Our Attempt At Adventure...
Thursday, December 30, 2010 at 07:09PM The snow keeps falling and although we are warm and toasty inside, we longed for a trip to town. Rather, Wade longed for a trip to town. Deciding that the trip into Payson would be iffy and the road possibly still closed after a severe winter storm, we voted to either all go or all stay. The all go vote won so we bundled up and trudged down the hill to the car, which was buried under several feel of snow. We weren't sure that we would even make it down our unplowed road, but we did and we were on our way. We needed to go about 20 miles down a windy, two-lane mountain highway to get to Payson. We had plans to stop for a nice lunch, hit the Walmart to pick up some winter wear for our sledding adventures later this weekend and then return to the cabin. We stopped to say a quick prayer before turning onto the major highway.
A drive in the snow... from Sheila Pettit on Vimeo.
The trip down started fine, the road had been plowed but was still slippery with ice although our car did fantastic in the storm. Wade drove cautiously and the kids sang along to the radio as I enjoyed photographing the beautiful scenery. Other than the snow plows and a few cars directly behind us, we did not see other cars on the highway. We did see one abandoned car overturned along the roadside which made us ever the more cautious.
Finally making it into Payson, the kids erupted with giddy laughter as Wade and I immediately noticed the highway patrolman with flares who was set up on the other side of the road just ahead of us. We passed him, turned around and were told that we could not continue back to our cabin. The officer was steadfast in his rhetoric, despite our desperate faces. It was snowing harder now and the sky was darkening. Each of us wore a long, concerned face...what about Lily, who was still at the cabin? Our roast that was cooking for dinner and the crock-pot of hot apple cider? Would we be sleeping in our car in Payson until tomorrow, when they would hopefully reopen the road? No one panicked and no one really said much. We attempted to find the local service road, but that led deep into the forest and was unplowed, thus impassable. I blinked away extra liquid from my eyes and said another quiet prayer that the DPS man would consider using some grace in letting us return home. We made it back to the main road about 15 minutes later and the line trying to go north was quite long. This time, the DPS man looked more compassionate and asked for ID. He asked us a handful of questions as we explained that our dog and our dinner were waiting just up the mountain - we HAD to go home. He finally managed a slight smiled, urged us to use extreme caution and allowed us to pass. Cheers erupted from the car as relief rushed over us. We were so grateful that our attempt at adventure allowed us a safe return!
Reader Comments (2)
That's why firemen are the nice guys. You would have got through on the first time!
The allure of "the fireman" has been a burr in Wade's skin for years....Yes, I know that a fireman would have allowed us to pass initially, that is why they will always be numero uno in my book. (Wade says they were all back at the station napping in their recliners.)