It all started with an inkling to hike Stewart Falls. We chose Saturday. Just as we were leaving, I google mapped the best way to get there and it was through American Fork Canyon and the Alpine Loop. "Yeah!" I thought, "Fall colors drive through the Alpine Loop--we can kill two birds with one stone!"
We were only a mile into the canyon when Sam made the fatal announcement: "Our gas light just turned on." Well, after waiting through 30 minutes of snail-pace construction traffic on Highway 92, there was no way we were flipping around. We'd risk the canyon. Off we went on our merry way...
Until the road ended. And there was a sign for Heber. Apparently we should have gone right not left at the unmarked fork. Blast. There goes 12 miles worth of gas (6 to get that far, and 6 to get back). BUT, there was a sign for Cascade Springs. Which is on my bucket list. Might as well do it while we were there, right? Plus, the sign said it was an easy 15-minute hike. Just my style. :)
We were only a mile into the canyon when Sam made the fatal announcement: "Our gas light just turned on." Well, after waiting through 30 minutes of snail-pace construction traffic on Highway 92, there was no way we were flipping around. We'd risk the canyon. Off we went on our merry way...
Until the road ended. And there was a sign for Heber. Apparently we should have gone right not left at the unmarked fork. Blast. There goes 12 miles worth of gas (6 to get that far, and 6 to get back). BUT, there was a sign for Cascade Springs. Which is on my bucket list. Might as well do it while we were there, right? Plus, the sign said it was an easy 15-minute hike. Just my style. :)
After cascade awesomeness we hit the road. That's when we got our lucky break: once we got back to the main road it was all downhill. Sam popped the car into neutral and we literally coasted the next 4 miles to the the Stewart Falls trail head. At this point we've gone 27 miles on empty. And while we briefly considered going on to the gas station, we figured we might as well do Stewart Falls while we were passing it. So we did. All four, hilly, moderately difficult miles. (My kids are such champs. Seriously. I don't know how they do this stuff.)
So back to the car. We've gone 27 miles on empty and have 12 miles to go. Once again, luck is on our side. We popped in neutral and coasted the next 5 miles, all the way out of the canyon. And, believe it or not, we prayed ourselves all the way to the gas station. 39 miles on empty. I'm fairly certain that 40 would have killed it. I ❤ my Corolla.
ps. The Alpine Loop was spectacular--if you're gonna go, go soon! Cascade Springs was gorgeous, definitely recommend it. And as long as you're up for a work out, Stewart Falls was amazing.
13 comments:
Wow. I can't believe you made it. And I can't believe you packed so much into one trip. You guys (and your kids) are amazing!
We visited Cascade Springs after our first camping trip with Kate. It was really pretty and we saw two moose. We'll have to try Stewart Falls sometime. I hadn't even heard of it, but it's pretty.
Glad you made it without having to send Sam packing to the nearest city for gas.
We visited Cascade Springs after our first camping trip with Kate. It was really pretty and we saw two moose. We'll have to try Stewart Falls sometime. I hadn't even heard of it, but it's pretty.
Glad you made it without having to send Sam packing to the nearest city for gas.
Sorry, this might burst your bubble but most cars have about 50 miles or so when the gas light comes on. We did Stewart Falls once when Spencer was a baby, loved it! I wish we had Fall colors here in Mesa, I'm jealous.
Beautiful pictures! It looks awesome. That's for sharing fall. I don't get it here in Las Vegas.
I can't believe you went all that way on empty. I would have been panic-stricken all day!
Kori - No worries, you didn't burst my bubble. :) Whenever we get new cars my dad always packs a 5 gallon tank in his trunk and runs them til empty just to see how many miles that particular model and tank can run on empty. So I knew we had exactly 30 miles for our car model. Sam, on the other hand, didn't believe me and was pretty concerned. We started worrying once we were at 27 miles with 12 to go, but luckily we coasted for those 9 miles and that saved our tail. :)
Thanks for the cool travelogue and pics. Luck was definitely on your side! See you soon!
In my defense, I didn't know how far we had to go; plus, I wasn't sure how much climbing we'd have to do in the car. Luckily, we didn't really have to go far or climb much. Huzzah!
You all are crazy! I want to live by you just to be on your adventures.
I start panicking as soon as the gas light comes on and Timm always makes fun of me! We love Stewart Falls--that's where we got engaged!
What a beautiful area. The fall colors are spectacular. I haven't hear of either of these hikes, but now I will have something to look forward to next time we are in this area.
That is AWESOME!
(And I love your new header! It might not be new, but I'm newly "back," so it is to me. And I love it).
I LOVE CASCADE SPRINGS! I have a picture by that bridge too! I wish we lived closer to all that beauty and I wish we had taken advantage of it more when we lived there.
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