SH*T Happens

[jello_jeep]

Well, this past weekend, the good ship Kelly Jo and I set sail for Minden NV to do a little time at a family reunion. We were sans bus, and driving our 300.

We went Norte on 395, through the desert and were just past Ridgecrest, heading into the Eastern Sierra Nevada Mtns.. We stopped at the wide spot in the road known as Pearsonville.

There is a Shell station there, that is about it. We pulled into the Shell for a crew rest break (taking a leak). I was waiting for the good ship Kelly Jo (henceforth known as TGSKJ) to come out so we could depart.

I heard a really loud banging noise.. I mean LOUD. I turned to see a semi with a low-boy towing some kind of military painted up trailer/generator looking thinghy. It was a flagged wide load operation. He had been in the Shell, and went out on the frontage road, then flipped a right onto 395.. At this point 395 is a 65 mph divided hwy, two lanes on each side. Mr trucker cut it way too close and ran over the curbing causing all the noise I heard.

As he turned onto the highway N/B, I looked and saw lots of oncoming traffic N/B as well, and kind of thought to myself that he pulled out with oncoming traffic way too close, especially with a wide load heavy load.

As he started flipping up through the gears going North, he disappeared on the other side of the Shell, and I couldn't see him anymore.

The next thing I heard was some odd screeching, grinding and crashing noises!

A short moment later I heard a bunch of clanging, banging, and general mayhem, and looked out again... I saw this poor guy towing an Airstream, now going South in the Northbound lanes of 395, and he pulled in front of the Shell.

He explained that when the wide load trucker pulled out onto the highway, the fellow in the #2 lane pulled out in front of him in the #1 lane so fast he couldn't stop in time to avoid collision. He piled into another fellow and when the dust settled I guess he was pointing the wrong way on 395 and didn't want to get run over by other traffic so he drove back to the Shell.

He was damn lucky that the now dragging propane tanks didn't blow. He and his lovely wife were on their way to Mono Village @ Twin Lakes for vacation.

We made sure they were OK, and asked permission to take photographs of his vehicle and trailer. He had no problem with that... He then found that he could not open the door to the Airstream, as the frame was tweaked, and couldn't get his camera out... So we got his address to forward photos....

Here is the damage.

[jello_jeep]

[jello_jeep]

[jello_jeep]

Well, we could do no more there, and so we pulled out onto the hwy..

The CHP unit had arrived and was out on the hwy with the other fellow that had been struck.. I gathered that the passenger had been injured.. He was obviously busy, and I didn't bother him....

[jello_jeep]

So after passing the crash, and not knowing what all had transpired, we dialed up the CHPs. We asked if they had stopped the truck etc. . They said they had not found them, and had units on the lookout...

This sounded like a challenge!!!!!!!

We engaged warp drive on the 300 and proceeded North on 395... !!

Until we spotted the butthead in question miles down the road....

We contacted Starfleet command and gave them the coordinates.. They dispatched a unit to apprehend and asked us to stay on the trail...


As you can see in the mirror, TGSKJ was taking the photos!!! :0


Well.. It was our day .. What a hoot!

[garyde]

Hey Warren. I used to have a RV Park on Hwy 14 , next to the California City turn off. I could not count the number of fatalities and major accidents which occurred during the 4 years I owned the Park. It seems most people can not judge the speed of on-coming traffic and they simply pull out onto the Hwy as if everyone willl simple yeild. Well, you can't yield when your going 65 to 70MPH.
I'm a little surprised a Truck driver made this simple error.

[hhoppe]

So what did you do for excitement the next day? Did you win any $$ in the Carson Valley Casino. How about a diner in the Bask resturant.

[flyu2there]

Good Work double oh seven


John

[jello_jeep]

Gary; I agree, you would think a professional driver would do better, especially when hauling that kind of a load.. What is the big hurry? Why did you sell the park?

Harry, the Carson Valley Inn was crowded and smokey, I am very happy to be gone from there. I had to take two showers to get the smoke off and out of me, and still coughed up stuff this morning. It is really thick in there. We loaded up for the Basque place, but they were closed on Sunday Had to settle for Italian (nothing personal Joe).

Flyboy, thanks.. It did make a piece of usually boring road fade quickly into the sunset!

[garyde]

Gary; I agree, you would think a professional driver would do better, especially when hauling that kind of a load.. What is the big hurry? Why did you sell the park?

Harry, the Carson Valley Inn was crowded and smokey, I am very happy to be gone from there. I had to take two showers to get the smoke off and out of me, and still coughed up stuff this morning. It is really thick in there. We loaded up for the Basque place, but they were closed on Sunday Had to settle for Italian (nothing personal Joe).

Flyboy, thanks.. It did make a piece of usually boring road fade quickly into the sunset!

I bought the park on a impulse. Enjoyed working on it, upgrading, etc.
It never really cash flowed very well, and I got an offer I couldnt refuse.
I met some really interesting characters while I owned it, and learned a lot about California law when it comes to owning Motor home parks. No one in their right mind would purchase a park in California if they knew how many bureaucrats have their hand in your pockets. Even Good Sams and others are very good at extorting money out of you.
Anyway, with the right circumstances , I would do it again. A lot of fun.