Stuck in Portland

Driving toward Portland
along the Columbia Gorge

Day 3-4: Made it from Kennewick to Hood River just barely. Three people pushed our travel-weary Toyota up a mini-hill so we could check-in at Comfort Suites, where we had "the last of two" rooms. Actually, the hotel was nearly empty, but we awoke to news of another storm coming up the Columbia Gorge.

After a harrowing slide down that mini-hill and a short (thank goodness) drive to Les Schwab, we were equipped with chains and ready to tackle I-84. The nice man at Les Schwab told us not to drive over 25 mph, though. That seemed fast enough to keep us going on the single lane west, well populated by trucks with flashing red lights.

We pulled off at Multnomah Falls to remove the chains (no idea how to proceed). A massive truck barreled by, sloshing both Allen and I from head to foot. A few kindly folks stopped by to give us a hand. Twenty minutes later, chains were off, and we were happily back on the road, dry pavement, and about 60 miles from Portland.

Day 5: That was yesterday. This morning we awoke to 10" of fresh snow, with another 4-6" predicted for Portland later tonight. Portland doesn't do well with snow. Chains are required for any driving (ours are conveniently in our trunk, ready to go, but we have no clue how to put them on).

That's our car, parked right in the driveway of Dan and Myrna's house.

Our snow-clad Toyota

Not sure when we can drive south -- or fly to Philadelphia. Right now, we're warm, comfy, quiet, waiting for the snow to stop, and feeling very grateful for the kindness of passing strangers -- and friends.