The Very Good Reason a Father Walked Six Miles Through the Snow and Ice That Crippled Atlanta

When he learned his 5-year-old daughter was among 100 stranded students at an Atlanta elementary school during this week's storm, Mark Nilson knew that wouldn't do.

The snow and ice that crippled the region ground traffic to a halt and forced many to take shelter wherever they could find it. For E. Rivers Elementary, that meant students spending Tuesday night sleeping on the gymnasium floor.

But Nilson decided that if his kindergartner, Elizabeth, couldn't come home that night, he'd go to her.

Image source: WGCL-TV

The only problem, of course, was that Nilson was just as stranded at home as the students were at school.

Nilson had a solution, though — one that didn't involve much more than sufficient layers on his body, a spare blanket, and a determined pair of feet.

He set off to the school on foot, Atlanta's WGCL-TV reorted. A full six miles later, Nilson and his little girl were together again.

The happy dad had nothing but praise for the elementary school staff, who commandeered popcorn, pizza, and movies for Elizabeth and her fellow students in honor of their unexpected "snow-cation."

"The teachers are incredible," Nilson told WGCL. "They made sure students were safe and comfortable."

Elizabeth, holding tightly to her dad, said how excited she was to dig into "a whole bag" of Goldfish crackers as well.

School principal Mark Rogers summed it up for all concerned: "I'm tired, we're tired, but we're having fun with it."