One of the most magnificent things I have ever seen is the view from the top of Deadman Pass, also known as Cabbage Hill. This stretch of highway runs between La Grande, Oregon, and Pendleton, Oregon on I-84. If you ever get the chance to head northwest, you really need to drive down this road… make sure you drive carefully though.
One winter, during my truck driving days, we had a delivery to make in Bend, Oregon. I was a fairly new driver who had only been at it for about a year at this point and not very familiar with Cabbage Hill or its reputation. Well, it just so happened that the weather turned nasty pretty quickly, so when we got to La Grande, Oregon, we learned that the road was closed over the mountain due to blizzard-like conditions, with little or no no visibility and ice over 12 inches. on the road. We waited for the storm to pass and after 3 days we were told that the road was now passable for vehicles with chains. Fortunately (or not) for us, the company we were driving for had provided us with chains that we had attached to our flatbed and trailer for our journey through the famous Cabbage Hill.
It was decided, since my driving partner was too tired to drive after all the hassle with the chains and the fact that he was hungover from last night’s alcohol consumption, that I would be the one to drive through El Paso and pull over. once we were done. I got to Pendleton, which was only about 55 miles. Let me tell you, driving that road in a tracked semi and a bunch of other semis is really a lot of fun, albeit a bit slow and dangerous.
Well, I was driving, irritated with my partner for forcing me to drive on a road I was totally unfamiliar with in the first place, so some of the other drivers we were with suggested I play a little prank on him. and we devised a plan.
I started yelling at him in the sleeper, “Hey, what do I do if the brakes catch fire?”
He replied, “You’d better jump.”
I grabbed the door handle, let it swing open a bit, then slammed it shut after a few seconds.
You have to realize you were only driving about 20 miles per hour, but in your foggy state, all you could think about was flaming brakes, an icy road, and deep gorges on the side of a massive mountain. She flew off the bunk in her boxer shorts and almost landed in my lap…and started berating me to the highest degree. Of course, the whole time this was going on, I had my CB mic on so all of our fellow drivers were aware of the whole episode. They booed and yelled…how amused they were with that little episode.
A while later we arrive at the truck stop in Pendleton, Oregon, where, believe it or not, they sell cattle prods. It was the first truck stop I had seen something like this for sale at, so I laughingly pointed it out to my partner… BIG MISTAKE! Although she now saw the humor in my little joke, you can guess what happened as soon as my back was turned. Ah well, turning around is fair game I guess.
