Let me say again… we are fine; but trailer- not so much. Yesterday (Thursday) was not our greatest day. Having overnighted in Shelton, WA., we left earlyish in the morning and headed south on I 5; destination the Columbia Riverfront RV Park. We didn't make it.
The weather was all over the place with rain, mist, hail and wind gusts interspersed with brilliant sunshine and patches of blue sky. We stopped in Olympia where Kathy spent hours trying to sign us up for a US phone with Verizon - to no avail. While the representative was trying to be helpful, the quagmire she was working within … well after three hours, we gave up and carried on with our trip.
Our vacation came to a slithering, life threatening, horrifying end… just north of Longview, WA. We are fine. Ricky (the truck) has dents to his left rear quarter panel and tailgate and the canopy has shifted approx. 1". The trailer did not do as well and we believe it is a write-off.
We were travelling south in the slowest lane because we were maintaining a speed of 55 MPH while most other vehicles were travelling 65-70 MPH. I chose the slower speed because, for us, given the road conditions and the wind gusts, it was the most comfortable and safer speed for us. The gusts from big transport trucks were buffeting the trailer fairly heavily at the faster speeds. Unfortunately one such truck went by so fast it sent a huge gust of wind that began a series of escalating events we could not control. The trailer was pushed away quite sharply, then swerved back, and then it swerved over again. While I yelled "hang on " and did my best to counteract the increasing forces, they continued and got worse. Every ounce of driver training from my earlier days came back and I did my very best to prevent a disaster that could well have been life threatening. Truck and trailer, joined at the hitch, spun so violently that at one point, as we were spinning out of control… I looked over and the trailer was beside me (still attached at the rear)… and then as we continued an out of control 180 - still on the highway… we were actually facing the direction we'd been coming from, looking at on coming traffic and skidding sideways. The entire, entwined mess of truck and trailer… with trailer now on it's side, slid off the highway and carried on along the verge before, finally, coming to a stop some 70' further down the road.
We were lucky. All three of us survived without injury. In fact, wee Maddie was more concerned about the location of her ball than what had just occurred.
A large truck that had been behind us very kindly pulled over and Homer, the driver, came to see if we were okay. He was expecting the worst and was very relieved when he realized we had not been injured (thank you seat belts). He stayed with us and provided a strong and calm presence for us to kind of lean on. He stayed until he was sure we were in good hands. Both a police car and officer and a State Highway Patrol car and officer attended the scene, confirmed we were okay, and stayed with us until a tow truck was able to untangle the two vehicles and roll the trailer back onto its wheels (all four somehow survived the crash). Also miraculously, Ricky (the truck) started up and was drivable so after providing paperwork, ID and statements, we followed the tow truck and trailer to the towing company yard and retrieved a few pieces of clothing from the wreck. We've taken a room at a nearby hotel and will be here tonight as well. It will take that long to sort through the inside of what's left of the trailer and retrieve what we can of what's left of our 'personal belongings'.
This has been one hell of an end to our three month vacation plans. We three are absolutely blessed to be unscathed physically and, for Kathy and I, the emotions will calm down in time. Maddie just wants to find her ball… so we will. :-)
We are also extremely glad and relieved that no other vehicles and people were involved. That would have remained a scar on our lives forever.
So for now… know we are OK and/but will be sorting this out for a little while. We should be home in a few days and will give ourselves a few days after that to calm down and sort out what the future adventures might look like.
Bless you all for caring and thank you for enjoying our blog. Sorry this post is not up to our usual standard of 'fun'.
Stay well, enjoy your winter, and always always wear your seat belt.
Until I write again…. Adios. CJ
www.cjdaley.ca
www.ruddyduckpress.ca
www.svshannon.blogspot.com
