It was Nov 22nd of last year. I had left on another trip as I do. I was going to be going to many Maverik (gas station) locations across Wyoming. I was going to cover a lot of territory in just 2 LONG days. Each stop would likely be about 5 minutes so there would be tons of driving, but then I'd have the rest of the week off for Thanksgiving. Well, at least, that WAS the plan.
I had finished the location in Thayne, WY and was heading to Lander. I had driven through Jackson Hole and was on a state hwy and it was snowing on and off and had been all day. I've driven in adverse conditions many times before and knew there is a reason they're called "adverse." As I drove along the road the snow was starting to pick up. Then it happened!
I hit a patch of ice on the road and the SUV started to swerve. I tried to correct, but to no avail. I crossed into the oncoming traffic lane (luckily there was no one in that lane) and headed rapidly for the shoulder. I had no control of the car and knew I was in trouble. The next thought that went through my head was, "this is how I'm going to die." I knew I was going to roll. Then I remember actually almost hearing a voice saying, "relax." I did. I closed my eyes and prepared for the worst. I really did plan on NOT opening them again in this world. I felt the SUV start to roll. It rolled at least twice and I think it may have rolled a third time, but I'm not sure. I kinda lost count. During the roll my foot moved back on to the gas pedal without me realizing it, so when I finally stopped rolling the car went even further into the reeds. My first thought was "move your foot" and then "I'm not dead." I opened my eyes and looked around. The contents of the SUV were strewn around and one window was gone. (Another lucky thing was that I usually take my little Honda Civic, but my wife had said, "why don't you take the Trailblazer. It'll be safer and I won't need it.)I reached up and felt the top of my head and brought my hand down to the sight of blood. Luckily for me, there had been another car about 1/4 mile behind me that had seen me roll because the state trooper told me later than as far as I had stopped off the road (about 150 ft) and so far into the trees and such that it would have been unlikely that anyone would have seen me. Anyway, the guy behind me stopped to see how I was. He told me a little later that he was expecting to find me dead too. (guess it really was my lucky day) I wanted to call my wife and tell her what had happened, but my cell phone had apparently become one with the Wyoming snow at some point during one of the rolls, so the kind gentleman allowed me to use his. Ann wasn't home, so I left a very brief message. I was really starting to get cold now. The winds had kicked up and the snow was really blowing. My wife always keeps blankets in the car for any need, and I had also taken an extra one with me as well as a mummy sleeping bag, for some reason. (It's something I don't usually do. Again, lucky I guess.) The man got a couple of blankets for me. Each blanket has a name of a member of our family embroidered on it, so I took even more comfort feeling like I was being kept warm by my family. When the police arrived they told me to just stay put. They didn't want to risk moving me just in case, so we needed to wait for the ambulance to arrive from Jackson Hole which was about 30-40 minutes away in GOOD weather. By the time the ambulance arrived it was dark. I felt bad as the rescuers loaded me on the back board and then hauled my overweight butt all the way back to the waiting ambulance. We then headed back toward Jackson. An hour later we arrived. In the mean time, I had finally gotten in touch with Ann, and she and her brother were on their way to Jackson as well. (5 hrs away in good weather)
In the hospital I was checked out, x-rayed, and cleaned up. I reached up at one point and said I could feel glass in my head. The nurse told me not to touch it so I didn't accidentally make it worse. I was told that I had a concussion and other cuts, and I was sore as well. Here's where things started getting a bit surreal. I was told after a while that I was free to go. Now keep in mind that my car was still 30-40 miles away filling with the blowing snow. I thought the nurses and workers would keep me there until Ann arrived to drive me home. Especially because I was the ONLY case in the ER. However, I was told that there was a motel that workers use when they get snowed in that was about 1/3 mile away and that I could stay there. By now the wind was really blowing and the snow was in full blizzard mode and working on becoming a full blown white out. Surely one of these workers would drive me to said motel, right? NOPE. No taxis in that weather either. I told them that I could still feel glass in my head again and this time I was told, "Oh, that will come out in the shower." WHAT?! Anyway, I was turned out into that cold Wyoming blizzard with nothing more than my jacket and the blanket I had asked them to grab when they took me out of the car. I was told to walk down the road and the motel was on the right about 1/3 mile down. I grabbed my travel bag which I had also asked them to grab and out I went. After I had walked for a while I still couldn't see the motel that was supposedly there. Finally I noticed it on the LEFT side of the road. If they hadn't had Christmas lights already up, I may not have realized what I was looking for. I got a room and decided to shower so I could get the glass out. Crazy. The hospital said they would tell Ann and her brother where I was when they got there. I got out of the shower and turned the heat in the room way up. I was quite cold. I climbed in bed and started watching the Chargers play on Monday Night Football. (Lucky my favorite team was playing) After a couple of hours, the phone in the room rang and it was Ann calling to tell me that they couldn't get any further than Soda Springs, ID. Still hours away. They were going to get a room and start again in the morning. With nothing else to do, I stayed in bed and finally fell asleep.
The next morning, I opened the curtain to look out the window and was greeted with the scene of a complete white out. The wind was blowing even worse than the night before and the snow had covered everything. Ann called before too long and told me that they couldn't get to me. There were roads all over Idaho and Wyoming that were being closed because of the storm. Even the Interstate was closed in places. She said how sorry they were, but there was nothing to be done. I told her to go home while she could. (I didn't want BOTH of us missing Thanksgiving). Luckily they headed back home just in time as the road out of Soda Springs was closed less than 10 minutes later. I checked the small airport, but was told that everything was grounded and cancelled. No big surprise. I walked to the office and paid for another night and started figuring out what I was going to do. I hadn't eaten since lunch the day before and was on the far side of town with no transportation so I looked in the yellow pages for some place that delivered. I called a Chinese place and told them I wanted to place a delivery order. After a few seconds of silence I was told, "We don't want to deliver. You find somewhere else. OK?" *click* I guess in retrospect I can't blame them, but it was just one more thing at the time. After a few hours the snow let up a bit and I tried calling a pizza place and was finally able to eat. Still trying to find a way out of Jackson I was told that there was a shuttle bus that runs to the Salt Lake Airport from Jackson and back each day if needed. Maybe they MIGHT still be running, but the airport was going to be closed for a couple of days at least. I called and (luckily) they said that they were planning on going the nest day (Wednesday) and they had plenty of room. They said they leave from the Maverik parking lot at 6:30 in the morning and that I needed to be there by 6:15. Well, I knew where the Maverik was, of course, and it was on the complete other side of town and I still had no way to get there. In fact, I still had no idea where my car even was. I called one taxi service and was told that they already had someone to pick up the next morning, but that maybe the other taxi service might have an opening. Luckily they did. I got things arranged and then spent the rest of the day just hanging out in the little room and trying to figure out just where my car had ended up. I was finally able to track it down and (luckily) it was very close to the Maverik.
The next morning I woke early and got ready to go. I'd been told that the car would be there at 5:50, but 5:50 came and went with no car. A little after 6 the phone rang and I was informed by the taxi driver that the cold had frozen his car and it wouldn't start. Wonderful! He said he had called someone to come get me though and sure enough, a van pulled up about 5 minutes later. (Lucky) When I got to the Maverik I asked the driver of the shuttle if we could stop where my car was. I explained the situation and he kindly said we could, but that he could only give me about 5 minutes to gather whatever I could. When we got there I hurried as fast as I could and grabbed everything I could in the allotted time. It was like being on some demented reality game show or something. By the end of the 5 minutes my hands were so cold that I couldn't feel them as the wind had picked up again and everything was covered in snow. Luckily, the drive to SLC was, for the most part, uneventful. However, while we were driving through Parley's Canyon just outside of SLC, someone cut off the driver and he had to swerve and the bus fish tailed a bit. I was NOT amused. We arrived at the airport, and after a short wait, Ann and my mom pulled up. Luckily, someone on the bus had had a cell phone they let me borrow so Ann could meet me there rather than me calling once I got there.
All things considered I really HAD been lucky.
