Wintry mix

We set early yesterday for Eric's parents' place in Chewelah (north of Spokane) through the slush that the rain had made of our lovely snow overnight.

Once we got to the freeway, things were pretty quick through Portland, but as we began to make our way east along the Columbia River Gorge, the precipitation turned to snow and traffic slowed. The roads were covered in some places and bare in others, but became snowy enough that we pulled over with all the semis to put our chains on. Soon after, we saw a semi that had jack-knifed being towed from the ditch. You think we would have turned around at that point, but we were hopeful that things would improve. With the car occasionally slipping momentarily within the lane, it was hard to relax, so I tried to focus on the beauty all around us.

Multnomah Falls:




The road cleared up for a while and we took our chains off, but this stretch was a bit deceptive. In the sun, we were on bare pavement, but when we went behind the shadows of rocks or even a small clump of trees, there would suddenly be a covering of ice.

We saw one driver, his SUV facing the wrong way at the mouth of an exit, trying to remove a mangled piece of his front bumper that had obviously just smashed into something. A few miles down the road, we were going about 30 in the right lane and shaking our heads as other vehicles sped past with false confidence, when a Durango just in front of us begin to spin. Eric slowed as the SUV did a full turn, smacked its front end into the concrete median, then kept floating and spinning. We both took a deep breath in as we drove past, willing the SUV to stay in its own lane. Thankfully, it did. We would have not have been able to avoid hitting that vehicle if it would have come into our lane. Another car stopped to check with the folks in the spinning car, so we kept on, but we exited at our next opportunity, needing to get off the road.

After some long deliberations and advice from some local firefighters who were helping stranded motorists, we decided to stay there in that tiny town--Rufus, OR--until the next day. It was disappointing to decide not to continue on to see Eric's family, but it felt like the safest decision. Seeing that car spin out (and almost hit us!) was really scary and a good reminder that we are not as in control as we like to think we are.



We watched the (amazing) Idaho football game and met some very interesting folks at Bob's Texas T-Bone and Frosty's Lounge, the only eating establishment in the town. Then we spent the rest of the evening watching old episodes of The Office in our hotel room. Quite relaxing.

After learning last night that there would be a winter storm warning in the area with a forecast of 6-12 inches of snow starting at 6:00 a.m., we decided to get a very early start and were on the road by 5:30! Thankfully, roads were clear and the only weather we encountered was rain in Portland.

Back in the city, we stopped for breakfast at Cameo Cafe, a place we'd visited once with Eric's folks, where I got the largest pancake I've ever seen! Can you believe that this is the "quarter acre"? Half acre and full acre also available!

When we finally arrived home, we were greeted by our snowman, Eric (see previous post for a happier picture).

It's been raining all day and we have no plans for New Years, but we are happy to be safe and sound in our cozy little home, ready to quietly usher in 2010.