Of Tires and Trails



On the Bridal Veil Falls Trail

Sunday, July 22, 2012

We packed up and headed our car toward Mt.Rainier about 10am.  It was a cloudy morning with a chance of meatballs, oops I mean rain.  I was concerned that we would be on the mountain and not even be able to see it.  We will see.  At about 10:30am, we heard a funny noise and pulled the car over to find a FLAT tire.  Really, really flat!  When Dave checked the other back tire, it was looking about ready to go also.  With all the extra weight in the back of the car, the tires were wearing unevenly (not to mention all the MILES :)  So....we got everyone out of the car, the weight off the back and Dave started changing the tire.  I called Triple A  to see where we could get new tires (especially since it was on a Sunday morning) and we found a Pep Boys in Puyallup, WA which was about 45 min. away.  So, after getting off the phone, Dave told me to call them back and say that we now DID need them to come help as our jack broke :(  Well, Triple A said a tow truck would be out in about an hour so I made some sandwiches and we sat down to wait.  Since it was Sunday morning, I suggested that we listen to Christy Nockels "Waiting Here For You".  I thought it would be an appropriate song :)  (not to mention that I love it).



The broken jack that
did us in.



 But God sent an angel to help us and someone pulled over with a jack.  We were changed and back on the road in no time (yes, we called to cancel the tow-truck).

We made it to Puyallup and got 2 new tires.  All in all, the tire blow took about 4 hours. The kids were great and even got compliments on their good behavior at Pep Boys.  But...this detour did change our plans so instead of Mt. Rainier today, we will need to visit it on Tuesday and today we were going to do a hike that Dave had done in graduate school called Bridal Veil Falls.

Washington state is gorgeous state and a favorite place for Dave to do hikes.  This hike was 1.7 miles each way with an 800 foot elevation climb.  It was lovely and when Dave had been here, there was a copper mine called the "Honeymoon Mine".  We were hoping to explore it a bit today also.  It turns out that the mine had been deemed "dangerous" and the trail had actually been changed, so we were not able to venture in a mine today.  Let me tell you...Jonathan was a disappointed little boy about that, mommy sighed a big sigh of relief :)  We started our climb and it is absolutely "heavenly".  I just love all the trees, ferns and rivers...ahhhh!  As we neared the top, it was definitely more of a climb and a bit treacherous.  The boys were like mountain goats leaping up the rocks and trail...we counted at least 160 steps going up to the falls.  Good workout!



Some of the many
steps we climbed.

   It was gorgeous at the Falls and I just love the views that we have been able to see.  I was a bit nervous as the boys like climbing out a bit to get a better view and that water is just so strong and swift but as it turns out we were all safe close to the falls....it was after that got us more.  Annika had gone a bit ahead of us as I was waiting to make sure everyone was safely away from the Falls...when we heard this screaming. There was a bridge (a very wide one) that she supposedly fell off of.  We are not sure what happened but thankfully she came away only with a scraped knee and a wet bottom.  We started back down and the top of the trail was definitely the trickiest.  Annika and I were moving slower so we stepped aside so Dave could pass us and catch up with the boys, when the edge of the trail gave way under his foot and he tumbled head first down the mountain.  It had not looked so steep as there were many thorns bushes growing right there but the ground went pretty straight down.  I grabbed one of Dave's feet (not that that helped him much) and we surveyed the situation.  There was not much for Dave to push off of as he was still only on bushes, not ground but he finally twisted enough to get his hand to me.  This still did us little good as I had a backpack on and was backed up against a rock....so, no leverage. In the midst of all this, Annika was screaming and  I start laughing.  (I think that my laughter was due to nervous energy from being afraid my whole family would fall off the mountain).  Good thing Dave is so strong and able to climb his way up my arm.  WHEW!! Thank you Lord for all your angels that are watching us on our trip.  It has been an exciting 24 hours for sure.

Refueling before finishing the hike



Bridal Veil Falls



The rest of the hike was uneventful and enjoyable.  It actually started raining just as we got in the car...perfect.  We started the drive to Seattle (actually to Lynnwood) and picked up Little Caesar's pizza for our drive.  We stayed at a Holiday Inn Express and thanked the Lord for another wonderful and safe day!!!