Post 1--Finding information is good preparation

If driving is better in the winter because the potholes are filled with snow, you live in Idaho .

--From an e-mail I received, where this and other humorous statements were attributed to Jeff Foxworthy. If I quote this e-mail again, (and I probably will) I will likely only list them from Jeff Foxworthy. Wheww... glad that's done. It was a pretty funny e-mail.

Ok, so the title isn't so exciting, but at least it's accurate. I thought I would share for the blog's debut post a little info that my husband shared with me about learning about road conditions in the state of Idaho. If you go to the Idaho Transportation Department website, you can get immediate information on road conditions around the entire state. As I write this, there are a lot of "alert" symbols dotting our fair roadways, which is not surprising considering the time of year. What is surprising is that apparently some fairly optimistic individuals still have roadwork signs up... Whatever the case is in your area, don't get caught in a situation where you run into a closed road that you could have avoided if you had prepared with the proper information. Of course, weather can change quickly, so it's good to have preparedness items in your car in case of an emergency, which would be good information for another post. Find out what the road conditions are for where you are and where you are going--you know what they say about prevention...

For those not in Idaho, I would not be surprised that information like the above is available in your state as well. On the original list that I saw, I saw some other states' information listed, so it would be worth checking out for your area.

I am hoping that I will be able to link to websites of other people in Idaho who are interested in sharing emergency preparation information. Let me know that you are out there, and we'll try to get everyone better prepared--many times information that begins as being specific to Idaho will also be helpful to others around the country and world as well.

Check out the road report before you drive--drive safely, and drive prepared. The e-mail quoted above also says:

If you can drive 75 mph through 2 feet of snow during a raging blizzard without flinching, you live in Idaho . ---Jeff Foxworthy

But who wants to if you don't have to? There's information out there that can make life easier, if you take the time to find it.