A change of clothing, toiletries, and a plane ticket to Miami… {
Yeah probably. If it weren’t for Minnesotans Florida and Arizona would be waste lands. (Just kidding, don’t get excited, but a lot of folks around here are getting ready for a three month trip south right now.)
That’s what most of the farmers did in North Dakota when I lived there.
They’re decent, honest farmers who work harder during the growing season than most of us ever dreamed of, then relaxed for the winter in Florida. I have only the utmost respect for them.
If I lived in Minnesota and could possible get stuck somewhere overnight in my car I definitely would have all the items mentioned by others here (blankets, candles, shovel, gloves, etc,) but I would also include a small Sterno cooking kit. You can heat up some hot chocolate or soup while trapped in the car until help arrives.
Maine has to run a close second to populating Florida during the winter. All my immediate neighbors, save one, have condos there and when not using it themselves, rent them out to Minnisotians. The guy on my left has five of them now.
Definitely bring a carrot or two for food in the trunk of your car. It has other uses to bide your time away.
I have a friend in Ocala Florida, that used to live in SE Wisconsin most of her life. She tells me that there’s not a month that goes by, where she doesn’t run into someone that she knew in Wisconsin.
Yosemite
Overall, it’s simple to me. I just don’t routinly drive on roads in the winter, lined with snow filled ditches you could easly get stuck, miles from no where in a compact car. When most of the terrain you see is off road, stay close to home or travel with 4 wd and ground clearance.
I have to agree with you @Dagosa; Though 95% of our roads in Se Wisconsin are plowed on a regular basis…I have a few that I avoid during the winter.
That winding road that cuts off a mile on your route is not worth the risk of a big tow bill and the inconvenience of sitting idle for an hour or two while you wait for a tow.
There is one that drifts so bad that it’s like driving through a tunnel with the snow banks so high.
Then there’s one with a long steep hill to the stop sign at the bottom. That’s like a ski jump right onto the highway below.
Yosemite
I get into trouble when I say our roads and highways are anything like yours, but it doesn’t take much to get off a road anywhere and with snow involved, just a 6 inch drop can incapacitate a 2wd car. A little car is just too limited. I don’t know how your roads are normally crowned but most are with sufficient ditching that will stop most 2wd vehicles when snow is around. That’s just a slight miscalculation and you are stuck with these little city dweller cars and usually, just one wheel unless it’s a newer car. AWD 4 wd gives you a real fighting chance anytime. If I could afford it, I would make sure the trunk I was filling for my daughter was that of a compact AWD suv.