People who have lived through a winter in Alaska are more than willing to share with newcomers what, in their experience, works best to help you make it through the cold, ice, snow, and constant darkness. The widest range of opinions we have received on a single issue has been what type of tires to put on our vehicle for the winter.
Before we even left Virginia I was online communicating with two ladies, picking their Alaskan brains to get information on the area and everyday living in general. One of the ladies swore by her "studded tires", saying her car was able to stop at intersections while other cars slid through, so right after we got here and inquired about studded tires (I had no clue what they even looked like - see pic above), the lady at the service station scoffed. "You don't need studded tires, just drive your car." I'm glad we didn't have to pay for that advice.
We have some time to play with before the ice and snow settle in for the next 7 or 8 months, so we decided to ask everyone what works for them, and we continue to get a wide variety of answers. It boils down to personal preference so we decided to just make a decision, which we did. Our SUV already has all-weather tires on it, so we're going to keep them and see how well they perform, and we're going to put studded tires on the Kia.
Something tells me prayer will do more to keep us from accidents than our tires.
Changing subjects...
On the way home from the BX tonight Bren and I spotted our first Moose! It was a momma and her young 'un. They crossed the road in front of us and walked to the back of a house to nibble on the tree leaves. The mom was really big; the size of a small horse, and their coats were beautiful and shiny. I was so bummed I didn't have my camera with me. It breaks my heart that anyone can kill these beautiful creatures just for the fun of it.
3 comments:
I've used studded tires here in PA a few winters and they were a big help, but yes, prayer is the best thing...and common sense.
Wow, a moose. That would be neat to see them just roaming free. If the plural of goose is geese, why isn't the plural of moose meese?
Zack
Hehehe. I know the answer to that, but I still always have to think twice when I say moose. Funny.
Moose are great. We had one eating our Halloween pumpkins one year. But don't get too close because people do get stomped by them.
As to tires, our all-weather tires on our SUV worked just fine. One thing to keep in mind when the temps dip to about -20 or -30, drive slowly at first as your tire pressure is going to change.
Walking on ice - get some grippers like Yak Trax. You'll be glad to have them if you're at all clutzy.
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