As I walked through the North Idaho College campus, I heard the whir of studded tires on the bare streets 3 different times. It's legal to run studs in Idaho until April 30, of course. However, it isn't legal to run studs on cars in Washington after March 31 (no matter where you're from). A reminder from Huckleberry Friend Estar Holmes brought that point home today:

"If you have studded tires and live in Idaho, don't think you can jet over to WA after March 31, even though the studs off date for Idaho is April 30. No matter where you're from, you cannot drive in Washington state with studded tires. Washington State troopers say they will pull over anyone with studded tires and hand them a $101 ticket."

As of last year, motorists riding studs in Washington could be fined $124. So Estar might be a little low on her guesstimate. You've been warned.