Winter driving & the internet..

[Snowdance38]

The computer and internet have changed our driving a lot.. We live in an area with few people.. When we want some thing from the store like every one we just need to go there but in our case it may be 100 miles away and over several Mt. passes..

Today my wife wants some new boots.. Best place to buy boots around here is at the Big R (Farm store) in Klamath Falls Oregon. So here is what I do to figure if and how we can get there..

1st.. Check the weather.. so I click on Yreka at.. http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/mfr/
I can also check the weather in Klamath Falls and any place between..

2nd.. I check the California road conditions and Road cams.. But the road cams only work during the daylight hours as they are sun powered and the batterys often do not last all night in winter.. I would check the cams along I-5 south to Weed then 97 north to Oregon.. Also I could click on the tire with chains in the upper right to see what is needed for the trip as far as chains ect....
http://www.dot.ca.gov/dist2/cctv/traffic_cams.shtml

3rd.. I will also check the Oregon road conditions.. While this map will also show me the California cams it will not show me the conditions.. But it does show me the Oregon conditions and cams.. So perhaps I may want to go to Ashland oregon and then east to Klamath Falls on 66.. Click on Ashland..

http://www.oregonlive.com/roadreport....ssf?statewide

Hummm.. Guess not this morning.. Snowing on the Siskiyou pass and there is a warning at Greensprings .. So guess I will go to Weed and take 97..

Now I will load winter gear in the car.. Two sleeping bags, Heavy coats, gloves and a blanket.. Snacks and at least a gallon of water.. And on the way out of town I will fill the car with fuel.. Today we are running winter traction tires with steel studs.. and the tire chains are in the trunk.. Looks like we are ready to run down to the store..

We have been stranded out there on a road because of accidents or snow and sit for 20 hours.. If you are lucky the local Search and Rescue will come by on snowmobiles and check that you have fuel and such to stay warm.. They will not take you out unless you are ill and need medical help but will keep tabs on you and will bring fuel to keep your car running so you can stay warm..

Odds are its not like running down to the store for most of you..

[sirandyb]

definitely a bit different here. can get a shop 1 minute drive and a supermarket in 5. no matter where you break down you are usually no further than 1 hour walk from a pub . lol. not to mention when theres real heavy snow its only ever 3-4 inches deep and lasts a few days maybe a week altogether, the rest of the time it just rains and gets cold!
Good old Ireland

[Marc97]

Nothing like that in sunny Oldham LOL.
Would E-Bay not be easier for you?

[Snowdance38]

See what you miss not living in the US Northwest.. We did have a nice ride both ways.. Had a great lunch at a Western BBQ house..

Weather was nice both ways.. Saw a large herd of Elk and herd of Antelope, and a lot of deer. But we have deer living in the yard so no big deal.. Did stop at the rest stop at Grass Lake and watched a Bob Cat stocking some ground Squirrels. He did get one so had dinner..

Also our trip takes us past tulelake, a large lake area thats not deep so it has lots of water fowl.. Saw lots of ducks, geese and other birds.. And of course the eagles hang out because the pickings easy with all the other birds there..

My wife tryed on lots of boots.. Ended up getting a pair of Tony Lama boots.. They are hand made and usaly last well.. The trouble with buying boots over the internet is sizes are not the same between the makers.. And some times two pairs of boots made by the same company in the same size will not fit the same.. Well she is happy.. And when she is happy life is easy.. Grin..

[MalcQV]

Bit different for us. May check for roadworks etc before a trip, but no more than that.

Guess everything in the UK is so much closer together.

Pictures look great.

[Snowdance38]

I was in England back in the mid 50's.. I looked up family..

The thing I notice most coming from an area with few people and many miles between towns.. Was that you seemed to just leave one and you were in the next.. I liked it there ... But missed the wide open country we have here.. Guess it all depends on what you grow up with.. Here we can still drive 300 miles and see 8 or 10 cars.. As long as we stay off the highways..

[MalcQV]

I was in England back in the mid 50's.. I looked up family..

The thing I notice most coming from an area with few people and many miles between towns.. Was that you seemed to just leave one and you were in the next.. I liked it there ... But missed the wide open country we have here.. Guess it all depends on what you grow up with.. Here we can still drive 300 miles and see 8 or 10 cars.. As long as we stay off the highways..

We visit Florida on a regular basis however we went to Dallas last year to visit family. I know what you mean about being vast open space between towns. My wife's cousin (from Dallas) visited the UK some years ago, he would mention the same thing, basically confused as to how we knew we were in another town.

When you get out the suburbs there are open spaces and we have some fantastic countryside in the UK, as for driving 300 miles and seeing 8 - 10 cars well we can dream.

[adamss24]

My friend, you dont wanna know how enjoyable is for londoners is to get stuck in traffic- the only time they may look one at another !, you will really miss the crowded motorways(what motorways !?), i ask myself how they can call Metropola a bunch of villages? I wanna emigrate to New Zeeland or Canada in a few years time as I AM FED UP with increasing council tax, road tax, petrol prices and any other means designed to rip people off. And if you see the kind of houses they sell overhere- designed and built 100 years ago and with an asking price i could buy a whole castle in east europe - man you dont wanna know. You are verry lucky to live the kind of life you live !

[Snowdance38]

I like Canada.. We have been there many times over the years.. However its really like the US as far as weather.. The west coast to the first range of Mt's is not to bad in winter.. East of that to the Rockies its winter but does not come to early and leaves in a few months.. However get east of the Rockies and its winter a long time.. What snow falls in November will be there in April..

We like Vancover Island best.. Great weather and large enough to be out by your self..

New Zeeland is some place I have always wanted to go.. But odds are that this time in my life I will never make it..

[Snowdance38]

Another thing about being over there and Spending 3 years in Germany and traveling that I really noticed was for us to drive 300 or 500 miles a day is common.. But much shorter trips seemed to be big trips for many people..

Our local VW dealer is 50 miles north.. Thats where I run up to to have my car serviced.. However its not in this state so if you buy a car there you have to pay to have it inspected and then pay sells tax on it here in Calif.. To get around that most people in this area go to the nearest dealer in California.. Thats 170 miles south east of here in Chico.. So when they run down there to have the car serviced its 340 miles.. And they buy there there because they do not have to deal with the California Goverment to get the car into the state.. Cost is really about the same..

My wife and I will run over to Bandon Oregon for Fish and Chips on a weekend.. Get up early and enjoy the drive.. Have the Fish and Chips and come home.. Most times in the fall so we can see the fall colors.. However its really just a 350 mile drive for Fish and Chips.. Not the common thing I saw there for people.. I always had to chuckle when they talked about going 200 miles for a vacation. We will drive 200 miles for a hamburger..