Got back from Oregon, Man its beautiful up there. It's like West Virginia on Steroids. Saw Crater Lake, the Oregon National Caves which was basically a private tour, because my G/F and I were the only ones on the tour. Saw the Lava Beds in California along with Jebidiah Smith National Forest. On the way home we took Highway 101 and stopped at the Seal Cave's and the Devil's Punchbowl.
At Crater lake we saw a Bald Eagle, and I saw two Wild Coyotes, One along Highway 66 and the other along Highway 140, The First Wild One I've ever seen, It shocked the hell out of me, at first I thought it was a Wolf!
It's a lot different here, Spruce Knob is the highest point in WV and it's only about 6,000 feet I believe. In Oregon we were almost always above 4,000 feet, And at times were 7 and 8 thousand feet. The Highest mountain we cross to get to the Eastern Panhandle On I-68 is Keyser's Ridge at 2,880 feet, But I beleive Cheat Mountain on Route 50 is around 4,000.
Thanks to all of you guys who helped me out with all the questions I had. Highway 58 from Eugene was Awesome, and was easier than I expected. As for the Trucks, It was not that bad, I was expecting them to be everywhere, But they seemed less frequent than here In West Virginia, we're used to Coal Trucks and Log trucks on smaller roads than those and even more twisty-turney. Highway 66 from K Falls to Medford and the road to the Oregon National Caves are more similar to the roads here where I live.
Although the most interesting time we had was at Howard Prairie Lake, I posted this in the CM Forums.
We had just gotten out of the car at Howards Prairie lake after an almost hour drive, And being a smoker we had got out stretched our legs and and lit up. My girlfriends uncle ran to the bathroom and I sat and talked with Wayne, my girlfriends father. We were sat there about a minute, In front of the Bait Shop looking down at the Marina/Boat Ramp. When I heard "Somebody Help! Come On Help!"
I immediatley took off for the Boat Ramp at full speed, with Wayne behind me. As I approached the Ramp I saw what was going on, Two Men were in the water trying to pull thier Ford Ranger back on to the ramp. At first I wasnt worried, so I slowed down and walked fast to the ramp. Wayne yelled for John, who was just coming out of the bathroom. Thats when I noticed a man was sitting in the passengers seat of the Ranger.
My Heart sunk immediatley. I started to run again for the dock, A small crowd of about 7 or 8 people were just standing and watching as two men were trying to pull the Ranger back on to the ramp. But from the looks of it they were'nt even coming close to accomplishing the task. I just stared with my jaw dropped, A man pushed me out of the way and yelled at me "Don't just stand there!!" It felt like I was in shock, as I noticed the truck bed as it began to fill with water, Beer cans and tackle boxes began to swirl around in the back of the truck. I knew right then and there it was now or never.
I jumped into the water feet first, the water was paralyizing I had never been in water so cold. There was still snow on the ground in some places there although the air tempurature was pushing close to 70 degrees Faranhiet. Almost simotanasley John (My G/F's Uncle) jumped in as well. I couldn't feel the bottom, which meant the truck was floating, I tried to open the door but I couldnt, Luckily John had enough sense or balls to climb in through the driver's side window, as he climbed in people were shouting "You're making it sink faster!!" Thats when I looked the passenger directly in the eyes, He was an older man about 60 something he was wearing a Korean War Veteran Hat, John sat there and allowed the cab to fill with water enough to allow him to open the door. As the door swung open, John swam out and took the man by his hand and pulled him out, walking cane and all. The roof of the cab was only about 6 inches out of the water when he made it out. John and I grabbed him and swam a couple of feet to the Dock., where he was lifted it out by the crowd of people.
When we got out of the water, the man was clearly distraught, but he thanked everyone, even the man who pushed me out of the way, I had the nerve to punch the guy who pushed me in the face, but I shivered and walked back to the car, I asked my G/F who had been in the bait shop for a cigg because mine were all wet, She said "Why are you guys all wet?" I just pointed at the boat ramp. A few minutes later a backhoe pulled the ranger out of the lake but as they pulled it out it scraped against the rocks along side the ramp, because the park rangers wouldnt allow anybody to adjust the steering in the sunken Ford.
So if anybody's the Hero it's my G/F's Uncle, because he had enough sense to equalize the pressure to open the door. I'm just happy he was there because if he wasnt that man would have drowned, for sure. And I would have floated there inches from him.
You should have seen my face, I looked like an icecicle for the rest of the day.
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