tranny prob

Alright, I was on my way to go skiing today and a huge cloud of smoke shot out from under my car. I pulled over and poped the hood, and noticed tranny fluid spewing out from around the auxillary filter area. I had to move the car further off of the road, by the time I got back in my car, all the fluid had drained out, so I had to coast it backwards to move it. This all took place within a minutes time. once I did that, I checked to see if the tranny dipstick was pushed up and it was not, so I am thinking that it is just a cracked filter or a hose that broke from wear, instead of a sudden increase in pressure, unless the increase in pressure was just enough to break an already worn hose and not to push the dipstick up. I don't know for sure where the fluid leaked out ( hose/filter ), but I know for sure it was in that area, it is not obvious. I went down to denver to try and find the filter kit, and had no luck anywhere, so I guess I am going to get it online.. Has anybody here heard of anything like this happening before? I hope my tranny is okay.. I'll crawl under and find out for shure tomorrow. sorry for the long post