| Oct132008 | Cruising Downhill |
I’m playing tour guide this week. It gives me an insurmountable amount of joy to show my good friends from Australia, Lachlan and Geraldine, around Seattle.
I drove us to Leavenworth on Saturday; a two hour drive east through the mountains. We cruised through misting fields and tree-lined mountain roads, glowing with the swell of orange and crimson foliage. Everyone in the car was asleep but me and I had a sense of feeling very grown up. I had finally matured into an adult and here we were doing very adult things.
Then the fuel light came on.
It had been about fifteen minutes since we passed the last gas station and it was unknown how far away the next gas station was. I knew we had about 50 miles to our destination and there were some small towns that preceded it. A voice from deep in my gut told me to keep driving forward. You’ve got this.
I was worried but I remember the lessons taught to me by my friend Studds. He and his older sister use to share a Toyota Corolla and each would try to avoid paying for fuel and stretch the car to the limits of its fuel tank. If there’s one thing I learned, it is that car manufacturers are very conservative with the fuel light and where they put the ‘E’ on the gauge. But as we headed higher into the mountains towards the Stevens Pass Resort, I grew more anxious.
Let’s just say eventually everyone woke up and we all panicked. But we rallied and my girlfriend asked some of the locals and we continued on. Easily making it with enough gas to the next Shell station that was charging 10c more per gallon than anyone else.
Important things I’ve learned as a result:
- Fuel light turns on when I have 1.8 gallons remaining in my Jetta
- There is a significant downhill section after you pass the Stevens Pass Resort on State Highway 2
- AT&T gets no reception in this part of the Cascade Range but Verizon does
- My girlfriend is awesome
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