Below is an impressive account of the travels of Dan, Hava and Dani over the weekend of January 22-25th. Dan captured the surreal nature of the weekend down to the hour. What follows is the story of my road trip back to Portland....enjoy!
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Hello all,
Dani, Hava and I thought it would be interesting to share our individual experiences over this past weekend as we all strove to meet and instead had our own adventures independent of one another. So, here is my weekend in a nutshell:
Thursday, Noon - Upon checking the weather report, I dig out our Honda CR-V's chains, read the instructions, do a practice run at putting them on and pack them with a pair of gloves and my headlamp in an easily accessible spot.
Friday, 9:30 a.m. - Dani and Hava arrive at our house in the Monterey area as scheduled. They spend a little time with Cori while packing up our CR-V for the first real test of its all-wheel drive credentials. While the girls were catching up, I was running around in the pouring rain trying to figure out why the pump used to clear standing water from our house's storm drains was not working. I failed.
Friday, 10:30 a.m. - We leave in the downpour. Spirits are high! SoCal, here we come.
Friday, 10:31 a.m. - I make my first mistake, opting to take county route G16 instead of doubling backing a few miles to stay on the main highway. This route which, on paper, is 30 miles shorter has been one I've wanted to try for sometime. Looking at the map, it seems like a slam dunk (you've all made this mistake, yes?). Cori has repeatedly talked me out of it because it might be curvy and our daughter has a tendency toward motion sickness (inherited from me). About 20 minutes into the trip, it becomes painfully clear that Cori was right. The road has transitioned from the 2 lanes of 55 mph traffic I know to a scenic but very slow and windy rural route. Isabelle is pale and looking ready to blow when I pull over and solicit Hava's help with the driving so I can move into the back seat.
Friday, 11:00 a.m. - Isabelle throws up a sweet smelling orange sherbet looking liquid that I later learn was smoothie consumed just before our departure. On the upside, all but a drop of it lands in the large ziploc freezer bag I had at the ready and she then felt much better. The drive, though certainly not the brilliant shortcut I had been hoping for, was spectacular and included sightings of a wild turkey, wild boar and a trio of Australian Sheperds lounging at the gate of a farm. The dogs chased our car a short ways and clearly had little such work to do judging by the total absence of other vehicles on the road. The driver of one of the few cars we did pass waved at us, recalling for me our days on the island in Washington where that was a common gesture in our small community.
Friday, Noon - We reach Hwy 101. In all, it has taken about 30 minutes longer than back-tracking would have but has offered many spectacular views. We finished the drive on G16 by crossing a suddenly swollen river on an old one-lane bridge. Beautiful scenery.
Friday, 3:30 p.m. - We are driving across Hwy 58 east from Bakersfield. We are starting to gain elevation slowly, a counterpoint to the southern approach to the Big Bear Lake area. As we drive through the high desert, scenes of Joshua Trees covered in snow abound on all sides. There is a windmill farm near Tehachapi and the old airport where commercial jets go to die (and be turned to art) outside Mojave. Dani and Hava begin challenging each other to games of memory (Where did we first meet Melissa? [who was responsible for Chad's trauma around bananas? where did we pick apples growing up - Apple Valley? Oak Glen?]) accompanied by small bets and the occasional conversation with Melissa and their mother to confirm the answers. Chad and Melissa are in Pasadena, well ahead of us it would seem. We are still several hours away.
Friday, 4:30 p.m. - We turn south on Hwy 395 as the sun begins to set. The rain has subsided for the moment and the light is brilliant. We pass through Hesperia and sweep east and then due south on Hwy. 18. As we approach the base of the mountain, it becomes dark and the snow flurries began to pick-up. A call from Chad and Melissa alerts us that they are now stuck in traffic of an unknown nature. We are suddenly confronted with the prospect of being among the first to arrive. All along, we thought we would be among the last. Ironic, don't you think?
Friday, 5:30 p.m. - We arrive at the spot where the CHP is indicating it is time to put on our chains. I make the mistake of stopping right in front of the rear guard patrolman who advises me (via his public address system) that it would be better if I moved forward a ways because he doesn't want to see me get in an accident and the last car in such a line is the most vulnerable. We move forward and my practice from Thursday proves useful as I don my gloves and headlamp quickly get the chains on in weather that is beginning to resemble a full-blown snow storm again. I felt like a one-man NASCAR pit crew. As we pull out, Isabelle mentions that the rattling of the chains on pavement is "annoying." It doesn't take long for the rattling to subside as the road is shortly covered with snow and ice.
For the next hour plus, we crawl up the mountain (a distance of 10 miles) and though the car handles great (nary a slip) and our progress is steady, our trip is not without disconcerting moments. There are a handful of folks struggling in the road around whom we are barely able to slip. Presumably, it is some of these same folks who eventually become stuck causing the road to close before anyone else can get through. About 8 miles into the climb, the road levels off and I begin to breathe a bit easier. Never having driven our car in such conditions, I had no idea what to expect. I am now a bigger fan than ever of AWD and our CR-V.
Friday, 7:00 p.m. - As we pull into Big Bear Lake, the streets are virtually car-less and the road signs are largely obscured by snow banks. Even the signs that stand above the snow are caked with it rendering them difficult to read. This is less than ideal as one of my passengers is not yet literate and the other two are suffering from a one-two punch of nausea and stomach cramps. Hava and Dani take turns gamely trying to make sense of my Mapquest printouts while I hold on with white knuckles and look for Beaver Lane. Isabelle has gathered that all is not going according to plan and someone (D or H) has the brilliant idea of turning our misadventure into an episode of Dora the Explorer. For the remainder of our trip to the cabin, Isabelle asks repeatedly, "When are we going to get the magic key?" Failing to find Beaver Lane, [Dani discovers a Cool Cabins office and feels proud of herself]. It appears well lit, warm and open. I have to drive by it by 1/4 mile before I can find a safe place to turn around without risking getting stuck. We park carefully at the edge of the road and I carry Isabelle inside. They wouldn't dare delay a hearty traveler in this storm with a small child in tow, would they?
[Meanwhile, Hava and Dani are tempted to eliminate in the woods. Dani doubles over in shooting pain and cramps from the lemon and garlic-infused mock shrimp they've consumed the evening before. Hava is nearly as uncomfortable. The unfortunate lesson: instant gratification has consequences].
Friday, 8 p.m. - They would. Chase (all of 20 years old with an impressive mouthful of braces) informs me that he does not have a fax copy of Kevin's documents which he needs to check us in and that, in either case, I am not the approved person who can check in. The final straw: The "keys" are at the other office. I am now at the OTHER office. The trip here was challenging as the road in front of it is down to one lane and there are folks trying to get by in both directions. There is a lot of getting in and out of the car to communicate with other drivers and figure out how to get by before we manage to get parked. I again take Isabelle and tromp through the snow in the general direction of the office. As I reach it, I find no apparent route to the door and so I begin plowing through a waist-high snow drift in my pants and sneakers holding Isabelle above. We knock on a door. A confused patron says the office is around the corner. Around the corner (and through another drift) I find a note affixed to the door, apologizing for any inconvenience and directing me (you guessed it) back to the office we were at earlier.
Friday, 8:30 p.m. - Okay, I'm getting mad now. We are back at the original office. Safely parked again, I return inside after assuring Dani and Hava that I will not be denied this time and we will soon get the lot of us to a restroom. Chase greets me again and I do my best to sound ticked when I say, "The other office is closed." He responds with, "When did you get there?" "Right after you sent me over there," I say, now making no attempt to sound friendly. I think he gets it because he seems to figure a few things out. Like the fact that someone in the office does have a copy of Kevin's paperwork though I am, admittedly, not Chad. Kevin is now getting a blow-by-blow from me via cell phone and doing his best to talk them into letting us check in. After insisting for 20 minutes that Kevin would have to fax them a permission slip (middle school flash back), Chase figures out that he can confirm Kevin's identity over the phone and move the process along. The "magic key" ends up being a code for the lock box on the front door of our cabin. (You try explaining this to a four-year old one hour past her bedtime.) Chase ends with the best news I've heard all night: Our cabin is along a well plowed route meaning I won't have to depend on Cool Cabins crack staff to help us gain access. Chase assures me that the road will be accessible and the driveway will be plowed. I ask if there is a shovel at the house in case that is not accurate. He assures me there is.
Friday, 9:30 p.m. - We arrive at the cabin. The driveway, though plowed, is blocked by a snow drift. I jump out and run to door #1. I try both combos. No luck. (Ironically, I will later discover that the side door to cabin #1 is open and a snow drift is protruding into the kitchen area.) I go to door number two. The box is actually open so I grab the key, go inside and run from room to room looking for a snow shovel. There's nothing to be found. I return to the car, tell the girls to hop out, go inside and make themselves comfortable. I flip through the channels trying to find something suitable to distract Isabelle and find the only cartoon I can, Family Guy. I then return to the driveway and begin kicking snow out of the way with my shoes before making an attempt to ram my way in. Now I'm stuck. Almost 12 hours into our journey, across the state and up a mountain side in a blinding snow storm and I get stuck in the driveway with my car's butt hanging out in the road. I run back up the street to a couple of guys shoveling away at their drive, introduce myself and borrow a shovel. I return and manage to get the car in with about 10 minutes of work. I then return the shovel and, as thanks for the loaner, help them dig for a few minutes. (Incidentally, their names are Jay and Brian from Burbank.)
Friday, 10:30 p.m. - We get the car unloaded and I see that Family Guy has now become Runaway Bride starring Richard Gere and Julia Roberts. Isabelle is transfixed. She later asks me if I will give her away when she gets married. [Hava and Dani find the first batch of skeevy (aka "skeevatz") dishes and pots and make a point of repeating their dissatisfaction with the quality of the cabin!] Maintenance is called to open the other side of the house in anticipation of everyone's arrival. He can't make the combo work either so he opens it with his hammer and gives me the keys. It is during my brief exploration of cabin #1 that I discover the open door and virtually break my shoulder trying to close it against the intruding snow drift.
Saturday, 12:30 a.m. - We all go to bed. Isabelle has been a champ and she and I sleep in the bunk bed room. I spend the night trying not to roll over because the beds' springs make a horrible noise and I fear that I will wake her. I needn't have worried. She sleeps like a rock ... until 6 a.m.
Saturday 9 a.m. - Our cell phones have all ceased working for reasons unknown so we continue to plan for the arrival of the gang. We take a walk in the snow, toss a few snowballs and make our way around a downed power line on the way back to the cabin. Dani and Hava work diligently on their lasagna and we make a trip to the grocery store for a few supplies and firewood. On our return trip, we get stuck behind a couple of adults arguing about something in the middle of the road. A guy in a car has jumped out to confront a snowball fighting dad about the possibility that a snowball was thrown at his car. I get out and ask if it would be possible for us to get by. This results in the conclusion of hostilities and all parties move on. As I drive by the snowball fighting dad, I re-introduce myself, "Brian, right?" Brian smiles and nods as we briefly re-live the good karma of shared snow shoveling from the night before.
Saturday, Noon - Still no word and no cell coverage. Hava breaks out a previously unused cell phone and discovers that she has service. It is then that it becomes clear that no one will be joining us. Isabelle again takes the news like a champ. Though she is never officially advised that the other kids aren't coming, she stops asking when they will be here and dutifully entertains herself with the toys we brought.
We spend much of Saturday afternoon hurling snowballs at one another and eating. Our cell coverage returns during the snow ball fight and Dani gets Will on the phone. Will manages to reduce Dani to a fit of uncontrollable laughter while Hava and I wish the cell had a speaker phone function and await our chance to again begin pelting her with snowballs. The fight had the usual share of apologies for (too) well aimed snow balls and everyone was tired when all was said and done. Saturday evening is spent around the dinner table, fireplace and playing Jenga.
Sunday, 8:30 a.m. - After trying our best to clean up the cabin only to discover that our cabin had no ash can, working vacuum or broom, we depart. The trip down the mountain takes about 90 minutes with several extended stops to wait for individuals trying to get up who are stuck and blocking the road. As we reach clean pavement again, we stop to remove our chains. While putting them back in the rear of the car, a snowball narrowly misses my head and slams into a bag in the car. This is accompanied by the sound of juvenile laughter. As I pull back onto the road, keeping my eye out for the offending black SUV, I see it ahead being accosted by several angry adult men who were (presumably) also dissatisfied with the onslaught of snowballs. The rest of the trip proves uneventful. Dani and Hava do yeoman's work at the wheel and we make good time back toward Monterey. Needless to say, we stay on the main road and avoid our beautiful but curvy rural detour.
Sunday, 5:30 p.m. We arrive in Monterey shortly after sunset and have dinner with Cori before Dani and Hava depart for points north.
I look forward to hearing of everyone else's misadventures. I hope that we can join the next attempt.
Dan Kraft
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9:45a - Dani stops off at Faletti's Market for some snacks - she discovers Columbia Gorge juices have a market in San Francisco and feels proud of the small Oregon-based company.
10:00a - 2:59p - Dani delights in mixed CD's from friends and whatever music can keep her awake.
3:00p - Dani ascends Mt. Shasta. A slight flurry simultaneously
