IT'S NOT ILLEGAL TO BE STUPID -- (July 10, 1996 - Anderson Valley Advertiser)

My girlfriend and I recently spent a few days on the Mendocino Coast, tourists in paradise! Looking for a short-cut home to Sonoma County, we noticed on our map a seemingly innocuous road called Navarro Ridge Road.

The first part of the road was a bit bumpy, but then it started to get very bumpy. We kept on going, even though what seemed liked 5 miles, registered only one mile on the odometer. Then we came upon an ominous sign, "Through Traffic Not Advised". Undeterred, we kept on going. Soon we saw another sign, "Trucks Not Advised". Since we were driving a Ford Taurus, we thought that meant the road was ok for autos. We plunged ahead. The road was getting worse by the second, and so was my angst. I was concerned that my car wouldn't forgive me for this foolhardiness.

At about the halfway point, when we were ready to turn back, a nice elderly woman pulled up in a jeep. She advised us to continue on and that it would only take us another 20 minutes to get down off the ridge. Throwing caution to the winds, we continued. The next four miles was the roller-coaster ride of a lifetime, a real 'thrilla in Manilla'. The road seemed to disappear in stretches. We seemed to be sliding down the mountain, and it was a VERY long way down. I rode my brakes until they were smoking, and then kept on riding them. The hair-pin turns were becoming surreal. My girl-friend kept pleading to go slower, but I noticed I was only going 5 miles an hour and couldn't go any slower. I started wishing that I had made out my will.

After what seemed liked an eternity, we finally made it to Route 128. Instead of 20 minutes, it took us an hour and a half to get down off that damn mountain. I lost count of how many times I died on that ridge. We laugh about it now, but it truly was a frightening experience.

So, friends, take this letter as a warning. When the sign says "Through Traffic Not Advised", what it really means is "It's not illegal to be stupid"!

Steve Rubin