Collecting Onyx In A Blizzard

I was shocked when I opened my front door well before dark to see lots of snow coming down the morning of the 9th.  Where did all this come from?  I was headed down to the Mojave area to visit the Sierra Pelona club's onyx site, and this weather was gonna make things more interesting.
   I headed out on the 30+ miles down thru the mountains to the 14.  From my place I have to climb up and over Walker Pass, and the higher I drove, the heavier the snow was falling.  I made it over the Pass, but seriously, I just barely made it.
   To my surprise the snow kept coming down. Surely, I thought, it's gonna stop after I drop down out of Red Rock Canyon, but nope, it snowed all the way to Mojave, where the snow was actually sticking to the street signs!
   Out by the collecting site it was snowing just as hard but not sticking, so the dirt portion of the road was okay.  I spent three hours in the hole digging out and breaking up some onyx, and was happy for the warmth of the Suzuki when all was done. 
   The return trip was much calmer, no snow until I headed back up towards Walker Pass.  There was snow on the ground, but Cal Trans had spread alot of sand, so it wasn't too slippery.  A nice close productive trip.