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Posted By Katie On October 7, 2013 8 Comments

Stuck in Snow in South Dakota

Filed Under: Motivated Moms Tagged With: working mom 8 Comments

I drove last Thursday 362 miles from my prairie home in North Dakota to the Black Hills of South Dakota to speak at a conference of the South Dakota Rural Women of Agriculture. I was going to speak first thing in the morning and then hit the road again to drive 185 miles north to speak at another conference, Rural Women In America. 

But instead we lost power in the middle of the night in the Black Hills and it started to snow. And snow. And snow. Record-breaking snow. I spent a few days snowed in at K Bar S Lodge in the Black Hills near Keystone, South Dakota. I have many stories to share and memories that will last a lifetime. I have amazing new friendships and a few sore muscles from shoveling. 

But more than anything, my heart and stomach aches tonight for the ranchers that lost their livestock in this sudden storm. I have tried to type and share with you my funny stories all day. Like what it is like to be in a dark, powerless lodge with 50 rural women, two husbands of the rural women, one male conference speaker, six lodge employees and 105 elderly, out-of-state tourists. Oh the stories we can tell. 

But the images of driving out of Rapid City late Sunday afternoon finally heading east on the just opened roads of I-90 and seeing the dead cows and calves in the median, along railroad tracks, next to fence lines and highway signs, I have lost my storytelling ability today. It is just too heartbreaking for today. You can read about why the cattle were in fall pastures yet and not brought closer to home in this Rapid City Journal article.

I will add context and stories to photos within in the next few days. For now here are a few snapshots out of my camera…look closely and you will see President George Washington on Mt. Rushmore. One out-of-state tourists, who charged her phone in my car, was so upset her tour group didn’t get to see Mt. Rushmore because of the government shutdown. With the way the guards and police were surrounding it, she suggested President Obama just throw a tarp over it so none of us could see it. Needless to say, President Obama didn’t show up to do that during the blizzard. So I still photographed Washington, wondering what he would have to say in all the chaos. 

South Dakota October 2013 Blizzard

Katie Pinke, SD Rural Women of Ag K Bar S Lodge Mt. Rushmore October 4, 2013 Keystone SD Snow Survival Snow in South Dakota 2013 Snowed in K Bar S Lodge October 5, 2013 October 4, 2013 George Washington at Mt. Rushmore Digging out Snap up the snowy moments Feeding a lodge full without power K Bar S Lodge without powerPlease pray for South Dakota ranch communities and families during this time. The storm created inconvenience in my life but built new friendships and we were safe and fed. What ranchers are going through is the real tragedy and I hurt for them. 

Until I have more words…I am off to take a hot shower with lights on in the bathroom, dry my hair and sleep in my cozy bed in my heated home, all things I took for granted until I went without them all for a few days while stuck in snow in South Dakota.

 

 

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Previous Post: « Learning To Not Be Everything to Everyone
Next Post: Don’t put a tarp over it. Donate and Rally for Ranchers. »

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  1. South Dakota Blizzard leaves devastation for ranchers | Agriculture Proud says:
    October 10, 2013 at 5:54 am

    […] Katie Pinke: Stuck in Snow in South Dakota […]

    Reply
  2. Don’t put a tarp over it. Donate and Rally for Ranchers. says:
    October 11, 2013 at 6:03 am

    […] I was stuck in snow in South Dakota last weekend, in the storm that is now termed Storm Atlas, a woman named Pam from Florida charged […]

    Reply
  3. Don’t Put A Tarp Over It. Donate And Rally For Ranchers. says:
    October 16, 2013 at 9:50 am

    […] I was stuck in snow in South Dakota last weekend, in the storm that is now termed Storm Atlas, a woman named Pam from Florida charged […]

    Reply
  4. Don’t Put A Tarp Over It. Donate And Rally For Ranchers. | Reputation Forward says:
    October 16, 2013 at 9:59 am

    […] I was stuck in snow in South Dakota last weekend, in the storm that is now termed Storm Atlas, a woman named Pam from Florida charged […]

    Reply
  5. An Immigrant for #WomenInAg: Meet Olga Reuvekamp, South Dakota Dairy Farmer says:
    November 9, 2013 at 7:30 am

    […] ago that Olga Reuvekamp and I were speaking at the same women’s conference when we all became stranded together during an early fall blizzard which what was later termed Storm Atlas in western South Dakota. […]

    Reply
  6. Meet Olga Reuvekamp, South Dakota Dairy Farmer | CommonGround North Dakota says:
    March 3, 2014 at 9:42 am

    […] ago that Olga Reuvekamp and I were speaking at the same women’s conference when we all became stranded together during an early fall blizzard which what was later termed Storm Atlas in western South […]

    Reply
  7. Women in Ag: South Dakota’s Positively Passionate Amy Pravecek says:
    November 12, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    […] you remember hearing about Storm Atlas in South Dakota just over a year ago? I was stuck in the snow in South Dakota for a few days in the Black Hills during that storm with fabulous South Dakota rural and ag women […]

    Reply
  8. South Dakota’s Agri-Cultured Artist, Jodene Shaw (& Giveaway Surprise) says:
    November 19, 2014 at 11:56 pm

    […] ranch. She shares her talents through classes and by selling her work. I met Jodi in 2013 while stranded in Storm Atlas in western South Dakota during the South Dakota Rural Women’s conference. She […]

    Reply

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I am a mom of three kids and a wife to Nathan. Together we live on the North Dakota prairie, 97 miles from a Starbuck's. I share about family, food, farming and the prairie that I love. I used to commute 98 miles one-way to work but it required too much coffee. So now I am home, consulting, speaking, writing and primarily, juggling family life.
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