I remember when I was a kid, in the boy scouts, we used to participate in this thing called the Klondike Derby. It took place at a local Scout camp the week between Christmas & New Year, we slept out in tents under the roof of the shooting range. Concrete pad, simple gable roof above, 4' high wall on back side to help with wind. We built a sled to transport tools and supplies, and we dragged this sled station to station to compete in challenges. One would be something like, make a long section of rope with the twine you have in your sled, then the next challenge would be to use that rope to lasso a stump from a distance. There were fire starting challenges and other "scouting" type things. I was about 12 and resilient then, so camping out in the cold was fun.
In my 20's I used to volunteer with the local hospital to transport nurses to and from the hospital in snow storms. Me and my little Nissan 5spd would be out all day driving in the snow, I LOVED it.
Fast forward a *few* years, & its not as much fun for a few reasons.
1. too many idiots on the road anymore, on those days i was driving, youd see maybe one car stuck off the road & everyone else in 2wd cars stayed home! Now you see them everywhere, going 2 mph blocking the road, or stuck on hills, the common sense is gone...
2. My toys have gotten more expensive, I bought that used Nissan truck for $1800. it was like 15 years old and was in great shape. Now my latest Truck purchase this past spring is a 1995 Dodge and cost 4 times as much for twice as old... still in good shape tho!
3. my back hurts!
4. my knees hurt!
5. sledding with the kids is fun, but I've done my fair share of shoveling/plowing/snowblowing, which isn't fun.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not moving next door to Hunt anytime soon I hate the heat, my comfort zone is 40 to 75 degrees, so Northeast will be home for now!