements, but soon, I will have to move them to the announcement page, as the number of requests I am getting is going up as tourist season approaches. Time to go feed the fire, again.

At 11:00 am it started to snow, again. I imagine it will be like this all day. Nice day to do practically nothing!

I am snowed in, happily, and it is a gorgeous winter wonderland here. I have photos, and as soon as I have power, I will upload them. Give me an hour, so I can get the fire going, the dogs taken care of, and a few cups of coffee sucked down. So beautiful!

Here’s one:

It is not the best photo, as I had to shoot through the sliding glass door, as it was frozen shut. Also, this was the one and only moment of sunshine. I am socked in at the moment.

Here is another, more to come:

Here is the current NOAA forecast discussion for this morning:

AS OF 9:15 AM PDT SUNDAY…COLD SHOWERY CONDITIONS CONTINUE ACROSS PORTIONS OF THE CWA TODAY. RADAR SHOWS POCKETS OF ACTIVITY MOSTLY OVER THE SOUTHERN HALF OF THE CWA. WE HAV RECEIVED A FEW REPORTS OF SMALL HAIL AND EVEN SNOW ACCUMULATION JUST UNDER 1500 FEET. DID ISSUE A FORECAST UPDATE TO DROP THE SNOW LEVELS AND INCREASE BOTH SNOWFALL TOTALS AND COVERAGE FOR SNOW. DID ALSO UPDATE THE WINDS TO REFLECT THE BLUSTERY CONDITIONS OVER THE HILLS AND ALONG THE COAST. WITH 925 MB SPEEDS FORECAST TO PEAK LATE THIS MORNING AND GRADUALLY DISSIPATE INTO THE EVENING…WOULD EXPECT THE STRONGEST WINDS TO BE OVER THE NEXT 5-8 HOURS. SHOWER ACTIVITY SHOULD ALSO BE ON THE DECREASE THROUGH THE DAY AS NVA MOVES INTO OUR AREA. STILL SOME INSTABILITY AROUND (POCKETS OF LIFTED VALUES AT OR BELOW ZERO) SO WILL KEEP A MENTION OF SCATTERED SHOWERS GOING THIS AFTERNOON.

7:30 pm – the snow has finally accumulated but it is too dark to get a decent photo. If it keeps up, I’ll be sure to post one in the morning.

4:00 pm – seems to be a break in the weather. The sky is lighter, it isn’t raining or snowing, but there is still wind. Snow still accumulated on my Jeep, and north-facing areas, but the rest is pretty much clear.

2:00 pm – the snow started in earnest, and accumulation is occurring. Wind is up to 25 mph, gusting above that, outside temperature is 33 degrees. The snow flakes are quarter-sized to half-dollar sized, now. Maybe before dark, I can get a really nice photo. But here is a 2 o’clock shot. Wow, now at 2:30 pm, it is really coming down. Tomorrow morning should be spectacular, if not later this afternoon!

Noon – finally, all my morning chores are done and I am settled in for the day. While I was out, taking care of power, it started slushing – combination of rain and snow. Thank goodness I had put on this hooded rain jacket the wonderful guys at NOAA in Monterey had given me, and the wool gloves and hat I got in New Zealand.

This is my favorite spot in the house, today or any cold day. My friend Vilia (click on her name to go to her personal website) found that wonderful old oak rocking chair for me, and it is getting a lot of use lately!

It just might be time to get my book and sit in front of the fire for a while.

10:00 am – First, lots of comments coming in on the photo contest finalists below, so make sure to add your voice.

Second, it looks like I got about 3 and 1/2 inches of rain yesterday and last night – I’ll update this later, when I go outside to dump the gauge, as I am going on a visual from the front door right now.

Third, I had the beginnings of snow when I checked at 9:30 am, and then again at 10:00 am. I’ll be watching for the accumulation, of course, but that hasn’t really began, yet.

Last, I am trying to get my fire going, having some coffee, and then I’ll be braving the elements to get the genie started for the day (cant wait to install solar) so I can get internet more reliably and report as needed throughout the day. I checked the CHP site, and no reports of problems on Highway One in Big Sur, although one problem in Santa Cruz and one in King City. I’ll keep an eye out once my chores are finished. Have a great St. Patrick’s Day, everyone, and be safe and warm. Now to get the wood stove stoked up a tad.