Adventures with Grandpa -- Trip to Washington 2010 Chapter 1

Okay, it’s time that I get busy on the latest chapter in the continuing saga of my “Adventures with Grandpa.” This one was quite an endeavor, the main purpose being to drive up to Washington for Amanda’s high school graduation. To be honest, I had not really been looking forward to the trip – 2,800 (okay, 2,796) miles of driving from a Thursday to a Tuesday – but all of the stops ended up being a lot of fun, so all was well!

ODOMETER: 0.0
My part of the trip began on Wednesday evening, June 16. I had planned to have everything in the car, packed and ready to go before I left for work Wednesday morning. Then I was going to drive up to Caliente right after work so that Dad and I could be ready to leave for the first part of the trip, to Boise, on Thursday morning.

The closer the departure date came, though, the more I thought that maybe I should just stay in Las Vegas overnight on Wednesday. I figured I could get up early on Thursday morning and drive to Caliente to pick up Dad and then onwards to Idaho. When I left the office on Tuesday evening I had pretty much decided that I wasn’t going to leave until Thursday morning. I mean, why unload everything for a few hours of sleep? Might as well do it Thursday morning! (I think I may have been trying to delay the departure just a tiny bit.) That idea stayed with me until Dad called when I was walking from my office to the parking lot that Tuesday evening. By the time I got home, Dad had convinced me that I had to drive to Caliente on Wednesday night. He said I could just sleep in my clothes and not unpack anything at all. I didn’t quite take it that far, but I guess he was right that I didn’t have to unpack everything. I would just put the stuff for that one night in a separate bag. I was up half the night Tuesday night packing everything and I hauled everything to my car on Wednesday morning so that I could leave after work.

I had planned to leave the office early on Wednesday. I filled the car with gas during my lunch hour. Cary, my boss, usually leaves at least an hour early, and I figured I could follow him out of the building, just as long as I didn’t beat him out of the parking lot. Of course, since that was my plan, Cary didn’t leave early. It happens every time! Finally at about 5:45 I told him I needed to leave, and I left. Before I even got to the freeway, Dad called, wanting to know how far away I was. I told him I just left, that I said I was leaving after work. I guess he forgot that I work until 6:00, not 5:00. Anyway, I was on my way.

Seconds after I arrived at Dad’s house, Cory, Melissa, and their three cute little boys arrived. Apparently they had driven past earlier and I wasn’t there yet, so they drove around the block and when they passed by the second time, I was there. By the time I returned from the bathroom, Dad had called Kevin and Ann and they arrived. It really made me feel loved, that they all came to see me before we left. (Maybe they wanted one last glimpse of me while I was still sane.) Anyway, I had a great time talking with them and playing a bit of hide and seek with Hafen.

The company left and we went to bed. I set the alarm on my cell phone for 5:00 AM. (Reader alert: this is probably TMI [Too Much Information], but here I go anyway.) As I mentioned earlier, I packed a tote bag with the bare essentials for that day of driving. When I was getting ready to leave that morning, I was horrified to realize that I had forgotten to put deodorant in my tote bag. It was in my suitcase, but that was buried somewhere in the car. I crept upstairs to Dad’s bathroom, hoping that I could find some there, but I had my doubts. Years ago I made the mistake of putting a stick of deodorant in Dad’s Christmas stocking. He was offended. He has never used deodorant in his life, he said, and what am I saying, that he smells bad? Of course I had to do the ole soft shoe and reassure him that I didn’t mean anything by it, I didn’t realize that he didn’t use it, of course he never smells bad, that Santa had made a big mistake, and I quickly took it back and tossed it in with Jared’s haul. So, based on that experience, I knew my only hope of finding deodorant in Dad’s bathroom was if Mom had left some behind. I poked around Dad’s bathroom with no success. All I could find was a can of Lysol spray. I sprayed a small squirt under each of my arms and hoped for the best. I’m happy to report that (as far as I could tell), it worked! So, I guess I have invented a new deodorant – Lysol!

We planned to leave at 6 AM, and it was actually about that time when we were going out the front door. Dad paused a bit and wondered what he might be missing. I asked him if he had his hearing aid. He said, “It’s here somewhere.” I told him, “That’s fine, but you aren’t allowed to get cranky if you can’t hear me.” Then we went on with the last-minute check list. Did he have his glasses? Check. Tooth brush? Yep. Pajamas? Oops, Dad meant to get those but forgot them. As he pulled open a drawer to pull out a pair, he mumbled that he doesn’t sleep in them anyway, he just sleeps in his underwear. I told him yeah, I like to sleep in my underwear, too, but people often object when I’m sitting down for breakfast like that. He agreed with that philosophy and stuffed his pjs into his duffle bag. (I know, TMI again, huh?)

ODOMETER 158: leaving Caliente.
Just past Pioche, after I had repeated and reworded something I already said a half dozen times, I reminded Dad about the rule about not getting cranky if he couldn’t hear me when I talk. He tried to claim that it also meant that I can't get cranky if he keeps saying, “Huh?” I said NO, that wasn't written in the rules! After thinking on that for a moment, he dug out his hearing aid and put it in his ear. Hurdle one crossed! (Unfortunately it’s a hurdle that wasn’t crossed just once.)

After we passed Wells, we hit some unfortunate delays. There were several areas where the highway was limited to one lane and we had to sit and wait for our turn to be guided through the area. We could see that they were building overpasses that went over the highway and some places where a pathway was being dug out under the highway, but there were no roads, railroad tracks, or even a river bed at those areas, so I couldn’t figure out what they were doing. Dad noticed a lot of fencing that he said was deer fence. Then I spotted a sign. They were putting in some “deer navigation areas,” and I’m not kidding, they were putting in all of that so the deer could cross the road! Now I’ve seen everything.

In between deer navigation delays, we passed the area where we wrecked our family car, where I almost drowned. I was just a baby, sleeping on the front seat between Mom and Dad. My brothers were asleep in the back seat. We were driving in the pouring rain, and when Dad tried to pass a truck, the car slipped off the road and rolled into a ditch. The driver of the truck Dad was passing stopped, but he wouldn't help Dad get all of us out of the wrecked car. He did, however, give us a ride to the closest gas station. The gas station building was still there, but it looked old and abandoned. I could just picture us there, wet and standing in the rain while Dad used the pay phone to call for help.

Also, the sight of the deer fence reminded Dad of one of his favorite deer hunting experiences. He was out hunting with a friend, I think Dad said his last name was Edwards, so I’ll just call him Ed. Anyway, Dad told Ed to drop him off at the bottom of a hill and to drive to the top and wait for him; Dad said he would send the deer up to where Ed would be waiting. In truth, “nature” was calling and Dad had other plans before he did any deer herding. While Dad was taking care of business, a deer wandered past. Dad pulled out his gun and shot the deer while squatting there with his pants down! I know, I know. TMI. It just seems like such a John Wayne moment, though …

More to come!