After the move to Phoenix, Arizona, it wasn’t long until we found the perfect place for a weekend getaway, Rocky Point, Mexico, back then, 1971, no drugs, no shootings, just good ol’ saltwater fishing, eating, margaritas and lounging around!

On our first trip down as we were driving around, I noticed a mountain, really just a high hill, more like the flat hills in central Texas. The interesting thing about this one was it had a trail, like 2 ruts, running from the ground to it’s top. Thinking to myself, “Someone, more likely a lot of “someones”, has used this trail to drive up the mountain.”
Putting this in my “something neat to do file”, I continued to drive on.

A couple of years later, back in Rocky Point, we had just come back from fishing and were driving around (again), we curled around the mountain, there was the road/trail going up to the top. Having to try it, I mistakenly said to my family, “Why don’t we try and go up it?” Resounding “Yeses” from my family was my answer, so here we go! At the time I had all the confidence in my new 4 wheel drive, Power Wagon, complete with a hemi engine and a camper on the back. Thinking to myself the added weight of the camper with 3 kids, will help to get traction and keep us rolling on up.

But, on my way to approach the road/ trail, thoughts were popping into my mind. If the truck didn’t make it up, how would I get the family down safely? How would I get the new truck down? Back it down was the only solution.

Confidence abounding and in 4 wheel low, I started up the road/trail, hmmm, a tad steeper that it looked, but we powered on towards the top. Half way up, the engine straining, all 4 wheels kicking up sand, this wasn’t as easy as it looked from down below. Almost to the top, roughly 75 feet to go and the new truck just bogged down and wouldn’t go up any more. My back wheels were spinning, the front ones couldn’t get traction and the truck was going nowhere! It appeared that a mix of gravity, weight in the back of the truck, and basically street tires, did us in.

Putting the parking brake on, everyone, but me, got out, then putting the new truck in reverse and giving the engine gas, it didn’t move! Duh, I hadn’t taken off the parking brake. The “back” down wasn’t hard or difficult, just line up, tap the brakes occasionally and hold on. Down it went and this wasn’t as hard as backing down the real curvy street in San Francisco, many years ago, with many, many crooks and turns in it. I’ll mention that it also was one way going up.

The walk down was tougher on the family, but if it hadn’t been for that one spot, I believe we’d made it!