Are You Ready?

Are You Ready?

While driving along the interstate, the changing colors of the trees caught my eye. The yellows, oranges and reds popped between the green of the trees that have not changed yet. This got me to thinking about whether or not we are ready for the final season of the year. Winter: a season which is beautiful in its own way. Still a season that many drivers dread, if not fear. Even in the states where snow is common it seems that drivers need to relearn how to drive with ice or snow on the roads.

Dave and I do not really have a list of things that we need to do to prepare for colder weather. Having said that, we do have things that we want checked on the truck to be sure we are safe if we were to get stuck for many hours. We have already had our truck batteries checked to make sure that they will not fail us. We check belts and hoses and all air bags to be sure there are no apparent cracks or leaks. Tires are another item that we make sure are in top condition to handle the slippery roads. We also make sure that our heater on the truck is working as well as the Espar unit too. We make sure that we are carrying appropriate clothing, extra blankets and plenty of food.

This year we decided to take some time off in January and part of February as a way to avoid some of the bad roads. Is this something that some of you do as well? We will probably not do that next year; however, it was interesting to try it once.

What are some things that you do to prepare for Winter weather? Do you stay home? Do you try to stay in the parts of the country that have warmer temperatures or safer roads? How much do you watch the weather to decided where you will work? Do you go many miles out of your way to avoid bad weather? We do try to avoid bad weather by going as many miles as necessary to get around it. We also do try to work where the temperatures are more pleasant. As we get older the cold temperatures just do not feel as good to us.

With the last hurricane and the one that is still getting ready to hit the Gulf side of Florida again how do you prepare your personal property for storms? In the North we can lose power for hours or days depending on how severe the storm. This can happen during the Summer when an area is hit with a tornado. In the Winter ice or snow can weigh down power lines causing them to fall. Everyone runs the risk of challenging weather conditions regardless of where you live.

Here's wishing you millions of profitable, safe and PREPARED miles.

Kelly Plumb