Adventuring Around Mt. Adams

On Friday we set out, the 3 of us, Jim, Robert and I for a restful weekend of camping on Mt. Adams. The guys were so excited to show me as many sites as possible. They grew up going to this mountain, among others, camping with their family, something of which I never got to do as a child.
We made the 3 hour drive to the mount. We arrived safe and unscathed at our campsite and set up camp.
Robert's tent is up in 2 minutes! Ours takes a bit longer and requires both of us. I have done it alone,but it is much simpler with extra hands.
When we camp, it is my job to instruct what part goes where first,what pole is next etc. If Jim was alone, he'd either use his one man tent , or opt to sleep on the ground rather than assemble this beast. Then it's get out the queen size cot, and inflate the queen size air mattress....NO, neither of us relish the thought of sleeping on hard , cold ground at our age.
That all done, we all go for a drive. The guys drive me up roads I'm convinced vehicles have NO business on, especially minivans! There is NO passing room. I spend much of the time praying another vehicle does not come along in the other direction. High atop who knows what road , steep and long, with no guardrail , on one side , shear drop off, the other hillside. These are NOT my kind of roads. I avoid these!
We drove quite a while, came to a spot where Jim says he's going to turn around.....WHAT???? WHERE? I instantly said, "Let me out first!" I get out of the van, he turns it around and parks it so we can get out and enjoy the view.
The view was breathtaking, in more ways than one. You don't want to stand at the edge of this road. The ground is soft in spots. The view of Mount Adam's was stunning. So peaceful and quiet up there. The hills, trees, serenity. We stayed a while up there taking it all in , shooting some photos, looking through the binoculars which really put you on the side of the mountain.
We then made our way back down and to camp to relax and make dinner.
We went to bed. I was later awoken by a sound I had never heard before. I laid awake trying to identify it in my mind. At first I thought it may be a semi, but heard no engine. I thought it may be the strongest wind I've ever heard, but nothing was moving, not our tent, not the many trees. I finally went back to sleep, only to wake to this sound a few times later.
In the morning as we're sitting around our fire with our coffee, Robert asks Jim if he heard the thunder the night before. I asked is that what that loud sound was? He said yes. Well that didn't sound like any thunder I've ever heard before. Robert said that's what it sounds like up in the mountains....instantly my mind travelled to the Israelites in the wilderness at Sinai, when God spoke and it sounded like thunder, and in their fear , they told Moses to go up and talk with God, that they didn't want to hear His voice any more. I could relate. It was loud and ominous sounding, a sound I'll never forget.
We had our breakfast and went for another drive. We went to Takhlakh Lake. It's beautiful! A rather large lake with a quaint island I'd love to boat out to. From the boat launch, there is a great view of Mt. Adams.We went to The Palisades,I can't adequately desribe it,you'll have to look at my photos on Facebook for that. We drove to Ohanapecosh on Rainier. The river there is incredible, turquois blue and crystal clear. Then we drove on to view Mount St. Helen's , the side I haven't seen before. I saw trees laid down like fallen toy army men, still there after 30 years.
We made our way to a viewpoint and pulled in to look at her splendor. The guys jumped out and over to the lookout . I got out of the van and instantly noticed a trail of fluid that went from the entrance to our van. I got down to look underneath her and sure enough,there is a good sized puddle underneath. I stick my finger in it,and it's RED! My heart sunk. In my mind I knew,that' transmission fluid. I walked over to the guys and told Jim to come with me,there was something I had to show him. I showed him the trail and puddle.
Needless to say, our sightseeing was cut short.
We drove down to Randle to the store seeking tranny fluid, grabbed 2 quarts, put one in, and headed off.
Jim decided to take a route that would cut 10 miles off the trip back to the campground. Sounded like a good plan at first.......
We drove for miles up dirt roads with a steady incline all the way. I started feeling the tranny slip periodically. We kept driving....that is until.......the van came to a halt on the hill with smoke billowing out form the transmission and the smell of it burning. . We managed to back up into a spot that got us out of the way should another car come so we weren't blocking the road.
A lot of thoughts went through my mind.

We only have one more quart of tranny fluid.

What if Jim burned up the tranny?

How on earth do we get back to our site?

How long would it take to walk back?

Would anyone find us up here?

How long before it gets dark?

Why would a man drive a minivan on these roads in the first place?

Robert walked behind the van, and found an animal skeleton of something small, picked clean.

So now I'm wondering...how close is the animal that ate that one?

Why are we dricving a minivan on roads only Jeeps and 4 wheel drive trucks belong on?

Amazingly some vehicles did come along, none had tranny fluid.

We put in our one quart to make our way back to camp. I prayed all the way back. We coasted 10 miles down hill till we hit flat ground and had to put it in drive . All they way I asked God to multiply that one quart of fluid. My hands were clenched all the way. I don't do stress well. By the time we were a few miles from camp, I was on the verge of an anxiety attack. We made it back, and I was NEVER to happy to see a campground in my life! It was around 7 pm.

We kicked back, had a few beers and had dinner.

I went to bed while the guys were still up visiting. 3 times I heard something outside my tent. I ws totally freaked out. I didn't move. At one point I had Jim come check around the tent, he found nothing. A little later, I heard something big! I laid there frozen. Then Robert roared and I screamed and jumped out of my skin! I could have killed him.

He went back to the fire with Jim. Twice more I heard this little animal out there. I had Jim come check around the tent again,Robert came with. They searched , then I heard a thump, and Robert asks Jim if he saw that....my mind is reeling. I heard it again,and Robert tells Jim something threw a rock. I'm freaking out, but still not making a sound. They go back to the fire. A bit later Jim comes to bed. I asked what they say,to find out the rock throwing was Robert again. I'm plotting my revenge. Meanwhile, that doesn't tell me what was there earlier. Jim is snoring immediately, while I'm wide awake hoping nothing big shows up! Eventually I pass out from exhaustion.

The next morning we get up, tear down everything, pack up, throw more fluid in the van to head home. Thankfully, the trip home was uneventful!

This is the 2nd time this van has stranded us on a mountain,I'm thinking we shouldn't attmept a repeat trip in this thing......