When going across cold, snowy, remote and barren northern terrain in the middle of winter, it's a good idea to put some provisions in the car "Just in Case." Of course, if you are fully equipped, it is unlikely that anything will happen, which is the hope, anyhow. Of course, when you are poorly equipped, well, that's when you usually run off the road in a snowstorm in a white car and are not discovered until the spring thaw, and they excavate you like a Wooley Mammoth or something.
In addition to putting in a new battery, brand new beautiful Michelin all weather tires and changing the oil...here's what we have in the van (just in case)
UNOFFICIAL CHECKLIST FOR COLDWEATHER CROSS COUNTRY TRIP
- Lots of Blankets
- An electric lighter plug in blanket
- Flashlight (battery powered)
- Flashlight/signal light (lighter plug)
- Yellow signal light (lighter plug) (so I can pretend to be like Starsky in Hutch, but in a white underpowered wheelchair equipped minivan instead of a bitchin' red and white muscle car.)
- candles (for those romantic snowbank ditch interludes)
- a lighter (for sparking up anything that needs sparking up.)
- jumper cables (to jump the guy that didn't put in the new battery, or mine after it dies from cranking out the tunes once the engine dies.)
- a bright sign that says "CALL TOW" (Just in case anyone sees us in a ditch off the road and thinks that we really want to just hang out and party there.)
- pillows (see candles above)
- warm weather clothes (hats/gloves/boots/etc.) (for that hike to set my rabbit snares, see "good knife and emergency pan" below)
- snow shovel (for making an igloo)
- window scrapers (for cleaning the Igloo windows)
- a case of water (ok, probably overkill)
- some snacks (trail mix, etc.) (to feed the rabbits and fatten them up.)
- toilet paper (God forbid you have to use it for it's normally intended use or in case we see some high school kid's house that looks sadly undecorated in the middle of Nebraska.)
- IPod with lots of tunes on it (and an audio tape or two.)
- IPod FM tuner (Thanks Bob and Deb.)
- Headlamp Light (for spelunking or just in case I want to search around in the dark for something and need my hands to do it.)
- Extra Batteries
- Emergency pan for boiling or cooking rabbits I might snare from my expertise garnered from watching Survivorman and Man vs. Wild.
- a good knife
What else am I missing?
So, the weather is supposed to be COLD and start snowing tomorrow. :-(
Well, it's an adventure...
B.
Bill, if you haven't been to MN then you may want to brush up on your vernacular: "Ya, you betcha", "uffda", "Don't cha know", "Fer cryin' in the mud" and, my personal favorite, "That's the cat's ass".
ReplyDeleteOr, just watch Fargo again and you'll get the idea,
We're thinking of ya, don't cha know.
Dempsey
O, ya, you betcha. Fer Cryin' in the mud, you are the cat's ass, Doncha kno. And that Claudia, O, ur barkin' up that tree. Uffda.
ReplyDeleteSedg
(how'd I do?)
Be safe and know that all of your extended family are thinking of you guys. Be safe, warm and your demeanor is already in a good place.
ReplyDeleteJonnyD
Sounds like you're covered but if you've got 8 hours from bottle to throttle may I suggest a 12 pack of a fine brew?
ReplyDeleteThanks Guys. Larry that is a good idea under most circumstances and definitely belongs on the list, although a 12 pack would require more like a 24 hour B2T delay for me.
ReplyDelete