This winter in Laramie has been cold and long. Just last week the temperature dipped to 38° below zero with a wind chill of -61°. I know many people whose water pipes froze and cars would not start. Our car did start—but while my wife was going to the library with our kids, the power steering went out. When she called me for help, I told her to just take the car right to the mechanic. (One nice thing about working at Handel Information Technologies is that it is directly across the street from my mechanic.) As she pulled up to the station, I got on my coat to go over to look at the car. Immediately when I stepped outside, my nose froze. If any of you have had this happen to you, you know it is a very strange sensation. I have always told people it isn’t cold until your nose freezes, and now I’ve experienced it!
As I walked up to the car the mechanic opened our hood and we saw power steering fluid splattered all over the engine. The power steering cable had blown off. My mechanic explained that the cold had caused the power steering fluid to thicken so much that when it tried to push through the pipe, the pressure was too strong and caused the pipe to explode off. This is the first time I have had that happen. Now I know it is better to allow my car to warm up for a good amount of time before I drive off.
I’ve been wondering how the animals survive outside in this kind of weather, and I had an interesting conversation the other day with one of my co-workers. Although I’m sure some of the deer and pronghorn do perish if they are sickly or can’t find food or water, but I found out they have very thick skin and coats. They have hair that is hollow which creates insulation on top of their thick skin. (Too bad I don’t have that kind in my nose!)
Today it has warmed up and is actually only -2 degrees outside. This is a lot better than -38°. It is amazing to have the temperature fluctuate as much as it does here in Laramie. Such low temperatures can cause hypothermia within 15 minutes, so this time of year you just have to be prepared for change. The day before the “deep freeze” the temperature was 32 degrees. That means the temperature fluctuated 70 degrees in less than 24 hours. As I have heard people say: “If you don’t like the weather in Laramie, just wait a minute!” But other than our week or two of a deep freeze, Laramie is a fantastic community and I would not trade it for anything.