Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.
Went to Helena today. Its a hundred-and-some-odd miles from here and we have to climb McDonald pass to get there. The forecast, naturally, was for evil winter weather that would kill you just as soon as..well…kill you. So, since this trip was kinda required, there wasnt much choice but to load up the appropriate gear and sally forth into the winter. The amusing moment was listening to the radio when a public service announcement from the Montana DOT came on:
Radio: …travellers are advised to check weather and road conditions before travelling…
Me: Did that.
Radio: ..make sure to fill your tank before leaving, dress warmly and carry blankets….
Me: Sage advice…got it.
Radio: ..if you become stranded, stay with the vehicle and attach an orange flag to your vehicle antannae to signal for help..
Me: “A flag”? A FLAG?! I’ve got an HK flare pistol with 30 flares, five handheld flares, five lightsticks, two parachute flares, a candle lantern, a MagLite and ten gallons of unleaded gas and a book of matches. I dont need a flag, I have pyrotechnics!
Seriously, an orange flag?
Fortunately, the trip to Helena went about as smoothly as we could have hoped for. In addition to the rolling fireworks factory that was our emergency signalling gear, we also packed blankets, sleeping bags, food, water, our insulated Carhart overalls, water, GPS, first aid kit, and all the usual sundry items that one packs for a disaster. I won’t even mention the guns and ammo because if you need to be told that we had some with us then you’re obviously new around here. Bringing guns along when we go anywhere isnt noteworthy, not bringing them is.
And, of course, since we were prepared for trouble we had none. Do I feel that I wasted time loading up the truck with gear? Not at all. Its insurance and I was glad to have it along.
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Received another 150 AR mags today from CProducts. They are mostly earmarked for resale at ‘youve gotta be kidding me prices’ but Im trying to find a way to keep a bunch for myself. You just can’t have too many, y’know. This last batch took, I think, about four weeks or so to ship. I expect if I ordered more theyd not only be more expensive, I probably wouldnt see them until next Christmas.
Seriously, an orange flag?
Perhaps they meant an orange flag to be the centerpiece of the pyrotechnics display?
We really don’t get any such warnings around here (DC metro) other than “have enough gas in the car” – and in driver’s ed we were taught to put a t-shirt or something like that on the car window if we broke down. No, I have no idea why that seems like a fantastic idea, either.
Thing is, with the population growth in the general area, people are living farther and farther afield, and could break down in areas that aren’t as heavily populated and cen be really screwed if they don’t have any cold weather gear. But it’s not easy to push car-could-be-your-camper preparedness when so many people are on heavily traveled roads where you’re very likely to get assistance in short order.
Do I feel that I wasted time loading up the truck with gear? Not at all. Its insurance and I was glad to have it along.
Seems perfectly reasonable to me.
Dex’s Corollary to Murphy’s Law:
The probability that $#!+ will happen, varies inversely from the degree to which one is prepared therefor.
See also, Murphy Magic (n). The practice of trying to prevent bad things by being ready to mitigate their effects. For example, preventing rain by carrying an umbrella.
Ah, but do you have a CD with Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture on it in you crash kit?
Nothing makes a fireworks display like musical accompaniment, you know.