Blizzard in Washington, D.C.

Today I went out in the blizzard in Silver Spring, Maryland.  I could see, by going outside, how pioneers on the prairies could get lost in the blizzard and not be able to find the town.  Without roads and buildings to frame my reference, I could have gotten disoriented, because I could not see more than a block (and a short block at that).  I had a warm building to retreat to, and didn't have to try to pitch a tent in this weather, or try to start a campfire (which would have probably been impossible).
National Public Radio apparently had the same idea I did.  NPR read some quotes from literature, including one by Laura Ingalls Wilder (best known for Little House on the Prairie/Little House in the Big Woods) from her book The Long Winter.
In searching NPR, I also came across this article which talks about Laura Ingalls Wilder and her life after the events portrayed in the Little House books.  If you read her books, it is an interesting read.