Late yesterday afternoon I decided to drive to Sequoia National Forest for a day by myself in nature with a camera. The family was cool with it, so I got up at 4:00 AM to begin the almost 4-hour drive up the 5 North over the Tejon Pass. As you can see, this is not a photo of some really, really big trees. This is a photo of my 1999 Excursion Turbo Diesel, overheated on the side of the road, 3/4 of the way up the Tejon Pass, in the middle of the Angeles Crest National Forest.

After the truck cooled down, I took off again and again and again. I was able to go perhaps 3/4 mile at a time before our faithful old Ford would quickly overheat, then I’d wait for it to cool and try again. The closest gas station was only 3 or so miles ahead, near the top of the pass, but it took me close to an hour to inch my way there.

By the time I had finished dumping two full bottles of coolant in, I had been on the road for over 2.5 hours and traveled just 36 miles. I decided to just forge ahead. Just under five miles later, I was on the side of the road again.

I waited for the engine to cool again then decided to turn around. I put two more bottles of coolant in and started back up the Tejon Pass to home. Below is an illustration of how I spent the next four hours trying to get home… one stop after another.

So how was your day? 🙂


Many of the photos found on this site and more may be purchased here: jeffturner.smugmug.com.
100% OF PROFITS FROM PHOTO SALES ARE DONATED TO YOUTH TRACK & FIELD PROGRAMS!


EXIF Data Below Applies Only To The Featured Photo In This Post

  • Aperture: ƒ/2
  • Taken: 3 July, 2017
  • Focal length: 1.31mm
  • ISO: 100
  • Shutter speed: 1/180s
  • 2 Comments

    1. Not the shots you wanted but they’re still great shots! Hope you made it home ok.

    2. Thanks. It was touch and go. Barely made it to the Ford dealer. 🙂

    Leave a Comment

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    *