all these posts about drivin' in da snow reminds me of the Motherland (U.P.). A few months after high school, my dad gave me the keys to his '72 Vista Cruiser wagon, pointed northeast and said " 100 miles there's a good university, go there and be somebody. Average snowfall there is somewhere between 200 and 300 inches, so put some knobby M+S tires on the back with a couple potato sacks full of sand over the rear axle, throw in a snow shovel, coffee can with candles and candy bars, extra pair of boots, and off I go, ready for winter; that area is very hilly and some streets are guardrailed across the top and bottom as too unsafe to drive in the winter; got a real kick seeing all the freshmen from below the mighty Mackinaw come up north driving daddy's 4x4 having trouble with the hills and I'd idle on past with the ol' chick magnet, complete with the genuine fake woodgrain and Ralph Nader windows in the roof. "80% driver, 20% machine" I used to say. Fast forward a bunch of years and now my 15 year old says the other day: "Dad, I'll be taking drivers ed in the spring, so do I get to take the truck ('98 K1500 4x4) to school next winter?" We live 7 miles out of town but she has and will continue to take the bus (most of the time). My first bit of wisdom to her (and her younger siblings) is gonna be: " the only difference between 4 wheel drive and 2 wheel drive is that the former gets you twice as far in the ditch, and don't ask me how I know that". Speed and a bulletproof attitude/lack of respect for snowy/icy roads won't get you very far in the winters around here. I'm thinkin' about disconnecting the front axle and pullin' a couple plug wires before I hand her the keys next winter.
