Some of you remember this from 2000. I trailered the Gray Ghost from Texas to
Las Vegas to Shasta, then went on up to Oregon and Washington. We were camped
on the Columbia River south of Mt Ranier, and we decided to make a day trip to
Ranier and back. It was nice and sunny, so we took off the top and left it at
the campground. The first sign of trouble was when it snowed on us at Mt
Ranier. Donna, my wife, found an old plastic tablecloth in the trunk and
wrapped up in it for the trip back to the campground. My big mistake was to
say, "Lets go by Mt St Helens on the way back. It's much further south and a
little lower, so it should be much warmer. Trust me." My gas guage has never
worked, which isn't much of a problem for autocrosses, and my odometer also
doesn't work, which is also not much of a problem unless you travel miles and
miles and miles of forest wilderness without knowing how much gas remains and
how far to the next station. By the way, Mt St Helens is every bit as cold as
Mt Ranier, even in the summer. After who knows how many miles we traveled in
the forest it began to get dark, and my headlights, also not needed in an
autocross, decided to protest by winking out. We reached Cougar, Washington
just as it became too dark to see the road, and the only gas station within 50
miles was closed. My second big mistake was to say, "I think we can make the
Interstate and find a gas station with fuses and gas. Trust me." We stayed
the night in Cougar with just the clothes on our back (and the tablecloth),
and the next morning fixed the lights, got gas, and drove back to the
campground. From then until now, whenever I say "Lets go for a ride in the
Roadster", I say it to my dog, who loves me and wants to please me, and has a
full coat of fur.
Leisure Suit Terry
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