This morning we got into an accident driving to IHOP to get breakfast. I pulled out from a stop sign to cross an intersection and didn’t see a car coming from the left that ended up ramming into the side of our bus. Thankfully nobody got hurt, despite the fact that the car got pretty banged in.
When it happened we heard a sharp rumble. I pulled over and immediately dashed out to check on the car amidst a huddle of other bystanders. Edessa, the young woman who crashed into us, was in tears. We were whisked to the side of the road by firemen and police who had showed up incredibly quickly. My heart was pumping with tension and fear that she’d gotten hurt. “I’m ok, really” I heard her say.
An ambulance arrived and confirmed that she and her dog were completely healthy. I was pretty scared and shaken up and everyone including Edessa herself was really understanding and kind and went a long way towards making me feel better. She gave me a big hug at the end and warmly acknowledged that “accidents happen.”
Living on the road in the cold has been harsh and I think it’s gotten us a little bit uncomfortable, which probably contributed to pulling out too soon and crashing. To adapt, we’re getting more settled in so we can be in our element and more aware and careful while we’re driving. We’re staying in Missoula an extra night to get a puncture in our air system fixed and make our bus more of a home.
We picked up a new space heater that makes our front ‘living room’ livable and decided to spend the night wrapped in blankets watching Life projected onto our canvas blinds. We also got our webcam hooked up, which as soon as we get a better Internet connection we’ll be able to stream to our Facebook page.
Sitting here watching nature on the screen continuously reminds me of how incredibly resilient life is. These animals are out there in life-and-death situations every day and they still spend lots of time playing and have such love for their families. All of their habits and lifestyles have been built from learning from evolution- from adapting to mistakes and accidents.
Edessa, thank you so much for being understanding and we’re unbelievably relieved to hear that you are OK. We hope that everything goes smoothly with getting a new car and apologize for all the trouble yesterday’s crash causes you. Please let us know if there’s anything we can do to help.
Sincerely,
Mike and 7Cees
Scary! Glad all are unharmed. Take good care!
LD
Yes we will. Got the worst of the weather behind us so that should help.
Are you in Montana?
We actually just got to Portland last night… had to go quickly through MT to get out of the freezing cold. Unfortunately didn’t get too much time there, but had a few great days in Missoula and we’re excited to be here. Know anyone we should connect with in Portland or Seattle?