You learned something valuable about getting stuck in deep snow: check what’s underneath the vehicle FIRST! I live on a private road and we have to plow ourselves. Last year we had over 8 FEET of snow in out subdivision. Over the past 12 years of living here, I learned to look underneath before I make any other attepmts to free the vehicle.

It will save you a LOT of time and aggravation, not to mention busted towing ropes.

And just think, under Obama the Feds will soon start collecting billions more from us in taxes so the Earth will cool down.

Maxx on January 14, 2009 at 10:21 AM

And claiming credit that their program is working because look just how much colder it is in the winter!

The Great Anointed One will “stop the seas from rising”–let him stop the snow from rising! Come on, O Great One, wave a magic wand and give us SUNSPOTS!

But in several years, Hope and Change for frozen Northerners will be on its way, in the form of Natural Gas from Alaska, thanks to the pipeline negotiated by that beautifully ignorant queen of ditzes, Sarah Palin.

At some point on the icy backroads, we skidded at high speed and the car wound up on top of a huge pile of packed snow, leaving the wheels off the ground.

Before we could walk to the nearest sign of civilization, a monster tow truck passed by with 4 hulk-like monsters inside.

They stopped and offered to help. Thinking they’d pull us out, my friend assumed they would hook up to the car’s rear and drag it out.

Instead, 4 guys got out of the tow truck and went to the stranded car. With one guy on each corner, they just lifted the car up with their hands, carried it back onto the road and placed it down.

Don’t try this at home.

I remembered that we were snowed in for a week in SD back in the late 70′s, couldn’t open the front door as the snow reached the second floor of our townhouse. My DH was looking to transfer and said to me: Do you want LA or Ogden, Utah… you guess where we went.

I left CT because I promised myself that I would not live in cold again and the dear AF stationed me in SD.

But today, many CA years later the temp was 85 in the shade. Yippeee!

I live on a rural farmplace and this winter has been a pain in the posterior due to the quantity of snow and the amount of drifting. It seems in the last three weeks, I’ve had to blow the farmyard out every other day – even when we don’t get snow, the darn stuff blkows all over.

This afternoon I was out blowing snow with the garden tractor and broke a belt on the snowblower drive. I did get a 6 foot path done before it croaked. So the vehicles are parked out by the road for the 2 to 5 inches forecasted tonight.

I thought this snow and cold is supposed to keep the riff-raff and wimps out… if that’s the case, why is Franken still here???

Trust me. There are places where you can buy clothing that will keep you warm. It’s just not Target or Walmart.

This winter is not the worst I’ve seen. The winters of 77-78, 83-84 and 95-96 were worse. This cold isn’t fun, but warmer clothing certainly helps!!!

Most Alaskans live in the Anchorage area and thus don’t know the meaning of the word “Winter”. Fairbanks, AK on average isn’t much colder than is northern MN.

Hollowpoint on January 13, 2009 at 9:27 PM

I live in Anchorage and have property in Glennallen, which was -45 as a high.

My place as of 3 weeks or about was -35 (in Anchorage) as I am closer to the mountains. Please don’t freaking patronize me… I don’t know many people who want to live inthe cold for 5 months out of the year.

And people were giving me crap for complaining about -35.. -20 to -15 as the high can kiss my butt. What comes around goes around. And being that it is going to be warmer here then MN… I don’t freaking care, especially when people say I live here and not the lower 48. I don’t choose to live in a liberal States and just because you live down there, then maybe you should try to live up here before giving me crap. At least you can drive 50 miles and get to the next town without worry. Unlike up here.

Try having -15 as a high for 2 weeks. And then talk to me.

WAA

upinak on January 13, 2009 at 6:19 PM

Tomorrow’s predicted high/low temp:

Fairbanks, AK: 18F/16F
Anchorage, AK: 36F/33F
Minneapolis, MN: 0F/-16F

Most Alaskans live in the Anchorage area and thus don’t know the meaning of the word “Winter”. Fairbanks, AK on average isn’t much colder than is northern MN.

Back in my college days (the winter of ’78-’79, I think), we had a stretch of a couple of weeks in which it never got above zero. Being a lot more young and energetic than I am now, the cabin fever finally got to be unbearable. I bundled up, got my sled, and headed with a bunch of guys to the sledding park, which was closed to all sane people because it was fifteen below. We insane people had an absolute blast! The funniest part was that we didn’t even realize we were being filmed, but we ended up being on the local news that night as “the crazy souls who braved the cold at Baird’s Creek.”

Now I’m like you, Ed, and mostly view it from behind glass. But you must admit — it’s a beautiful view. I really do love Wisconsin winters!

It was a clear moonless night and the sky was incredible to look at even though it felt like your eyeballs were about to freeze. I could deal with it on a daily basis but I am glad I don’t have to, to many clothes to wash.

goat on January 13, 2009 at 8:06 PM

Um…that was actually because your eyeballs were, indeed, about to freeze. :-0

I hear all the complaints about the weather this year and it has been brutal in Michigan but I had a few thoughts as I was using the roof rake on the house this morning for the umpteenth time this season…..

How much more terrible did our ancestors have it when they were in the same place in this kind of weather without benefit central heat, pinpoint doppler, or scientifically engineered clothing (i.e. thinsulate instead of wool)?

Did our ancestors declare huge swatches of the nation “uninhabitable” or did they suck it up and deal with the conditions?

Is there anyplace in the US where the extreme cold and snow has actually ground things to a halt this season? None that I can think of unless there is a contributing factor like high winds blacking out thousands of households (as happened in some rural areas around here the week after Christmas).

Aren’t we Americans dealing with the situation far better than those European pansies? Our govermnent and way of life may be going down in flames but it isn’t caused by the weather!

Sometimes I wish we had a YouTube-like “thumb’s up/down” feature just for comments like that. :^)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJUFTm6cJXM

Seriously, I’m glad you and the First Mate finally made it home safely.