.... Hey dad, let's pick up a Land Cruiser in Portland and drive it home in the snow. Part 3
We're making our way north on I-5 through Tacoma at about 40mph, just about to make the bend in the freeway where the Tacoma Dome appears, everyone ahead of me suddenly hits the brakes. It's a sea of brake lights as far as the eye can see. The weather combined with the merger of highway 16 and highway 7 has created an epic log jam of cars. The snow has been sticking for the past 3 or 4 miles, I need gas soon according to the gauge and I have a black lifted Dodge 3/4 ton ahead of me with a driver who clearly has no love for his rear tires and shows everyone around him how much he wants to destroy them at every opportunity to creep forward. The rolling smoke show is also a diesel so the exhaust fumes combined with the rubber smell is making for a really enjoyable experience. I back way off and let him spin his tires into oblivion again. My dad radios... "What's wrong?" I share the details of what's happening ahead of me and my dad jokes over the radio "Let me around you and I'll shoot him." Nothing about shooting someone is funny, but my dad has always had a slightly unique/morose sense of humor. Great. I don't answer him and pretend he didn't just say that on an open channel.
The radios I bought for the trip aren't just normal 40 channel crappy 2 way walkie talkies. They're nice UHF/VHF little hand held BaoFeng dual band radios. The kind police, fire and other professional businesses use. We picked an open channel and I shared with my dad before we left that since neither of us were licensed we should probably use these things sparingly and if someone else starts talking on the channel we're using, we may want to stop using them.
Between the truckers surrounding us in the traffic, the Port of Tacoma and other businesses or ham radio operators nearby there are plenty of people potentially using these dual band radios all around us. Many of whom may not understand that my dad has a unique sense of humor. Additionally, because of the "adventure" we were on and the large amount of cash I was going to be carrying... we both had our concealed carry guns with us. The thought of someone, somehow misinterpreting my dad's attempt at humor combined with the already less than ideal traffic and weather conditions made me uneasy.
Thankfully, no one was on that channel except the two of us knuckle heads making our way north in a snow storm which was now dumping more and more snow. With the lack of speed, the RainX wasn't working well, the interior of the Cruiser was soaking wet, the windows were fogging up pretty bad and I was reacquainting myself with just how cramped the driving position is in these early Land Cruisers. Hours ago, I'd reached down to make sure I had adjusted the seat as far back as possible. With the constant stopping and going of traffic, I was cementing in my mind the fact that I was going to add seat extenders to the short list of things I wanted to install immediately.
If you're of any height above 5'8" and you haven't already installed seat extenders in your FJ40, I highly recommend them. They were one of my first additions to this vehicle and they've made driving far more pleasant. There are a few ways to accomplish extending the seat mounting points. I went with the pre-made powder coated brackets that come with all of the hardware for about $90. I know I could have done it for far less, but sometimes the "easy way" is worth it.
Traffic continues crawling past the Tacoma Dome, over the Puyallup river and in to Fife where there is a carpool lane, a very empty carpool lane. I radio to my dad, "Hey, I'm going to get in the car pool lane, this traffic is stupid." My dad radios back, "We can't, we are single occupancy and I don't feel like getting arrested." Clearly, no one is getting arrested for driving in a carpool lane without a second passenger but I get the point... he doesn't want to get in trouble. Funny, my dad, who taught me that rules are sometimes worth breaking has become a staunch rule abiding citizen. When the hell did this happen??!! I radio back, "I'm pretty sure the police have more important things to do than worry about two cars trying to get home in a snow storm by using a completely clear lane." I don't wait for him to answer, I stab the throttle and hop in the carpool lane, he follows me.
The traffic in the other lanes was horrendous and all but completely stopped, but we were passing everyone at about 35mph. It was wonderful, we were finally making some headway. If we're lucky we might be home by 5pm, not too bad! We crest over the hill and past the very empty snow covered Wild Waves water park and sitting on the left side of the freeway is a white Washington State Patrol car. We can't dive back over in to the normal lanes of traffic at this point, it would be obvious and then we'd definitely get a ticket. I'm hoping that between the distraction of the snow and the other people sliding all over the freeway, that he wouldn't even notice us go by. My dad is probably $hitting his pants. Luckily, my dad follows my lead and we cruise right past. As we go by I look over and the state patrol officer is using his computer and probably doesn't even see us go by. Is today our lucky day or what?!
The drive from here on out is much better. The traffic in the normal lanes is still bumper to bumper, but we're flying past and because of the speed, the RainX is working, the fog on the inside is starting to clear and the snow is a little deeper but it's easily manageable. I'm happy this rig has brand new 33"x10.5" BF Goodrich All Terrains. They're doing a great job of keeping me in control. The only thing eating away at me at this point is my very left leaning fuel gauge needle. I remind myself that if I get off the freeway to get fuel, it means I need to essentially stop and merge over 2 lanes of stopped vehicles. The thought of doing so causes me to keep pushing forward.
Eventually, I-405 signs start to appear. My dad and I slow down and get in the line of cars headed in that direction. Traffic is stop and go, the snow is now about 2" deep on the shoulders, my gas gauge is starting to touch the E. I radio to my dad that I need fuel, he barks back. "Already?" Yes, I tell him and I share that I am nearly empty. Traffic isn't letting up. I don't know of a gas station near the freeway in this area and I'm hoping the gauge is accurate.
We merge on to I-405 at a snail's pace and again, I dive in to the carpool lane, my dad follows me and we start to cruise. I give the steering wheel a little wiggle and I still hear a tiny amount of fuel sloshing around in the tank mounted under the passenger seat. I continue to cross my fingers that we can make it a bit further to the Shell station at the top of Kennydale hill. Today really is my lucky day, we make it there without any issues. We exit the freeway through the snow and bumper to bumper traffic, turn left sliding a little in the snow and motor on in to the gas station. I fill up the tank and while the pump is clicking away, I lean over to the passenger side front hub and twist it to the lock position. Just as I do the same to the driver's side hub, an important memory creeps in to my mind.
I distinctly recall the feeling of locking the hubs on a Land Cruiser from my childhood. How could I forget? When I was about 12 years old my family went camping with my aunt Margie, uncle Bob and two cousins Kari and Jeff. Jeff was my age and these camping trips were always exciting. Campfire stories of when my dad and my uncle Bob were kids, getting in to trouble were usually one of the highlights.... however this camping trip was about to get awesome!! For some unknown reason, my dad hands me the keys to our relatively new white FJ60 and said, "don't crash it!" Jeff immediately hops in the passenger seat and I in the drivers seat. I'd never driven a stick before, let alone a car, but I knew the basic principles after watching my parents do it for years. I pushed in the clutch, started the engine clicked it in to first and promptly stalled it when I try to move forward with the parking brake still engaged. The next attempt was better but still clumsy. Jeff and I slowly motored out to the dirt road away from camp listening to Sir Mix-A-Lot and ready to explore.
It only took us about 10 minutes to find a rutted out dirt trail we thought would be a good idea to drive up. I hopped out, locked the hubs and away we went. That Land Cruiser could climb up ANYTHING! We drove around on those trails for about an hour and returned back at camp for lunch beaming with pride and excitement. Our first four wheeling excursion! It was amazing, the Land Cruiser was a beast and I now knew how to drive a stick. Best trip ever! The memory is as clear as if it had happened yesterday.
Locking the hubs on my new green FJ40 brought all of that back in an instant. I already knew I loved this new Cruiser. The gas pump clicked off, my dad and I hopped in our respective vehicles and slid back on to the side street and made our way back to the freeway. Traffic was still really bad but it was a consistent 20mph. We pushed north to Bellevue in the carpool lane and I glanced at my watch it was 4:00pm. Neither of us had eaten anything, but we were almost home.
Driving north on I-405 in Bellevue something amazing happened. I looked around and we were suddenly about the only people on the freeway. We're cruising at 60 through the snow and making great time. In a little more than 30 minutes we are exiting the freeway, no other cars in sight. Everyone must have run home as quickly as possible to avoid the snow. As we are slowly making our way toward my house to put this thing safely in my garage I reflect back on our little adventure. Just dad and me doing what guys do best. Buying project vehicles, taking road trips, overcoming adversity, breaking rules, saying things that could get us in trouble, but most of all, just having fun. It might have been the most fun I've ever had with my dad. I know he's not going to be around forever so these times are really special.
We get home, put the 40 in it's spot in the garage, I kiss my wife, and before my dad comes in the house, quickly tell Megan about the "avoid freeways" piece of the trip. She's laughing her butt off as my dad walks in. I think it takes the edge off her mood from her 1.5 hour commute home in the snow.... 11 miles. WTF Seattle??
The three of us pile in my bright blue Jeep JL with 37" mud terrains and drift our way to our favorite neighborhood restaurant for a huge steak dinner. We order a celebratory bottle of wine, too much food and recount the day's adventure to my wife. As we watch the evening darkness begin to hide the snow quietly falling outside, I'm mentally locking away every detail of this trip with my dad.
The end
