Okay, NW Illinois is not completely remote, but on wintry days with blinding snowfall, ten inches of wet flakes, remnants of previous ice storms covering roads, and shit tires, there’s little else left to the imagination. Getting Mom and Dad to ACL yesterday from Chicago was an adventure that turned uber-adventure when we dipped into the Little Apple River valley and nearly could not get out.

The first run at a steep rise ended in a 180-degree spin back down. Fun!! Bring the kids!! The second run was spinning tires, the smell of rubber, and a slip-slide shunter up the road. Five more hills like that and we stood at the top of the driveway. There was no way to get the car back up if we ventured down. Better to open a bottle of wine and eat cheese and bread & butter.

The best method to bring down luggage from car to house is by sled. Now we are living the Siberian lifestyle!

Later, some human-cargo sledding had to be tried just to make us feel like kids again. (pics soon!). There’s nothing quite like snow covering you from toe to head that screams “FUN!” And then there are the Snow Satans carved into the powdery blanket outside the windows.

Here’s Marv testing out his new boots and skinny skis … making headway down to the frozen lake where he can make tracks for the days ahead.