We flew from Orlando, and as we approached Salt Lake City, this beautiful sight was presented:
Our continuing flight was delayed about an hour due to a hydraulic leak, and as they brought in another plane and we boarded, our estimated arrival home would still be mid-afternoon.
For several days snow had been falling and accumulating in the west, and when we landed and began our drive home, it was obvious that the warming temperature had melted much of the snow; it still lay piled to the sides, but the roads were clear.
As we approached the bottom of our steep driveway, it was apparent that the taxi driver would allow us to fend for ourselves from this point on. It had been plowed in by the road crew, so we hoisted our luggage, trudged through the snow embankment and then set out to conquer the Douglas Fir tree which stretched before us and blocked our ascent. BUT we were thankful, for the overhead power lines appeared to be intact, a sign that we would have electricity.
(Note: Last month, one of our neighbor's fir trees took down the fence and power line as it fell across our lower drive. The shallow root system of this fast growing tree, accompanied by strong winds in soggy soil, tend to be disastrous.)
Once our house key was located, my husband changed clothes and headed back down to shovel the snow away from the gate, so it could be opened. He could then drive the four-wheeler and take the chainsaw to cut the tree which blocked our driveway.All I wanted to do was help. . . so I decided to back the car down in order to load the luggage. If you look at the photo just above his head, there is a very narrow and steep nearly 180 degree turn to the right. You're way ahead of me, aren't you? As the snow masked the edge of the drive and after I rounded the bend, the car slid off to the left with two wheels now sitting slightly off the driveway.
I climbed to the passenger side, got out of the vehicle, looked down to the gate where he stood shaking his head and saying 'no. . . no'. He walked up toward me, and then told me twice what I had done (like I didn't know what had just happened. . . duh). He then got into the car and tried to move it forward, only to have it slide further down to the left. . . ;-)) . . . that's me smiling. We briefly discussed how I only tried to help.
Action plan: I called AAA. All those years we have paid membership and never had to use the services. . . this was the time. The truck arrived within an hour, but it couldn't get up the hill. . . no four-wheel drive. Really? The driver proceeded to tell us there was only one other company with that kind of vehicle, and they had a two day backlog. So. . . I called them, and within several hours they arrived, and in minutes our vehicle was back in the garage.
Showered, partially unpacked, but it's time for dinner, a nice glass of wine and a relaxing evening. We toasted our day's adventure as we normally do, "Here's to loving you."
Isn't life wonderful?
P.S. Happy Birthday to my brother.
