Another Family Adventure

Our family seems to have some pretty exciting adventures when we go places......whether it is mudslides we narrowly escape from or trying to take our tent down in 50 mph winds without breaking the poles...we seem to end up with some stories to tell.  They make for good family memories!
Yesterday we pulled the kids out of school and headed to the mountains to get our Christmas tree.  Every Saturday that the forest is open for cutting we are busy, so this was our one chance to carry on the tradition to get up there.  The kids were thrilled to get out of school before lunch and we barely made it back in time to get T to work, but we had a good time with a twist....we will get to that later.

We have had some cold weather the last several days with lots of snow falling in the mountains.  So we knew we were in for a colder walk through the forest.  It actually turned out to be a very nice day with the sun shining, in the high 20's, and no wind!  It didn't take us long to find one after some playing in the snow and an impromptu snow ball (or should I say snow dust) fight.

My hubby and T cut it down and we let the kids carry it to the car....they have to pull their weight some how right?!  It was a good tree.....it is always hard to truly judge when they are so tall and other trees are surrounding it.  They are never as full or perfect as the ones you get at the store, but they each have personality and once they are decorated, they are beautiful and perfect in their own way!  Anyway, after tying it to the top of the car, the adventure began....oh how I wish I would have taken pictures! 

When I went to the Ranger Station to get our permit, she told me that our regular place was only open to 4 wheel drive vehicles and that there was another place we could go with our van.  We tried that place first and there were not many trees, so we headed over to the other place and set out on a one way side road.  The car did fine, we parked, got the tree and headed back out.....no worries.  We were quite surprised that we had found a tree so quickly and we were going to make it back in plenty of time for T to get to work....MISTAKE #1!  A ways down the road we came to a sign telling us only 4WD past this point.  So we decided to turn around and go out the wrong way hoping not to run into another car coming the right way.  The roads were snow packed but we had done fine so far, but in the midst of turning around we got stuck.  So myself, T and M got out and pushed the car as my hubby drove.  Piece of cake and we hopped back in and off we went.  My hubby was commenting on how great the van was actually doing in the snow.....MISTAKE #2!  We were jinxing ourselves all over the place.  We made it back to our original parking spot and knew that this was going to be a hard hill as it also had a turn in it and it was a long.  We got past the curve and half was up the hill when we lost our speed and stopped.  So out the 3 of us went again to push us up the hill...to no avail.  We decided to gather sticks, tree branches, dirt....anything that would get us some traction.  Nothing....over and over we tried and we were just not going to get up the hill.  Being the middle of the week, we were about the only ones up there.  Thank goodness as we were taking up the whole road.  Finally, my hubby decided that he would back all the way down the hill and around the corner to get a good run at it.  We were to stay there and keep adding debris to the road.  We stopped and quickly said a prayer to help us get up this hill.  Then my hubby started backing up and ended up getting the front tire in a rut near the side of the road and then he disappeared around the corner.  I heard no noise and so we kept on with our task at hand.  After a minute or two I asked T, who was on a hill, if he could see the car.  He said no and asked if I was worried.  I said a little bit and at that very moment Duke and K came running around the corner....and then I knew that something was wrong.  Off we all headed down the hill to see the car totally sideways on the road with a ditch behind the car and a hill in front.  Now what?????  We could not back up or go forward.  So we all got at the back of the van and literally pushed the back end to straighten it out....man are we strong cuz it worked.  So off up around the corner and up the hill to continue throwing stuff on the road as my hubby backed the rest of the way down.  With a few hundred pounds less weight and him gunning it, up he came around the corner passing us to the top of the hill.  PHEW....we all ran up the hill after him, screaming and our hands waving.  We were so thrilled that after about 45 minutes of working at it, we were back up to the main road.  After a quick prayer of thanks, we went as quickly as we could go to get back home before T was late for work......we just made it in time for him to change and head out.  There were a few lessons we learned from that experience, but the most important was the power of prayer.  We have no doubt that we had a helping hand in getting out of that situation without any harm to the car or to us and getting home in time for T to get to work.  We were truly blessed!

Again, wish I had thought of taking pictures of the sideways car and the road full of debris....my mind was focused on other things obviously. Chalk another unpredicted adventure on to our memories.  Oh my how I love my family and the good times we have together.  Merry Christmas everyone!