Switching Gears

Well it looks like we've made a quick transition to Winter in California. Around here, they say we have two seasons, Green and Brown. We're getting ready to put the shutters up on the Lookout tower, and I just ordered tire chains for La Rana.

I worried a bit about the chains. I have duallies in the back, so does a chain go on both tires? Just one? I found the folks at TireChains.com to be really helpful and they've collected all the laws about tire chains here. It seems Yosemite has even tougher chain laws with fines up to $5,000!! Since we're gearing up for a winter trip to Yosemite National Park, I'm glad they had given me the heads up.

I went with the Dual-Triple chains, with cams and spring tensioners. They got here very quickly and I'm very impressed with the quality. I'll be buying a couple duffel bags for these because each side weighs about 26 pounds and I'd rather slug each set separately than one bag that is almost sixty pounds.

The CHP has some tips on winter driving that makes a great checklist for our preparations. I'll be going down that list, plus shelling out $350 for a new windshield since a tiny chip turned into a full crack after the last trip.