Prius out of mud

The two nearest co-op observing stations reported 0.53" and 0.84" of rain yesterday, when I packed up my poncho after work and headed up to the opening night of the Indiana Fiddlers' Gathering. Just outside the grounds I turned off the side of Railroad St. and parked facing down the grassy embankment, because most years the parking ON the grounds is completely full. Attendance was down a little last night for some reason and I could have parked on the grounds if I had thought of it, but pulling off the street is habit by now.

Five bands, seven stuffed grape leaves, two hours of rain and one tornado warning later, while squelching through the mud all the way back to the car, I began to wonder how good an idea it was to be parked facing down an embankment off the side of the street.

Just as I was nearing the car, a guy in a pickup to my left demonstrated one technique for getting back on the road. As soon as his tires hit the edge of the pavement, the flying mud changed to clouds of rubber-smoke and, once he regained control of the truck, he drove off down the road.

That was when I noticed that the front tires of the Prius - you know, the ones with the whole weight of the hybrid powertrain right above them - did not seem to be on the ground any more. They were more ... IN the ground, about three inches below where I'd left them. I started to wonder how long I was going to be there.

I get in, put the car into READY, let off the brake, and think "ok, here goes." Shift into R and push the go pedal down some. No effect. Push a little harder. Still nothing. Push more. The sound of the idling engine drops ever so slightly in pitch. Nothing moves. Push down further. The powertrain is now making a low, businesslike purr, and at a rock-steady half-inch per second or so, the car simply drives back up onto the road, where I crank the wheel (sweeping the headlights over the other faces standing around), shift into D and head for home.

Judging by the faces I caught in the lights, it wouldn't have mattered by that point if I'd played the _Close Encounters_ theme and lifted off the road.

I love this car.

-Chap