The Other Way
I'm awake too early. Caught this U-tube video King of the Road on Facebook. Tried to embed it but failed. Anyway it really caught me up in Memoryland. Someone's Dad filmed the returning traffic from a weekend (?) of camping and recreating; miles of traffic on a two lane rural road. Luckily for them they were going the other way.
Made me think of any number of forays over the Cascade mountains into Eastern WA and OR, car camping with our family . Dad had supplied us with camp gear from army surplus. In thin mummy bags, we'd camped on the Olympic Peninsula and had to sleep in all our clothes, huddle together and froze all night. I felt sorry for soldiers ever after. We had a large cabin tent that I later camped in with my family. We had no air mattresses, cooked on a grate over a fire (and scrubbing soot off everything). No gas stove, no velcro, no lanterns, no down but total quiet at night and a zillion stars to see. It was fun. The times we returned from Mt. Rainer were nuts especially on a Sunday. Large crowds even in the 1950's.
We'd be trapped on in the long line home, once behind a trailer with a flat whose driver refused to get off the road until he was off the mountain. No passing possible. Remember when sedans had kind of a large child size shelf above and behind the backseat? As small children my sister and I took turns lying up there and watching the trees go by. No seat belts then. We'd make faces at whoever was stuck behind us. On a daytrip to Rainier the radiator started leaking and Dad had to dip water with a paper cup out of a bubbling small waterfall by the roadway. A paper cup from drinks we'd nagged him into buying. "Good thing we got drinks." I chirped. Not appreciated. My always prepared father was caught entirely unprepared and was po'd. He was a pepperpot when irritated and the silence in the car the rest of the way was total. Ever since I've traveled with water, duct tape, and oil everywhere I go. Not to mention the other stuff I carry. Rescue stuff and memories.
Living on the dry side now I plan all my return trips so I am going the other way and watch the long lines of campers, semi's, and wind sailors trying to make it back up the Columbia River Gorge into Portland while I drive unimpeded the other way. I like going the other way, how about you?
Made me think of any number of forays over the Cascade mountains into Eastern WA and OR, car camping with our family . Dad had supplied us with camp gear from army surplus. In thin mummy bags, we'd camped on the Olympic Peninsula and had to sleep in all our clothes, huddle together and froze all night. I felt sorry for soldiers ever after. We had a large cabin tent that I later camped in with my family. We had no air mattresses, cooked on a grate over a fire (and scrubbing soot off everything). No gas stove, no velcro, no lanterns, no down but total quiet at night and a zillion stars to see. It was fun. The times we returned from Mt. Rainer were nuts especially on a Sunday. Large crowds even in the 1950's.
We'd be trapped on in the long line home, once behind a trailer with a flat whose driver refused to get off the road until he was off the mountain. No passing possible. Remember when sedans had kind of a large child size shelf above and behind the backseat? As small children my sister and I took turns lying up there and watching the trees go by. No seat belts then. We'd make faces at whoever was stuck behind us. On a daytrip to Rainier the radiator started leaking and Dad had to dip water with a paper cup out of a bubbling small waterfall by the roadway. A paper cup from drinks we'd nagged him into buying. "Good thing we got drinks." I chirped. Not appreciated. My always prepared father was caught entirely unprepared and was po'd. He was a pepperpot when irritated and the silence in the car the rest of the way was total. Ever since I've traveled with water, duct tape, and oil everywhere I go. Not to mention the other stuff I carry. Rescue stuff and memories.
Living on the dry side now I plan all my return trips so I am going the other way and watch the long lines of campers, semi's, and wind sailors trying to make it back up the Columbia River Gorge into Portland while I drive unimpeded the other way. I like going the other way, how about you?
posted by Celia | September 16, 2012
6 Comments:
One of my more vivid childhood memories was my father driving, not a good temper at best, in a long line of traffic, angry at the slow vehicle that would not get off the road and then pulling out to pass them all and saying if anybody came the other way, he'd slam our vehicle into that first slow vehicle. His driving and temperament still impact my nervousness in vehicles. Reckless people do stupid things and that time it was my father-- luckily nobody was coming.
Hah- you brought a lot of memories back- one I remember was when I was 18 and folded into the back part of a Ford Falcon station wagon....my 4 siblings, my mom and dad and a family friend were in the small car also-.I was making baloney and cheese sandwiches out of a cooler and handing them forward.....or course there were no seat belts! It was 1960! We were headed to Lake Camis above 100 Mile House in B.C. What a vacation-we didn't know we were crammed into a small car-we were having fun as a family!
Taking the train into Portland is the only way to go....so I guess you can say, I like going sideways.
My father was an appallingly bad driver...usually drunk.
(I have terrible problems with the word identificanion thingy's....just letting you know.)
My Dad's driving was beset with absent mindedness, he drove through red lights. He kept his temper at home. It's a wonder anyone actually grew up.
My family wasn't a camping family but, just the other day, I was thinking about that shelf behind the back seat. Parents would be arrested for that now, which is probably a good thing, but I remember the great feeling of being back there watching the road disappear behind me.
Its good to think back how it used to be when we were children and everything was going at a slower pace.
I can remember the days with no seat belts went we, (by modern standards) did some very silly things hanging out of windows in the car and standing with our heads sticking out of the roof opening. Its a wonder we all survived.
Maggie X
Nuts in May
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