Road Not Plowed Or Sanded

I was feeling a little antsy this morning, and The Husband, after leaving the house this week for medical reasons only, said he wouldn't mind riding along if I felt like searching for photo opportunities. So we decided to go explore one of our local waterfalls.

We'd never seen these particular waterfalls before, so armed with directions, some Dunkin' Donuts coffee and a movie in the laptop for The Youngest, we headed out. I didn't see our turn in time, so I had to drive down the road a bit to turn around. Suddenly there's a bunch of cows in the road, so I pull off to the side as I realize there's no actual person in charge here.

The bovine are running the show, ladie's and gentelmen. There's a photo op. just waiting to happen.

I hopped out of the Nitro and went around back to get Junior, scrambling to get some shots before it's over. As luck would have it, the first few I fired off didn't turn out because the camera had been left on settings for indoor photography, not daylight with bright snow. This was the first shot that came out, and it looks like the party's over...they've decided to head back before they get in trouble.

I'm so bummed, and getting ready to pack it up, when I see them running back towards the road. We're in business!

As the cow's get a little too close for comfort, I can't help but wonder what my city-boy Husband is thinking. This just doesn't happen in Brooklyn. I decided to retreat to the safety of the Nitro, realizing the fun's about to end.

Off they go down the road, causing confusion and delay.

The show's over. I'm laughing hysterically and The Husband's trying not to as he's taking this picture...it sends him into coughing fits.

We finally made it to our destination.

I loved how the light was shining through all of the rain drops in this picture.

You can't tell from this picture, but this hill is fairly steep. As I was working my way down it I was mentally adding up the value of the camera equipment I was carrying. There is a layer of ice in places, and we decided it just wasn't worth it to go any further. You weren't expecting to see waterfall pictures, were you?

We continued on our explore, driving down towards a lake in hopes of getting some water pictures. I completely ignored the sign that said "Seasonal use highway", despite The Husband's warnings.

You know where this is going, don't you?

Do you know how it feels to get your vehicle stuck in the snow in the middle of nowhere, with your husband getting over his (probable) pneumonia and a 5 year-old in the backseat? It's not a good feeling, trust me. Assuming there was no cell phone service, I decided to walk up the road to the nearest house, and hope someone was home to call a tow truck. I met Mr. Nelson, a man's man with 4wd Silverado. He offered to take a look.

It wasn't pretty. If I'd stayed stuck where I was the first time, he'd have been able to get me out. But in an effort to get myself out of my mess I'd driven farther down the road (since I couldn't reverse) hoping to find somewhere to turn around. It was no use...when I got this far I knew that even if I could turn around, I didn't have a snowball's chance in you-know-where of getting back up.

So Mr. Nelson took me back to his house to get a shovel and call for that tow truck after all. As luck would have it, I picked the one day to get stuck that the tow truck driver's don't answer their phones, so Mr. Nelson moved on to Plan B.

Please take a moment to notice that there's not one, but two trucks pulling us out. That's right, Mr. Nelson called in backup. We were so thankful for the help we made him take some money for his efforts, and he promised they'd have a beer on us. Somewhere tonight there's a couple of good guys laughing at my expense.

The Husband made me stop so he could further document my stupidity. Whatever.