Yesterday, as we were going down the mountain around numerous hairpin curves leaving Sequoia, our brakes went out! Hubby had pressed on the brakes and they went right to the floor, no resistance and no braking at all. As I was quietly suggesting, calmly encouraging, frantically yelling to Hubby to turn into the upward side of the mountain to avoid careening off the drop-off side, he started pumping the brakes and was able to slow our descent. We coasted up to the main entrance/exit gate to the park. There was a ranger checking passes, so we told him our dilemma. He said it would be hard to get a service/tow truck up where we were especially being as it was so late in the afternoon. He suggested driving slowly down the road about 15 miles to a small town, Three Rivers. I remembered driving through it on our way up. It was a cute little town, but I remembered it being at the bottom of a l-o-n-g curvy road. Hubby said, “Ok” and started driving down the road.
“What! Hold on here. Have we considered all options? What about the National Guard or the fire jumpers or maybe the ski patrol? Would they be able to help?” Hubby gave me that “look” and I knew we were going for it, end of discussion! We drove slowly and coasted into the hairpin curves instead of using the brakes. We didn’t go careening off any edges and I even realized after awhile, that holding my breath until I turned purple, didn’t slow us down.
The ranger was correct about the service station and the very nice owner. The owner wasn’t able to do a thorough inspection as he didn’t have a lift that could raise a vehicle our size. He did what he could though and talked with Hubby about what had happened. His conclusion was that our brakes had indeed overheated, and probably would need to be replaced. Although the brakes felt spongy, he thought there was enough resistance that we could make it to Visalia where there was a dodge dealership with new brakes and equipment capable of lifting our heavy van. By the time we got to Visailia, the dodge dealership was ready to close and the mechanics had already left. They reassured us that they would look at our van first thing in the morning if we could be there by 7:00 am. We were there at 6:30. Hubby and I, with the three puppies, strolled through the car lot while the service men worked on the Gram-per Camper.
About noon we were back on the road headed to Washington. There was no dilly-dallying now. The weather had changed and California was getting some much needed rain. Our windshield wipers were going full speed, we were headed north and focused on getting to our destination as quickly as possible. We drove hard through the afternoon and evening. As we got north of Redding, we went through the Shasta Lake area. Between the rivulets of rain washing down the windows and the swipe of the wipers, there were no photo possibilities. I had hoped to see Mount Shasta, but we were encased in rain. What we could see of the area was pretty with more and more coniferous trees. Our goal was to make it through Grant’s Pass and then camp for the night. With the sun at the horizon and hidden behind a thick curtain of clouds, it was getting dark very quickly. We continued to climb in elevation. I think we had just gotten into Oregon and were now up in the clouds. The rain had turned to snow and all of the truckers had pulled off. I think we were at the top of the pass (couldn’t really see) but there was quite a large area to pull over. Unfortunately, everyone else had arrived early before us and there was no room at the inn, pass. We motored on. We were both nervous now as the road was steep and slick due to the falling snow. We drove very slow since no one else was on the road. I practiced my deep breathing and tried not to think about any drop-offs. We got to Medford, Oregon and decided enough was enough for the night. There was a nice RV park right off the road so we pulled in. We walked the dogs, crawled back in the camper into bed and were out in a matter of seconds.
We were up before daylight, headed up the road. It would be a long day, but we were planning on going the whole way to Issaquah, Washington where our daughter lives. Once the morning fog lifted, we were able to see beautiful views on each side of the interstate.
Hubby had never been in Oregon and I had only been to Portland and a little ways east following the Columbia River on a Girl’s Weekend in Portland. It was very pretty with lots of forested hills hugging the edge of the interstate. Even Chester the Moose seemed to be into the Christmas music, bouncing down the highway, ornaments swaying, as we continued our pilgrimage north.
I want to come back and spend more time exploring Oregon. It looks like there would be lots of opportunities for hiking and communing with nature!
Oregon had a tremendous amount of rain earlier. The rivers were high with roadside ditches covered in temporary small streams.
The farther north we got, we knew that we would never make Issaquah before nightfall. We instead were hoping we could make it to the Columbia River while we could still enjoy the view.
As luck had it, we got there just as the last rays of the sun were sweeping through the river valley. I know Hubby would enjoy coming back to the Portland area and exploring all the fascinating bridges that cross the Columbia here. We had taken a “shortcut” off of I-5 to view more of the Columbia River. This is the Lewis and Clark Bridge that crosses at Rainer, Oregon to Longview, Washington. It is a cantilever bridge that at the time it was built in 1930, was the longest cantilever bridge in the United States.
Shortly after crossing into Washington, the sun set so the rest of our journey was in darkness. We arrived about 7:30 pm and had only been in their house about 20 minutes when we heard sirens wailing right outside the door. We all ran out to see what was happening and Santa had arrived on the fire engine! I was running stocking footed, with just my iPhone, so I didn’t get a very good picture. It was quite a Christmas welcome to Washington!
The next day, we went into Seattle for some last minute shopping. We stopped at the Space Needle, but didn’t go up. We will do that on another trip when the skies are clear and sunny.
We enjoyed listening to the musicians playing in the courtyard outside. They were wonderful!
I love totem poles and was thrilled to see this one on the lawn at the Space Needle.
That evening, we went with the grandkids to see the Bellevue Botanical Gardens light show. It was hard to choose a favorite. This ocean scene with seahorses, jellyfish, starfish, octopus and other fishes was a top contender.
But then this one of the stream flowing off the hillside was one of the best, too!
We had a wonderful time visiting with the kids, playing and reading stories with the grandkids, eating way too much, opening presents and celebrating Christmas together. Our time had gone way too fast. Storm after storm had hit the Cascade mountains closing Snoqualmie Pass. It was open December 26th and another storm was coming in off the Pacific. We hadn’t planned on leaving till the 28th, but knew that the probability was high that we would be unable to get through the pass for several days if we didn’t leave. A lot of other people were thinking the same thing so the traffic through the pass was pretty heavy. Once we were through the pass, the traffic thinned out.
We were treated with sensational views with every turn in the road. Washington slipped behind us and soon we were in Idaho. I had never been in Coeur D Alene, Idaho. It’s gorgeous with the winter snow. I wonder if it’s this beautiful in the summer!
This pretty little church was in Post Falls, Idaho.
Soon the steep mountain ranges were mostly behind us and it was more flat land. Whether man or beast, this is a tough country. We saw several ranchers in the bitter cold spreading out hay to their cattle. There were few places for the horses or cattle to find a place to get out of the biting wind.
The Gram-per Camper forged through the wind and blowing snow. The winds were strong and would buffet us back and forth a bit as we drove close to Livingston, Montana.
Although it was cloudy and windy almost the whole trip, the snow was beautiful in every mountain range and pass we traveled. We had a snowstorm at our heels and a blizzard due to hit home in just a couple of days. We pushed hard and didn’t quite make it before the blizzard hit. With visibility less than 1/8 mile, we pulled over and stayed at a hotel in Worthington, Minnesota. By the next morning, the visibility was good and the roads were passable. It was slow going, but we made it home by mid- afternoon. We had traveled 5,896 miles, saw spectacular scenery, spent quality time with our kids and family, had a wonderful Christmas, and made it back home, safe and sound. Quite a trip!!!
