A traveling Ut Oh moment,

[Lakota Wolf]

Me and an old friend was making our way back to Cali-forn-I A, Via Colorado ways... Hes never seen Wolf Creek Pass,, just only heard songs about it. Well,, Ole Wolf Creek is a natural beautiful area to travel through,,, its almost jaw dropping. First of all, when your at the top,, Your pretty much at the altitude of aircraft,,,I could have sworn I was right along side a 707 at one time,,, but then it could have been a big bird.

Anyyyyyyyyyy-who,,, my friend,, Freddy,, is dozing on and off, I told him, its gonna be a good hour,, so he can go ahead and grab a few ZZZZ's. I just toodle along on the platue crest anticipating the famous downgrade. Yes, it has one of the steepest, most wickedest downgrades in the U.S. of A...(For us seasoned travelers,, there is this thing called the PUCKER Factor.. and its rated on a scale of 1 to 10.) A pucker factor is how tight your butt cheeks clentch. And it usually coincides with the white knuckle steering wheel grip

The pucker factor for Wolf Creek pass is rated at a  12.

Ok, anyyyy-whooo,,,, we finally arrive to the first sign, saying downgrade ahead, pull off,check brakes, (put on fresh underwear),

As you leave, it says USE LOW GEAR ONLY, Go easy on heavy braking,,, use run away ramps if nessasary. (Run away ramps are like exit ramps with an upgrade through sand to slow you down),,, its not the purdiest way to come to a stop, but it does the job,, I recommend not using one if you dont have to,, unless its an actual emergency.

We start our downgrade, taking it easy,, staying at an easy slow pace,,, we aint in no hurry,, this is purdy country up here,, lots of sights to see,, and not a whole lot of traffic. Ole Freddy is snoring away,, and I just let him catch his ZZZZZ's,, Hes an old guy and needs his naps. About 1/2 way down,, the ole truck is picking up some speed,, and so I gently apply a little bit of brake,,,,, and that brake pedal goes clean to the floor,,, like stepping on a really ripe tomato.

and it stays there,, Now thats not good, I think to myself. As the ole truck slowly picks up speed,, we are clipping along pretty good,, as the phone poles start to look like a picket fence rolling past the side windows,,, the ole striped road now looks like a single solid stripe.

 About this time I see a construction sign saying ONE lane bridge ahead.., and I notice up on the other side of the grade another truck comming down at a rather high rate of speed also,,, Well heck,, there is only one thing to do in a situation like this,,,, Wake ole Freddy up,,, cuz he aint never seen a wreck like we are about to have.

(This was an old joke my grandfather told me back in the day),

Hope you enjoyed the humor,

[Dawn Michelle]

I keep reading about your hair raising adventures going down mountains and I'm never going to drive Juno - just circle Asheville and never leave!