The Road to Downieville

We had a yummy continental breakfast then we drove down the road to gas up at the Flying J. Afterward I pulled up to the front of the store to wait for Lizz. I found 2 quarters in my wallet and played the slot machine. I won 5 quarters! Of course I spent the next 5 minutes playing those back in! That’s my fun.

As we drove out of the gas station I realized it would be an air conditioning day in the car. Most of the morning drive was monotonous, until we saw a sign in Winnemucca for Taco Time. LUNCH! It was our last chance to enjoy those crispy fried burritos. After rolling out of the store we drove to Reno where we gassed up and shopped for a weeks worth of food at CostCo. And I thought I was going to lose weight on this trip. Not.

Lizz asked to drive from Reno to the cabin. I know she is a good driver and trust her skills but didn’t realize there would be so much traffic. It was rush hour. I sat in the back seat because I didn’t want Diana to have to move. She has bad legs and I didn’t feel right making her change. We got of the freeway at route 89 toward Sierraville where we changed to route 49. I have driven this route many years ago but starting at Auburn down to Oakhurst. It’s called the 49’er route and hope to be going home this way next Friday.

Route 89 is beautiful and that’s why they called it the scenic round. As we got to higher elevation there was snow on the ground. The sun was setting and all was so majestic. Lizz, Jeffery and I were talking so much I don’t think Lizz realized how she was driving. I’m not sure she has ever driven windy roads like these and was coming pretty close to the edges on my side of the car (back passenger side). I wasn’t too worried because it wasn’t a down embankment but rather the rock walls that I kept seeing as the car went around corners.

It was now getting darker and the road wasn’t lit with any lights except our own headlights. When Lizz had her learners permit, she had driving experience in rain and night because we were apart of a show at SLO Little theatre and she drove the back road to all of the rehearsals. She had more “weather” driving than daylight driving experience before she got her full license. But she hadn’t had this type of windy road experience. I was prepared for her to need lessons on this road. I hope I never grow so old or crabby that I stop learning.

I realized I wasn’t as comfortable about her driving as usual and tried to sit back and let her drive. The lane looked like it was getting smaller and she was driving slower and trying very hard to keep the car in the center of the lane. Steve knew the roads here and had no problem keeping up. He kept up until there was this SUV who wanted to pass him. On the walkie-talkie he called and said, “let this guy go ahead. Pull over to let him go”. Steve slowed down, that car passed, and got between us. Well, she finally found a spot to pull over. We didn’t know at the time she was stopping until we saw the lights, but the guy who got between us was the sheriff!

As he was walking toward her window, I got out of the back seat. I know, I know, you aren’t suppose to do anything but show your license, insurance and registration. But being the mama bear, I wasn’t going to let my baby cub go down without a fight. I started to talk and told him this was her first time to drive mountain roads. He asked Lizz a question after she showed her license and insurance card. He barked at me and said, “I’m talking to her.” Oops. I apologized and leaned into the glove box to get the registration.

He took her license to check it out. When he came back, I was still outside by my back door and explained to me why he really stopped her. It turns out he was concerned because she was only doing 35 mph in a 55 mph zone and was going back and forth from one line to the other. He explained he sees allot of drunk driving with the second car following close. The second car either has an angry driver trying to pass or they follow the drunk car off the road. After he realized she wasn’t drunk, he leaned down and gave her a lesson on how to drive these roads at night. Again, I believe we all need to keep learning. It’s apart of life. I too learned how to drive these kinds of roads for future reference.

He asked if that was my husband in the other car. I don’t know why. I told him it was my son and that our walkie-talkies weren’t working so well her. When he was finished talking with me he said he wanted to tell her why he stopped her. He leaned into her window and told her the same thing. We were now on good terms and let her go. After she calmed down, we decided that we would tell Steve the sheriff wanted to give him a ticket like he gave Lizz.

When we got to the cabin all in my car acted like we were angry at Steve for driving away. But the joke was on us. The sheriff knew we couldn’t communicate with Steve so when he saw Steve’s car pulled over at an opening he drove over and told Steve what had happened and why. We all had a good laugh, even through the tears. Tomorrow Lizz will be 21. This was not a way to start her 21st year or our week of relaxation. I’m sure Lizz’ version will remember it differently.

We arrived at the cabin in the dark. We used the headlights of Steve’s car to light the way until he turned the electricity on. It was rather interesting to see everyone get out, taking anything and everything with them. They’ve done this before. We were all unpacked we went for a walk down the street to the bridge. Because it’s s dark here, the night sky was full of white glimmering dots. The air was cool and crisp even though it’s a June night. I was too tired to continue but Steve and Christopher went on with their tradition of laying down on the street and looking up at the sky. Tomorrow I’ll try that but tonight I’m tired and off to bed I go.
C