Thanksgiving was in Oregon this year! We had wonderful 2 1/2 days in Oregon. It was gorgeous and so much fun!! And I couldn't believe it was 3 1/2 years since I was home. I want to try and get home once a year from now on. But only during Summer by car. If we go in Winter...BY PLANE.
This is our journal and it's a looong post....just warning you :)
We actually left for Portland on Monday but were turned back by a blizzard that had closed roads. So, on Tuesday morning we decided to re-evaluate the trip, look up weather forecasts, see what roads were still closed, etc., to see if we could still make the trip. I-84 was closed. BUMMER. It was still hairy in areas that were open and we just decided it wasn't looking good. So I wrote to my mom and dad and told them that we decided against it. It was hard to do and discouraging but it wasn't possible for us to go. And then I thought, what about going through Pocatello? And lo and behold, the roads were open! And it was only an extra 45 minutes! So, debating about whether to go or not started again. Then Wade said, okay, that's it. We're going. So we hurried and rounded the kiddos and things and hopped in the car and went.
We got gas in Tremonton and then we were once again, on our way. And honestly, all the way to Pocatello, one lane was good, the other lane had a bit of snow on the road but it was good conditions! And then, we turned on I-86. It was okay at first but then it was pretty nerve-racking. One lane was generally clear, the other snow packed. We saw an Expedition just like ours on the right shoulder that had rolled. We passed so many accidents all the way to Twin Falls (or Idaho Falls...whatever one it is). By the time we stopped there for gas I was so sick about driving conditions. I just wanted to turn around. Wade was like, we've come this far we're going. So after an hour break for the kids, we took off again. And the roads were still hairy until Glenns Ferry. And then, CLEAR. Oh what a relief!!!
At that point, I told my brother in Portland we were on our way again but asked him not to tell mom and dad just in case we need to turn around. I didn't want to get their hopes up again. We made it to Ontario, had McDonalds, and called my parents to tell them we were on our way! My mother screamed so loud! It was funny. We only had about 7 more hours to go. We had gone about 9 (the entire trip is usually only 11 or 12 hours!). We were tired but we were going to make it!! The mountain passes were soooo clear. AMAZING. And then right out of Pendleton all the way to Hood River there was just black ice. I cringed and my stomach sank for hours. It was just all those memories and feelings from our accident 2 years ago that just were constantly with me. But yes, we finally made it to Beaverton at 1:30 in the morning! Only 16 hours of driving- whew. Went to bed late, kids were happy and good. All in all, a freakish drive but so glad the kids were so good.
We spent the first day with Thanksgiving preparations and relaxing and eating. It was awesome.
That night, Mike and Kecia and London and Me and Wade went to Old Navy to catch some Thanksgiving deals. Didn't get any but it was sure nice to not lug around 3 kiddos! They were at home enjoying Grandma and Grandpa and Cade and Cole for a fun night/sleepover!! The next day we didn't hit any black Friday sales like we usually do. I KNOW! No sales tax and I didn't go?? That's just wrong. But seriously...I couldn't wake up. We got into Oregon 1:30am Thanksgiving morning (2:30am Utah time) and I just couldn't do it. So we just had a great time hanging out with my parents. All the kiddos made bird houses with Grandpa. Jack is a tool nut so he was LOVING all the tools and the building. We spent the rest of the afternoon/evening with Mike and family at his house and then of course Grandma and Grandpa watched the kids so Wade and I could have time at the stores that night. Did I mention I love no sales tax??
The next morning, we met up with Wade's childhood best friend, Peter Tovey. He married a beautiful Samoan girl named Bonita at BYU-H. They both decided to go to law school and ended up going to the same school in Portland. Isn't that crazy?! So it was great to meet them. And it was awesome to see Wade reconnect with his friend. I'm sure we'll see them every time we visit Oregon. And Facebook makes it better until we do!
The drive home was a nightmare. We left after our breakfast with the Tovey’s that Saturday. Said our goodbyes and away we went. We thought once we passed through the Dalles/Blue Mountains, we'd be free and clear. But oh no—it just started in the Dalles. That morning and the previous day or two, they had freezing rain storms: just incredibly nasty stuff. Portland and especially The Dalles are notorious for that. But we had no choice. We had to get back. Wade had to go to work on Monday. We tried to find cheap flights for Wade so I could stay a week and hope for clearer weather the next weekend but that wasn't so. From the Dalles to Pendleton it was kinda okay. The freezing rain had melted but you saw all these accidents from the day before (3 semis had an accident and were all burned and still smoking). It freaks you out!
But before we started up the mountain pass after Pendleton, we hit a blizzard. They only required the semi's to have chains and we didn't have any so that was lucky although I kind of secretly wished we had some. It was almost a white out, going up and down through the pass at 25 mph. I was freaking out. I thought any second we'd lose control. It was horrific. Of course Wade's like, Jessie, if you act upset, I'll be upset and I need you to be okay so I can be okay. He was right. I couldn't let him be nervous upset cause he was driving.
But after a few hours, we made it through!! Oh happy day, we thought!
We made it all the way to Baker City where we were thinking of staying the night...wish we did. But we stopped and ate dinner there and decided to drive on through. By the way, the kids were once again, amazing!
We got going about 45 min into the drive, we saw flares. And a cop setting up a blockade to send cars off the freeway and back to Baker City. I sure wish we had been sent back. In fact, we were one of the last 10 cars or so before the closed it off and had people turn around. We were stuck on I-84 in the middle of NOWHERE for just over 4 HOURS. NOT joking. We were at the end of 6 miles of stopped traffic. DID I MENTION IT WAS FOR 4 HOURS?!?!
The view from our car!!!
Wade kept asking about what was going on to truckers since they had CB radios. Apparently there was a fatal accident. And that's all we knew. The highway was ice. Pure ice. People got out to use the "bathroom" (well, men ha ha ha) and you saw them run and do the slide across the street for fun. And it was pure ice like that all the way to Ontario. I'm being dramatic but the truth is, it was pure ice.
Finally we started to move again!!! HOORAY!!!! At that point it was 1:30am. It took us an hour (normally it takes about 20 min. I think...we weren't that far from Ontario) to get to Ontario and to find a hotel because it was just ice the whole way. I seriously was hyperventilating. But the kids had slept the whole time during that stopped traffic. That to me was a miracle.
We got a hotel and rested until we woke up about 8am and had breakfast. Wade talked with a lot of people who were in that mess and discovered that one of them was at the very back with that cop. The cop kept telling them updates of the situation. He said that there was a fatality and that they usually take 6-8 hrs to do an investigation but because they needed the snowplows to get through, they cut corners. Could you imagine if we were still stranded for longer?? UGH. The truth is that we felt less like complaining since someone had died.
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