After unloading the boats in Bakersfield, we were able to contact Craig's parents for a very quick visit in Fresno. We met up at one of the local truck stops, and were able to spend about 20 minutes before we had to leave to pick up our next load. We were very happy to receive some home made cookies from Craig's Mom which did not last very long at all. In fact, by the time we got to Coarse Gold, CA they were pretty much history. That was the good part, now for the bad.
We had some difficulty finding the location to meet our contact person. Upon finding him, he led us up into the mountains on very small, steep, mountain roads. Making turns on these roads with a semi and 53 foot trailer was not easy and made me extremely nervous. We had checked with him to make sure there would be a place for us to turn around once we got there. He assured us that there was a cul-de-sac we could use. Once we saw the cul-de-sac we knew it was going to be tricky. We had a cliff on one side of it and electrical and water boxes blocking another area. But with Craig's driving skill, and my silent prayers, we safely turned around and parked in front of the residence to load the backhoe.
This proved to be challenging as well, as the roadway was not even. We were able to get the trailer apart to load the backhoe, but putting it back together again tried both of our patience. Craig had jokingly stated when we started that one driver had spent four hours trying to put his trailer back together. Well, we came close to that, after 3 hours we finally were able to make our way down from the mountain, albeit very slowly as by now it was dark which made the journey all the worse.
We made it back into Fresno to Klein's Truck stop for the night and assess our various cuts, possible broken finger, and sore muscles. But we kept telling ourselves tomorrow is another day and tomorrow came and it was. Tuesday we headed north on Highway 99 right through Modesto. But unfortunately, no one was home to visit, and with the delay in getting loaded, we needed to make up for lost time.
As we went further north, we could see Mount Shasta in the distance, and eventually drove right by it. It was a great day for sight seeing as we began to see more and more snow. We made it all the way to Chemult, Oregon before stopping for the night. To give you an idea of how cold it was there, when we awoke Wednesday morning it was 36 degrees inside the truck, but we were toasty warm under our sleeping bags.
And now the ugly. Normally we have never dreaded weigh stations and up until this time have had no problems with weight issues, truck problems, or securement of our loads. Until today. But it seemed we weren't the only ones. Just about everyone going through the scales at the Washington border at the Plymouth entry was asked to pull over and stop. As the Washington State Police inspected the truck, making sure the lights, horn, and truck and trailer passed a visual inspection, I sat in the truck feeling anxious. Then he asked for Craig to come inside the office with all of our paperwork. The anxiety level for me racheted up a bit more as I waited, and waited, and waited some more in the truck. Craig finally came back with his warning in hand, thank goodness no ticket, and we went about putting some extra strapping on our load and a quick mechanical fix to the trailer.
These past three days have certainly been trying at times, but in retrospect, I'd still rather being out in this truck and having these adventures with my husband than any thing else. After all, it was just one part of this wonderful journey we call life and we plan on having many more adventures to share.
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