Imagine an innocent Easter weekend. We took the kids over the hill to the East Bay for a weekend at Grandma’s. A lovely Passover, free babysitting, a little shopping on Fourth Street… overall a relaxing getaway. Sure, it rained on our egg hunt, but by Sunday the weather had cleared. After a delicious brunch and romp in the dog park, we headed home.
As usual, all the serious traffic was headed in the opposite direction, so we made good time. Yeah, there was a bit of rain, but no big deal. We stopped briefly in Auburn for a little KFC (Ikeda’s was closed) and motored on.
In all our five years living in the Reno-Tahoe region, we have NEVER had a problem getting over the I-80 pass. People always say, how can you live there with the snow that can close the highway? And I always respond, oh, they almost never close it… they keep it plowed all the time. Well, that’s generally true. But tonight? I guess it was our time.
Our first mistake was ignoring the Applegate Road Conditions sign indicating a two hour delay up ahead. I mean, really. What could possibly be the problem? It was probably just some accident that’s already been cleared, right? (Note to self: next time you see that message, run, don’t walk, to the nearest hotel.)
A few miles down the road, just before Dutch Flat, traffic halted. But the weird thing was that we parked and didn’t move for at least a half hour. Then we would move a mile, and halt again, for another twenty minutes. Then again. And, again. Once in a while we would pass an exit where we could have turned around, retreating back to Sacramento, but with each passing hour, we felt more and more invested. This just had to end soon.
As the snow started really coming down, the kids played, fought, did their Brittany Spears impersonations and were intentionally annoying. They wanted to go play on the freeway, but I said no. At least they’re way beyond the diaper stage and didn’t have to go to the bathroom.
Two and a half hours later, we finally reached a chain checkpoint. Woo-hoo, we were on our way. But our 30 mph pace didn’t last for more than five miles, when we reached a second stopping point, and parked for oh, about 45 minutes. I seriously thought we might be sleeping in our car. And me without a coat.
The hubby was tense beyond words. I too was beginning to get a little claustrophobic. So my daughter offered up her iPod, and I was subjected to Abba for the next half hour. But strangely, I felt better.
The cars ahead finally started to move, and we all inched our way toward the second checkpoint. I have no idea why Cal-Trans funnels thousands of cars into a single lane, TWICE, but I’m sure it’s for my safety and well being. We made it through and drove down the snowy highway at a conservative clip all the way to Reno. It must have snowed all weekend, because when we left, it looked like Spring. Coming back, it looked like Alaska.
So I guess next time I’ll be checking the weather before I leave. And I’ll be paying more attention to that Applegate sign. And I’ll be packing Abba.
OfficeSupport
Ikeda’s in “Forest Hill” is the best kept secret. Ya gotta try their fruit pies at the back order counter or their real ice cream shakes up front.
Don’t say I never gave ya noth’N so here it is. Forest Hill is the bench mark for very bad mountain conditions ahead east over I-80. There should be an electronic road conditions sign near or just past Ikeda’s at Forest Hill. If it says chains or snow tires ahead or heavy snow, things like that, seriously consider staying right there. No need to go further. Just get a nearby hotel room and pack the family off to In-N-Out Burger back down the road about 2 miles.
OfficeSupport
I didn’t mean to diss Ikeda’s organic mounds of health food like assorted nuts, berrys, fresh vegies, grain breads, melons, colorful herbs, etc.. that dominate the scene which is where you’d find me.