My first reaction to the Sunday snow was purely the kid in me coming out. I pulled on my boots and coat and went racing into my yard to celebrate. My neighbors must have thought I was off my rocker because I jumped around for a little while, enjoying the chilly air and catching snow on my tongue, generally making an idiot of myself.

As soon as that was done, I went back inside and the adult took over. How was I going to get to work? A born and bred Pacific Northwesterner, I had never driven in the snow before.

By Tuesday evening, I was thrilled with myself for getting to work and back with relative ease. On Wednesday, my editor asked for some coverage of the roads, and I started making calls.

Upon contacting the Kitsap County Public Works office, I found my next adventure. Doug Bear, the public works information supervisor, asked if I would enjoy going for a snowplow ride later that day. Boy, you bet I would! The kid in me emerged again.

I called Paul Woods, the North District supervisor, and soon had my trip planned out. I met up with snowplow driver Dennis Thorne, a 15-year veteran, and I was on my way, the little kid in my jumping up and down with excitement the whole way.

While I looked around the cab, fascinated by the buttons and levers, Dennis put the truck in gear and delicately, –more so than I would have imagined– maneuvered around some pots outside of Henery’s Hardware. We headed up towards Hansville, where I had not dared venture since I heard it had basically turned into an ice rink on Monday afternoon.

The truck, by description, sounded more like Megatron or Optimus Prime (Transformers) than a vehicle used by the county. This particular truck could be used in four different ways; Wednesday it was a snowplow and sanding truck.

As we drove through Hansville — though not a complete ice rink, was still pretty icy — I noticed several people waving at Dennis, thanking him from their cars. Dennis said that’s why he does his job, to know that people are getting taken care of. He does other jobs for the county throughout the year as well, but when he’s snowplowing he sees his job paying off right away.

It was a beautiful drive, especially since I felt pretty safe with my mode of transportation, and I enjoyed the snowy view of Hansville.

Though I was expecting a bit of a slippery ride, with a little sliding around, I was disappointed. Dennis was an excellent driver, and we didn’t skid once. I arrived back at my minivan safely and wondering if Dennis was available to drive me to work in the morning. Sadly no, he had his own job to do, but I realized the only way to travel in a winter storm is by snowplow.