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Cold temperatures have kept Albuquerque dusted since last weekend's record snowfall. As of Tuesday, Alvarado Street Northeast was still packed with snow and ice.

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Some people fought icy roads, roughed it in power-cut homes or scraped shovels along sidewalks.

Sarah Dolk, on the other hand, spent the weekend learning a new game with three Texans stranded at her Albuquerque bed and breakfast.

"We played Mahjong all day Saturday, all day Sunday, all day last Friday," said Dolk, owner of Adobe Nido Bed and Breakfast at 1124 Major Ave. N.W. "We couldn't have been stuck with more perfect guests."

In 30 years of living in Albuquerque, Dolk has never seen it snow like it did over the weekend.

It was enough for two parties to cancel their reservations, but that didn't mean empty rooms. The Texans - Dallas residents charmed enough by the snow to shovel piles of it at the bed and breakfast - left Monday, and another woman won't be flying home until Friday, Dolk said.

"They were so excited about being stuck in the snow that they volunteered to do all the snow shoveling," she said. "I have a picture."

Dolk wasn't the only one with a bit of oddity falling into her life along with the snowflakes.

Forget the shovel

At United Rentals, all 25 tractors and dump trucks for rent were snatched up by 7:30 a.m. Tuesday.

"Anything that can move snow is gone," said Becky Johnson, assistant manager of the business at 2800 University Blvd. N.E. "I've lived in Albuquerque for six or seven years, and I've never seen it snow like this."

Most of the rentals went to businesses or apartment complexes with parking lots to clear, she said. The cost ranges from $120 a day for the smaller tractors to $400 a day for the biggest earth mover-turned-snowplow, she said. Some people called hoping to rent snow shovels and snow blowers, which the business does not carry.

"With the snow, a lot of our normal equipment hasn't been able to go out," she said. "This has helped tremendously. I'm sure once it starts melting off, we'll start renting water pumps, too."

Dude, where's my car dealership?

Dec. 26 through Dec. 31 was supposed to be the busiest time of the year for Karl Malone Toyota, but icy roads and a snow-jammed parking lot cut into sales by about 50 cars, said Ernest Riach, general manager of the dealership at 10401 Copper Ave. N.E.

"We were closed for the first time on Saturday during our busiest week of the year," he said, noting the six-day period typically brings in 120 to 150 car sales. "We just weren't prepared for it."

In the future, he's considering buying a four-wheel-drive truck and outfitting it with a plow to clear the dealership's parking lot.

For now, he's renting a small tractor, commonly called a Bobcat. Riach is also extending specials at the dealership to make up for the loss, which wasn't big enough to prevent sales from surpassing last year's.

"It's a big deal, but we still beat last year," he said. "We could have really had a big, big month."

A lot of lot

Sandia National Laboratories shut down for the most part Saturday and sent employees home earlier than usual Tuesday so crews could clear snow and ice off the institution's 185 acres - about 140 football fields - of parking lot and sidewalks.

"This is by far the biggest snow storm in many years," said Chris Burroughs, media relations specialist with the labs. "It has taken a tremendous effort on Sandia's part to get all this cleared up."

About half of the parking spaces were clear Tuesday, with 75 percent expected to be ready this morning as the labs resume regular hours, she said.

The lab hired contractors to help with the work, and plan on finishing up today. Sending employees home by 3 p.m. Tuesday, Burroughs said, cleared the parking lots of cars and eased the crews' access.

"The main concern is making sure the sidewalks and the streets are clear so people aren't going to fall and hurt themselves," she said.

Snow special?

Over the weekend, about a dozen people called the city's 311 number to complain about being overcharged for their hotel or motel rooms, said city attorney Bob White.

"It's just one of the many things we look at as a result of the unprecedented storm we had," White said. "The city is concerned that when we've got a crisis like this, we don't want to take unfair advantage of the travelers going through the city."

Two complaints had enough substance to warrant an investigation that will start in the next couple of days as the city works with the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, he said. Those complaints say some lodging providers doubled or tripled their rates during the storm-hit weekend.

White said hotel and motel owners can change their rates, but to do so due to a storm goes against the state's unfair practices act.

The hot line to hear price-gouging complaints was set up Saturday after the Mayor's Office received phone calls from people concerned about their room charges, he said.

On ice

United Blood Services normally stores three or four days worth of blood to supply health centers around the state, but inclement weather has shrunk the stockpile to one day's worth.

"We're concerned our blood supply is not going to see us through the week," said Michele Moore, spokeswoman with the blood-collecting nonprofit at 1515 University Blvd. N.E. "This has been a little scary."

Several blood drives were canceled this weekend, and the group's Albuquerque center closed Saturday, she said. Other blood-collecting centers across the state were affected by the weather as well.

If the supply gets too low, she said other United Blood Services centers around the country would be tapped.

To make up for the loss, blood-donation centers in Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Rio Rancho will be staying open additional hours this week and weekend.

Moore also encourages people to donate at the blood drive being held Thursday at the Hyatt Regency, 330 Tijeras Ave. N.W. It will last from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

You can also call 843-6227 to arrange a donation time or visit www.unitedbloodservices.org for more information.

Digging out

On Tuesday, Harold Dominguez got so many phone calls from people looking for help with moving snow that he couldn't count them any more.

That followed 210 calls Monday, and Dominguez says his 31-year-old business, Harold's Grading and Trucking, is booming.

"We've never had this much snow," he said, talking on his cell phone while maneuvering a backhoe through 3 feet of snow in the Placitas area. Dominguez was called there by man looking to clear the road to his home so he could get out. (The man had food, water, heat and a phone.)

"I'm trying to dig this man out," he said. "There's some other people down below. A vehicle slid off the road there."

Dominguez's business has also been hired to clear parking lots of restaurants and grocery stores. The charge comes to $65 an hour for the backhoe, or $55 an hour for a smaller Bobcat.

"I'm 61 years old and I've never had this much snow," he said.

Drip, drip, drip

Most of the calls to Goodrich Roofing Co. haven't been for damaged roofs, but for piled-up snow melting into ventilation pipes typically leading to bathrooms and kitchens, said Nick Sanchez, manager of the business at 3401 Vassar Dr. N.E.

"Usually January's a little bit slow, but the snowstorm caused quite a few calls," he said. "I've never seen anything like that. Usually we'll get snow at night and by noon, it's gone. Here we are four days later and it's still here."

He said 250 calls came in Tuesday. That's the number of calls the business typically gets during the monsoon season. Twenty is the average for a winter day.

"We've never had this many," he said.

Other calls have concerned water getting into cracked stucco and freezing, expanding the crack and worsening the problem. Some concerns have been more standard: a sagging, water-logged section of roof needing a fix. He noted ice can make the work more dangerous, but his employees haven't been hurt yet.

Enough customers have called to create a backlog, but Sanchez said all of his clients are being very patient.

"We just need the weather to cooperate and dry out a little," he said, "and we'll get them taken care of."