Stuck

There we were, on top of this steep, stupid hill with no turn around. The incline grade was more than 10% and it was impossible to go back down in reverse. Sean got out and looked around. Imagine a huge steak on a small plate. That was our van and camper on top of this big hill.

To the left, the metal gate lead to a grassy area near some kind of city power structure. Sean swung it open and I felt my heart leap with hope. Ah! If we could somehow go in reverse about 20 feet and then drive into it, we could then attempt to turn this thing around.

Problem was, the top of the asphalt was chopped up; bits and pieces were missing and deep grooves in the exposed dirt were where we needed to back up the camper. It was a no go. We would bottom out. I suggested we drive it into the bushes and then reverse it in a small clearing to turn it around. Sean disagreed.

Acting like it was no big deal, "Okay, just bring it over there through the gate and then back it up over there," he said matter-of-fact.

"'Just,'" I muttered, "Whenever you say 'just' I know you are trying to minimize something. Turning it into there will get you stuck." I was pissed but couldn't be. We had to work together and doing the blame game wouldn't get us out of this mess.

"I would turn it into there," I said pointing, with the same chipper voice like he used.

"No, that's no good."
"Yes, it is...you'll need to jack knife it real hard though."
"Driving through the gate will be easier. I'll guide you," he persisted.
"Fine."

I hopped in and the kids were quiet. I explained what we were going to do and that I would need it real quiet so I could think. The kids didn't make a sound.

I backed up the camper straight about 20 feet to pull forward so I could pull in through the gate. The weight from the trailer pulled the van back and my wheels started slipping. We went sliding down the hill a couple feet and I locked the breaks. We still slid.

Growing up in Minnesota gave me some advantage: I knew how to drive on slippery roads.

I put it into first gear and held my position. The wheels caught traction and slowly we heaved up to the top again and made the turn. My heart was pounding and my legs were shaking. I pulled into the grass and hopped out to look at what we had to maneuver next.

A chain link fence ran along the right-hand side of the van. Straight back was a big dip and then further back a deep ditch. If I could go part way out and then jack knife it to the right, drive the camper into the bushes, we could clear the gate and the other ditch and make it down the hill.

Sean hopped in. It was his turn to give it a go. He carefully began to back it up but then began some weird turning that made the camper nearly hit the fence.

"STOP! STOP!" I yelled, waiving my arms, "You have to turn it the other way!"

He pulled it back forward to give it another try. This time he made it through the gate but then went into the deep dip. The bike trailer in the back of the camper dug down into the dirt and then hit the asphalt lip bending the frame and making a loud scraping sound.

"STOP! STOP!" I screamed up to him, "DO NOT MOVE!" Sean jumped out to inspect what was going on.

"The dip is too big. You drive it and I will try to lift the bike trailer to clear the lip," he said.

I watched in the rear-view mirrors as he tried to lift the 200lb bike trailer and four bikes up as I backed up. It was no good. We were now stuck further on this damn hill. I started muttering to myself all the things I had to get out like, "If you see a big hill and you think that it looks too steep, STOP DRIVING!"

Over and over we tried to back up. Two hours went by and we were still stuck. The children still silent with fright. Finally, I said,"Sean, let me go back down the way I got in here, I'll pull forward again where I wanted to, and then I'll jackknife it into the bushes."

We cleared the asphalt with a different angle and slid down the hill a few feet until I finally regained some footing. Pulled it up into the bushes, jackknifed it into the bushes while scraping the paint through the wild blackberries and through a few more forward and reverse maneuvers we were facing the right way: looking down the narrow street in front of us.

I jumped over to my seat and looked at Sean as he climbed in. We did it. He slowly made the descent. He made a few chuckles of relief then said, "Now! Let's go look at that house!" I looked at him perplexed how he could be so flippant. I watched the road finally level out. "Okay...but park here. Don't drive up the street."

Trailers and Hills Don't Mix

So finally everyone was feeling fine and well rested after a night of camping nearby the hospital. We were excited to get to Bellingham located just south of the Canadian border. I had researched some real estate and had some listings written down for us to drive by. The drive in was gorgeous with a narrow road with a forested cliff immediately to our right with a 2-inch shoulder and then the Sound to our left with breath taking views.

An upscale neighborhood with craftsman style homes overlooked the water, all ascending along the hillside. Yards were uniquely landscaped and well kept. We were diggin’ it. We looked crazy driving our camper all over their stylish neighborhood. Our van and camper had not seen a wash or a speck of rain since the Midwest, some 1,700 miles ago and we had every bug from Minnesota on west all it.

Some homes were for sale and Sean would jump out and grab a flyer. I am sure the neighbors that saw us were praying, “Oh no! Please, no please, do not buy this house!”
Sean had not cut his hair in a long time nor shaved. I wasn’t any better.

We took a drive down to the marina but it had a lot of industry. Not the place for strolling. I mapped out the properties I had found and we took a drive to see the areas. The first four we saw had too much inconsistency of pride of ownership. If we were to sell in the future, we could face the danger of having the nicest house on the block. In real estate, that is not a good thing. So, we had one last property to look at but it was high on the hillside.

The drive was rather straightforward and it led to a neighborhood less congested with nice views. The voice prompt on our GPS said to make a right turn with our destination 500ft on the right. Sean slowed to take the right but the road ahead looked as if it were a dead end with no turnaround for towing a camper. He drove to the next right hand turn as our road was now ending and was not a turn around. This road was a gradual incline for about 400ft but then made a very steep incline the rest of the way. It was narrow and no homes bordered it.

Now, I have to make a note to all of you that Sean is excellent at driving through small roads, busy towns and scenic narrow roads with no shoulder. He is not, and he agrees, that backing up a trailer is something he is good at. He avoids it if he can.

So avoid he did, and within a split second of thinking it through, he drove up that road that made its steady and ever increasing ascent. Careful not to harm the engine, he climbed the road slowly. The wheels started to slip. They skipped and skidded. I looked back at the children. Their eyes huge with fright. Sean slipped it into first gear. The van tugged upward through the wooded road. A car was parked at the top of the hill. The road ended with little clearance. A deep ditch followed each side.

I looked over to our left and saw a grassy road that was closed with a metal gate. There was no place to turn around and it was impossible to drive in reverse all the distance Sean brought us. The road was just too steep and the ditches posed too much of a danger.

We were stuck and I knew I was going to have to drive us out of there.