The First Winter Storm

I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I had a pretty nice one. My parents spoiled me rotten, which is always fun, I gave away 8 knitted things (ok, 2 things still aren't finished), and got to hang out with my cousin who lives in California and I don't get to see much. It was a nice long weekend.

Work yesterday, the day after Christmas, was busier than I expected. About 37 cars, but they were all tourists. It seemed like everyone was going over the river and through the woods. Traveling home from Christmas, going on a drive in the country, or revisiting old haunts. It was an interesting crowd. Today, on the other hand, with most Christmas visitors home, and most regulars taking the week off, I had 24 cars. That's an all time record low. However, it didn't feel that slow. I was training today, and will again tomorrow. You know how I was super stressed about training last time, cause I didn't know these guys and had to spend 3 days with them? No stress this time, I'm training someone I know! K was the toll taker on the WL ferry, so when I was training, she was often there. It was entertaining, catching up on gossip and hanging out. Also, because she's been on the ferries for a couple years, there's so much less I need to teach her, she's already familiar with it all.

In other news, we've got our first rainy winter storm heading this way. So far, this December has been the driest on record. The river looks as low as it does in the summer. It's bizarre. Earlier this month, we were up around 12 feet. Right now? 5.5 feet. But that's not going to last. This is the river level forecast for the next handful of days:

In a nutshell, the river is going up about a foot and a half tomorrow. And that's a pretty major jump for a single day. But that's nothing. On Thursday, the river is projected to jump from 7.5 to 15.5 feet! That's CRAZYNESS! Pure insanity. I'm so so so glad I'm not working on Thursday. I'd be totally stressed. I don't know if we'll end up closing the boat. The WL usually closes when the river hits 15.5 or so. Nobody really knows what the BV will do, what it can handle. Maybe it'll close before the WL. Maybe it won't close at all. If the BV does what the WL does, and the forecasts are correct, we'd be closed on Sunday. Which I don't totally mind. It's a holiday anyway, so I'd get paid either way. Though if I work the 1st, I get paid double-time, holiday pay.

I don't know what'll end up happening. We'll have to wait and see. Right now, it's pouring, and the wind is blowing everything around. I'm glad I'm not down there right now. It's sort of stressy feeling, in the dark, pouring rain, gusty wind, knowing the river is climbing, hearing the speeding river splash against the side of the boat.