The Tioga Pass Brakes (Mom Leaps)

~1975. Family road trip in a large Class A motorhome, Tioga Pass.

We made it up to the top of Tioga Pass just fine, then headed down. Dad is one of the best drivers I know — he was being careful, mindful of the brakes on the descent. But about two-thirds of the way down, they started smoking. That nasty burning asbestos smell. The motorhome was going faster than he would have liked and the brakes weren’t responding well.

As soon as there was somewhere to pull off, he did. This was more dramatic than he would have liked, given the speed. We got stopped.

My mom LEAPED out of the motorhome. My sister and I claim we still have footprints on our backs from where she climbed out over us. Then she turned around to make sure we were okay.

Dad used the fire extinguisher on the brakes. We waited for them to cool down. We soaked our feet in the stream nearby — there are good cold streams off Tioga. It became a memorable part of the trip.