November 20, 1996 This year, I had been eagerly awaiting the snow. This year, I was prepared for it. For the first time, I was really ready to take on the winter snow that plagues this part of the country. The Land Rover was ready. With the complete tear down putting it out of commission all last winter, it had most of the bugs worked out over the summer. I had the Land Cruiser two winters, and that did ok, but both were pretty light on the snow (I think I only needed 4 wheel drive once). The first winter with the Rover, I was so new with it that I didn't want to tax it too much, for fear that something would break that I couldn't fix. It spent most of its first winter in the garage. Then, I started to have problems. Problems with lead to the complete disassembly and reassembly of the entire vehicle. An amazing thing to remember is that with a Land Rover of this vintage, it is *designed* to be taken apart with a minimum of tools and difficulty. Not that it was easy, but it is not beyond my simple mechanical abilities. I timed that to be completed in the spring, giving me the summer and fall to compleatly shake it down and fix any lingering problems. The plan was to have it as ready as possible for the coming winter. (In Minnesota, winter is either "coming" or "here.") So, with November arriving, and the last of the little things taken care of, it was time to wait for the snow. Didn't have to wait too long; the first real some came on November 20, about 5 inches. Now, 5 inches isn't enough to stop too many drivers around here. Annoy, yes. But a skilled driver can usually get through that with a good set of tires and a little common sense. With the snow falling in the evening, however, most people already crabby from the extra long commute home are usually going to stay home and not fight with the weather. As the traffic gets ligher, the snow gets deeper, the city becomes a playground for a Land Rover. I went out at about 9 pm for about an hour drive. During the latter part of a storm like this is when people usually use the term "magical" to describe the surrounding sceanery. It is very quiet outside, the fresh snow deadens most sound quickly. Trees are glossed white, and it is generally very easy to see. The lights from all the streetlights is reflected all around by the flakes and the night takes on this sort of orange glow. I took a long, slow stroll with the LR along Minnehaha Parkway, looking at the big, old houses lit for the evening. The parkway winds its way through south Minneapolis to Lake Harriet, where I picked up Lake Harriet Parkway around the lake. I chose this route because there is little or no traffic except by residents unless it's really nice weather. They are not main arteries, therefore getting plowed less, and are generlly hilly, windy, narrow streets. Just the kind of street you'd hate if you were in a "normal" car on a snowy night. I wanted to avoid as much traffic (and other people in general) as possible. I stopped for a while at Lake Harriet to get out and walk around, enjoy the night. I also pulled the Rover into an empty parking lot near the lake and practice quick stops, tight turns, and other aspects of winter driving. IMHO, something like that ought to be a requirement of every driver in Minnesota, and least in the metro area. Reestablish your feeling for what your vehicle can do (or not do) in the soup. With that, I headed home, very satisfied and happy that I was able to take a look at the city from a somewhat unique vantagepoint. |