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Sparks Snow-In


ErikW

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Mission Impossible: Take the 96-gallon trash receptacle to the curb. Nevermind that the curb is not visible, 25 yards away, as the bullet flies.

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A dull old man and a shiny new shovel.

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The sidewalk is just beyond that tree. Somewhere on the way is a driveway and a cul-de-sac.

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Yesterday's shoveled path to my front door is faintly visible. And the sumbitch never did show up.

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Path cleared across the driveway to the cul-de-sac.

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Yardstick in the driveway.

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Call it fifteen inches.

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Mission accomplished! Now I'll bet the trash collectors don't show up.

Now, about the poll question...

Note the yardstick. My truck's axles are at 15.5" and the differentials and skid plate are a few inches lower. My truck is parked in my garage and must be backed out the curving path from driveway, across cul-de-sac, to the street. There are two tracks in the street; whether they were lifted trucks or stock Yugos, I do not know. My truck is a 2003 Toyota Tacoma 4x4 with TRD off-road package (including a rear locking differential). I don't really care if I get stuck, as long as I don't block my neighbor's driveway or the street. I can eventually dig myself out. It's warm out and it's not icy on the path. I do have a bag of ice melter.

I wish I had taken pictures of the snowmobilers out on the "sidewalk" on Sparks Blvd.

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Usually it's so fluffy, that the truck will just pack down the snow as you drive over it. If you back out, just go slow, you'll have a good feeling if it'll compact before the front tires leave the conrete of the garage.

You can always add (probably a little late now), a few bags of sand into the bed, to help get traction on the rear wheels.

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that snow aint so bad. i live just outside buffalo in lancaster new york. 2 years ago we got 6 feet of snow in 2 days, now that caused some serious problems. i just stayed out in the shop and built guns cause there wasn't anything else to do and you couldn't go anywhere. the snow drifts in front of my shop were so high, i could walk up the drift and onto the roof.

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Well it was a piece of cake backing out the driveway and cul-de-sac and into the street. The problem was I had to stop to go from reverse to a forward gear. Nothing doing at that point. So I put it in 4-Low, pressed the button to lock the rear diff, and away I went.

Buncha dipshits out on the roads, following too closely. They kept their distance once I got all out of shape sideways. The @#$&! store was closed (despite the sign on the door reading "Open 365 days 8 AM to Midnight") so it was all for naught. Coming home was a problem. I wanted to back in to make it easier to get out after this next storm, but I can barely back in in dry conditions. I kept up a little too much momentum in the street and kept going straight despite full left on the steering wheel. Managed to get it turned and in the garage, though.

TMC, perfect conditions for a Cobra!

BTW, all you upstate New Yorkers: this is the @#$! desert!

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Good golly man...I can do 12" in my 4x2 Toyota PU (providing I have weight in the back and my snow tires on) which means I am pushing snow.

Take your truck out and find a wide open parking lot and "play" around until you figure out how to drive in snow. My dad did that with me when I was 14 (legal driving age in Idaho way back when) and I have not been afraid of snow driving since.

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I learned how to drive in ice 'n snow in about 15 seconds one late November day in Anchorage (I'd been in town less than 48 hrs). My boss' wife drove both of us in her little truck to HER workplace, then left me with the truck for the day and said, "Good luck. Have fun." Whoa. It turned out to be much easier than I thought. But whatta rush... for about 15 seconds. (Actually I did spend a lot of time that morning just driving around. It was cool.)

Then I got really good at it for the next 2½ years. No biggie, Erik. You'll get the hang of it.

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Donner, party of five! Er, Donner, party of four................

My wife always creeps out, that of the 2 Donner sites (the groups split up): 1 at the lake, the other up H-89 about 12 miles, the 2nd is a picnic area...

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The thing is, locals like ong45 keep insisting that this is highly unusual. Meanwhile, there's another storm coming Friday that could give us another 4-6" to deal with.

Waste Management still hasn't picked up our trash. USPS finally delivered mail yesterday. FedEx just made a delivery with chains on the van. I don't want to go out and drive until the peak warmth of the day (34 F) melts the ice on the roads. It re-freezes when the sun starts to go down.

Snow blower my ass, I've got guns to buy!

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