Jonas

Last night, I walked 12 blocks to the National Mall through empty, snow-covered streets, past cross country skiers and nightly news crews. When I finally got to the open stretch of grass where, on a normal day, you can see the monuments stretching out in both directions, it took me a minute to get my bearings. It wasn't until, squinting through the white cloud of snowflakes, that I could just make out the faint outline of the Capitol dome to my left.

The 2 mile trip there and back took me 2 hours. In the middle of the storm, a dense blanket of snow surrounded everything on all sides, blocking out all sound and all sights beyond a few hundred feet in each direction. For awhile, the only people I saw either had snow shovels or cameras. I was struck by the novelty of feeling so alone and isolated in a city of thousands. At times, it wasn't much of a stretch to image that it really could be the end of the world. Here are some images from those 2 hours from 5-7pm last night. 

Fighting a losing battle.

Fortitude. 

And so it begins.

Snow clearing on 10th street.

The mountains in the background fit right in. 

The lights make it look warmer than it was.

Standing guard by the Department of Justice.

These lovely people moved here from California. This was their first blizzard but judging from his throwing technique, not their first snowball fight. 

Got within a few feet of these wonderful machine as it brushed the sidewalks clean on the National Mall. 

One of the last cars I saw on the road. 

Skiing with the Capitol dome in the background. 

Cross-country skiing across the National Mall. Somewhere in the background, the Washington Memorial is veiled by the snowfall. 

Sledding on The Hill. 

Snow clearing near the Capitol.

Crews worked constantly to keep snow cleared on the Capitol steps. 

NBC nightly news filming their segment on the storm. 

Sometimes timing works in your favor. 

This was the last person I saw for the next 20 minutes. 

Empty roads and trendy photos.