Survived the Hurricane

I own an inn on the south side of the valley and couldn't get through to my innkeeper, so I ventured out yesterday. It's usually a fifteen minute drive but it took more than two hours to get there, finding road after road washed out, plus a couple of detours to take pictures of damage and rescue a snapping turtle I found high and dry (who thanked me by stinking up my hands). The good news is that the inn is fine, and the two main bridges, plus the foot bridge all survived. One minor leak that developed in the ceiling.

It took me over an hour to get back, but I think they'll be able to get the main route open again in a couple of days. There's one main bridge that is blocked off as unsafe that gets us out of the valley going north, but once they repair the road heading up over the hill to our northwest, there will be an alternate. I saw a lot of damage, though, including some really old houses getting basements pumped and a few knocked right off their foundations. Really sad.

Another positive is the amount of community spirit in the north country. People have joined together to pass along information and have joined together to participate in the cleanup, as well as setting up community funds to help those who have suffered losses in the storm.