Saturday, March 28, 2009

Driving In A Winter Wonderland...Or Not!!!!!

Come along with us on another one of our family "rides!" I promise that you won't be disappointed. I wanted to show Lisa that I am sympathetic to her snowy plight (Hey Lisa!!!), but we ended up getting in a little over our heads.


As you can see, we started our adventure off in the snow. It had been snowing off and on all day, but finally seemed like it was getting a bit more serious. (Here we are...heading up to the hills)
We entered the locked gate, and were immediately welcomed by heavier snowfall. A sign of things to come, or an omen??? You guess...lol!!!!Hey...look at that tree!!! It has a face. Oh wait, it is just my camouflaged boy...teeheehee!!! (He looks thrilled that I was taking his picture, doesn't he???) So...up into the hills we went, stopping every now and then to play in the snow, scout for animals, and snap pictures of stump caves. (Can't you just imagine a bear all curled up in the base of this stump???)The further up we went, the more snow there was, until..........disaster struck!!! These pictures really do not our predicament justice. The snow was about a foot and a half deep, wet, and freshly fallen, and to one side was a steep incline that dropped down about 100 yards, and to the other, a ditch that was about two feet deep
Poor Kevin! Every time he hit the gas, the truck slid further and further over, and it's front tire was actually over the edge. I am such a chicken, and when I realized that the truck was sliding the wrong way, I grabbed the kidlets and got out.
"You brought your chains, right???" I asked. The answer was "No." There were no chains or shovel in the back of the truck. Luckily there was a piece of wood, and he used that to dig himself out. Meanwhile, Katie was crying that "Daddy was going to die," and Eric thought that it was the "Coolest thing ever!" Ahhhhh...to be nine again...lol!!!!
Thank goodness Kevin has a lot of experience with this sort of thing, but even he was getting a bit frazzled, so he two-wayed (Nextel cell phone) his buddy, who also has access to this area, and told him to come up and help us out. We were about four miles above the main line, and about seven from the entrance, so there was no way that we were going to walk out!!!
(I think this picture looks silly {below}, but Eric and Katie think it makes the truck look "cool," so I put it on here for them!)While we were waiting, Kevin decided to try one more time, and he actually succeeded in getting out. He then had to back (well he actually slid!!) down the hill about a 1/4 mile, until he reached a turn-around road, and the kidlets and I walked down after him. The buddy's help was called off, and we all got in and headed for home.
Again, these pictures do not show the steepness of the hills, nor the sharpness of the drop-off, so you'll just have to take my word on that, but just know that Kev and I have found ourselves in some nasty snow/car situations, and I have never seen him worried before.
On the way home, right by our house, we saw a herd of elk out in the field. They are kind of hard to spot, but the tan blobs in the center of the picture are the elk.
So daddy got us all home safe and sound, and Katie keeps telling him that he is her hero and that he saved our lives. Dramatic, isn't she??? LOL!!! THE END
(As I write, the snow is still falling, and we have about 4-5 inches out there. Great!!! This is so atypical for Western WA that it is not even funny!!!! Lisa??? I feel for ya'!!! Maybe we could have some virtual brownies and wine or something!)

12 comments:

Pony Girl said...

Melanie, I remember being on a drive almost exactly like that with my parents up in the hills...and getting scared to death of the slippery snow/falling off a cliff in the truck! I loved your photos and stories of the big adventure. Hang in there, I'm sure spring is around the corner!

Laughing Orca Ranch said...

Yikes! lol! What an adventure Mellie!
I was totally enjoying the beginning of the drive, with the bear stump caves and all...even the snow falling was kind of nice.

And then BOOM! The truck was stuck in a narrow icey, snowy road with HUGE trees heavy with snow. My blood pressure went up!! lol!!

Such cool photos! Tell the kidlets they picked out some spine-tingly photos to have you post. :)

And what a smart Mom you are making sure the kids were dressed well for a drive in the snow. My kids would have been wearing flip flops and skateboarding shorts while Dad tried to unstuck the truck in the snow. gah! :D

Now you've got me feeling for you, my dear friend. Our snow is mostly melted already (probably preparing for another snow storm. hah!), but some brownies and wine sound very good to me!

Stay warm, dry...and safe!!!

~Lisa

word verification: 'mogenap'

I don't know what a moge is...but a nap sounds good, doesn't it?
hehe

Paint Girl said...

Yikes! We have been in the same situation in snow with the truck. Just happened again this year when we had 2 feet of snow! It is a very scary feeling and I got out of the truck too!
Other than the stuck in snow part sounds like you had a good day! Cold!

Fantastyk Voyager said...

Isn't it crazy how snow, or bad weather, can cause crises and then just disappear like nothing, and leave you with the mess?

Glad you got out okay.

"kerspli"

Dusty Devoe said...

WOW! I always hate it when that happens. Been ther, and it scares me too! Yes, Dusty is quarter horse and I was told morgan. He is not papered, and don't have any written info on him. He is a great guy.

Carolynn Anctil said...

Wow! That was quite a day. I'm glad to hear you got out before Spring thaw!

BTW, glad you lurked your way over to my place and said hello. You know you're welcome any time.

Mrs. Mom said...

Holy Crap Melanie. THAT brought back some nasty memories of living in Tundra Country.... Glad you all made it out of the ditch and out of harms way though!!

Stay warm there sunshine, and think happy thoughts as you sip your wine ;)

Melanie said...

Pony Girl, Paint Girl, and Dusty Devoe-(Seeing as how you are all family, I combined my response!)Glad I gave you a little trip down memory lane!!! Thankfully we got out of that mess alright...teeheehee!!!

Lisa-Heehee...no need to feel for me!! You have the same thing at your house. :) Wine and brownies does sound good though, huh??? Or maybe chips, salsa, and margaritas??? I am so dependable, eh??? LOL!!!

Val-It is funny how quickly some crises end, isn't it?? And we did leave a big, wet, mess...lol!!!

Carolynn-Glad to be out before the spring thaw indeed, because who knows when that will be!!! LOL!!

Mrs. Mom-Ahhhhhh...memories of Tundra country...lol!!! I think I needed something stronger than wine, like maybe what you have up in your cupboards (wink, wink!!).

lytha said...

what a gorgeous truck. seriously, i love your truck. i just sold my 3500 so we can afford our new horse fence.

i'll never have such a nice truck again, but having a horse at home will be even better.

it's in oregon now, so i'll look for it in july when we visit WA and OR.

you have the best truck!! you realize this don't you?: )

~lytha

Gail said...

Winter Wonderland, my...uh, foot!

Anonymous said...

I remember having snow in April over Easter once at my grandparents up in Brinnon (on Hood Canal, north of Shelton). When people have looked at the lateness of the snow down here with disbelief, I just remember that one April and hunting for Easter eggs in the snow. (It started snowing after they were hidden). That's actually one of my fondest childhood memories of my grandparents.

Unknown said...

Yeah that sucks - the getting stuck part anyways, oh and the weather too.

Over here you really loose face as a "redneck" if you have to call a buddy to get you out - cause that buddy has teasing rights all year long. My hubby will just about kill himself trying to get unstuck before calling someone.

And besides it a pain in the @ss - so I feel your pain!