WINTER WHITE--Trip 2

The color would have undoubtedly been spectacular along Interstate 80 in Pennsylvania if we could actually have seen it. Hardwoods still held their leaves, creating a mottled patchwork of yellows and browns that covered the hillsides. But today clouds muted the landscape--big dreary masses, thick sheets of grey, wispy fingers of mist reaching downward--and all of it brought a raw drizzle to dull the world. Even the top of a cell tower near Corsica caught a murky glob of grayish white as it drifted overhead and disappeared in the mist.
Predictions warned of a Nor'easter up the coast for the weekend, a hurricane churned in the Gulf, and snow buried parts of 14-degree Colorado under an all-time early eight inches last night. Here, a few degrees colder and the rain could freeze, but forecasters said sunny, warm and beautiful tomorrow. That's hard to believe. For now, dreary prevailed. The farther east we drove, the harder it rained and the more the temperature dropped.

"It's cold here," said Andy, stepping out at a Pilot station to gas up in Mackeyville, Pennsylvania, "and you don't need to wash the windows."

Sheets of rain spewed across the adjoining roadway and sprayed in white gusts from passing semis. Drops hit the puddles and bounced up in multiple spatters. Fog moved in over the rooftops, blanketing taller trees in ghostly draperies.

White clouds of fog covered the hills around Hazelton. We couldn't see 75 feet from the roadside. "It's even thicker here," said Andy. "Pea soup!"

"No," I corrected. "Clam chowder!"
The temperature in Blakeslee, Pennsylvania, read 45 degrees, but the motel clerk said to expect 29 degrees by morning. "At least the rain has stopped," said Andy, after he checked in. But he spoke too quickly. No sooner had he unloaded the suitcases than the grey skies opened again.
By dinnertime heavy white flakes filled the air. "I can't imagine it will stick," said Andy, "even if the predictions are for a cold morning tomorrow. It's too early to snow. This is still October."

But stick it did, in spite of the warm ground. By 7:00 p.m. White Haven, our Pennsylvania world, truly was white.