A Simple Road Trip Nearly Killed My Family

But they never knew their lives were in danger

Patrick C. Witz - Author, Artist, Photographer

15 min readNov 22, 2021

Old rusty single-lane gravel-covered suspension bridge with weight limit limit sign reading maximum of three-tons and an orange warning sign noting maximum height of thirteen feet, eight inches. The image was taken straight on down the center of the roadway with the thick bradded wires projecting out from the bridge to out of sight past the photographer. The bridge road empties onto a single road into a steep hillside thickly covered by trees and brush. The true length distance is deceiving. — North Fork American River Bridge (Image Courtesy of Author at WitzFineArt)

The road’s switch-backs resembled a snake climbing a sheer granite cliff face that had ant-sized cars slowly crawling up and down its back. With the children in the car, my thoughts screamed, ‘Are you F’ing kidding me!’

A Simple Road Trip Nearly Killed My Family

But they never knew their lives were in danger

Written by Patrick C. Witz - Author, Artist, Photographer