Siskiyou Summit

Yesterday Nyel went across the river and had our snow tires put on the car. Left to his own devices, he probably wouldn’t spend the time or money on such ‘foolishness’ but we are planning a road trip south at Christmastime and I freely admit to being a Winter Weenie. I don’t like to drive over the Siskiyous without being fully prepared.

I did look up the weather forecast for the Ashland, Oregon area. Did you know you can get a 25-day forecast now? I can’t imagine how that is possible since we all know that the weatherman only gets it right part of the time on a day-to-day basis. Anyway, the forecast is for ‘icy conditions’ during the time we will be passing through.

Winter in Ashland

Then I looked up snow tires to see if they are as helpful as I think in ice. What I learned is that ‘winter tires’ are better. I don’t honestly know which ours are, snow or winter. But, in either case, it seems we are better off with them than with just our regular tires. So… I feel better now.

There was ice and a bit of snow on our way up to Seattle last weekend – in the usual area between Montesano and Olympia. It made me as tad nervous. But it was beautiful – the trees all had that winter wonderland look.

As Seen From Our Porch, 2008

I do like the idea of snow and I love seeing it out the window. I just don’t like to be in it. I think it was all those years of growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area where we had the most temperate climate you can imagine. Sometimes it was a little hot in the summer, but it always cooled down at night. Tule fog was about the biggest weather-related driving hazard we ever had.

I do feel a tad guilty about the wear and tear snow tires cause on bare roads. But that tad doesn’t even come close to diminishing my weenie-ness. Nope. Not by a darned sight!