Confusion in a Car Crash

On Tuesday morning me and Brad were one of the first people on scene a terrifying car accident... Luckily we were safe out of harm's way, but it was an eye opener and it rattled me down to the deepest parts of my soul.

It started sitting in the truck while Brad ran into a gas station about 30 miles out of town to purchase a registration sticker for the canoe. I heard a screeching sound I thought was a broke down motor on a truck pulling onto the highway. Then I saw a huge plume of smoke and dirt about a quarter mile up the highway... a wide open 2 lane highway with a high speed limit.

Brad got back to the truck and I asked him to pull out to see if it was an accident. As we pulled out of the gas station we could see the truck about 300 yards off the highway, laying on its passenger side. We got to where we could pull in near by and I jumped out running, all the while reviewing CPR and First-Aid in my head. There were already 3 or 4 trucks and men pulled in and either at the truck or running over. I started yelling to make sure someone had 911 on the line (they did!) and realized that two of the cowboys (we are in Wyoming and these ARE cowboys) had a crowbar to the windshield yanking it away while yelling inside.

The driver of the vehicle was yelling that he was alone and beginning to stand up inside the cab of his truck. They got the windshield open far enough for him to climb out and he stepped out...bloody, dazed but alive.

Brad came over with water and the man was inspected for major trauma, and though his bald head dripped with blood and shards of glass covered his left arm, he was miraculously otherwise unscathed. He refused to sit or drink water (or follow any other suggestion we gave him) so I wandered through the fields collecting his belongings. His Crossfit gear was covered in weeds and dirt and about 200 yards away from the truck along with other personal belongings.

I learned a few years ago it is very difficult to help someone that doesn't want help... so as the man was safely with 4 men with emergency response on the way, I told Brad we should probably leave. As we went about our day and put the canoe in the water, I realized I couldn't stop shaking and the adrenaline wouldn't stop.

As usual, I had stood up and faced crisis and then when the dust settled down... I lost it. I was so shaken by the fact that our reality can instantly change. That our lives are seconds from ending, our time here on earth so finite.  I do not know what this man was doing when he lost control of his truck, but I am pretty certain he did not plan to get this close to death at 7am on a Tuesday morning.

Are we ever ready for such dramatic events? How do you prepare for a crisis you can't see coming? Is it fate or did you just not sleep the night before and try to drive home after work? Why do we fret about messy houses and whether or not our clothes match when eternity is constantly staring us in the face? Why eat healthy and deprive ourselves of our favorite dessert if we can just as easily die from a car accident or cancer? Am I prepared when its my time to go? Why do some of us get to live to see great grandchildren grow up while others don't get to make it to their college years, or even their first birthday? And if I believe in heaven, why am I so sad when a loved one dies?

First Time Fishing the North Platte River!

I am so grateful for today, I was given a a day off since we are slow at work. We used the opportunity to get out on the 'world-renowned' North Platte River and do some fishing. After a very scary/adventurous start the day (I'll write about that later... I still haven't finished processing all my emotions and thoughts), we put the canoe in and started our quick float down the river. It is my first time taking the canoe on a fast moving river since a colleague's husband lost his life during a canoe trip across a river, so that added to my heightened angst. We had our life jackets as cushions - and security for me.

About 15 minutes in, I got the first bite and landed a rainbow trout (with the help of wonderful Brad who is so patient and skillful with the boat and landing net!). We didn't get a picture of this one as the speed of the river demands rather constant attention to stay safe.

Only a short while after that one, I got another one! Brad is the one holding it in this picture because he is nice enough to handle the stinky fish and get the hooks out of them as they flail around in their escape attempts.

Fish Number 2 for Cheryl!

The good news for me is the first one was just about the twin to this guy, so duplicate the picture and you have a good idea what the first one looked like :)

Brad unfortunately was too busy being my guide and keeping the canoe off the shore (because touching private land is illegal!) to land a trout today, as the Casper wind did not help us stay on a straight course! Every time he threw his line, he had to quickly grab the paddle again :/

Two hours into the float I was convinced we had floated right past the car and were going to be floating for the entire day until we hit the city and then begged for a ride to the car. As usual, the worry was a waste of energy, and we were absolutely fine :)

Because I am not yet willing to strap a canoe to my car, we both drove our cars and went and picked up the truck after we made it downstream. Before we took off, I got grab to snap this wonderful picture of Turbo in the magical sunrise light.

Brad knows I love him since we took my baby down a bumpy back road and then loaded up all our wet fishing gear and put it inside to go get the truck! Luckily, he jumped in to help when I went to give her a bath afterwards :)

Another amazing day (minus the morning, pre-river float), so grateful for this adventure we get to live! Back to work for a couple days and then a long weekend full of road trips and wonder!

Thunderstorms in the dog park

One of the down sides to the place we are staying here in Casper is the fact that the doggies don't get outside to run around as often. Luckily, we found an off leash dog park that runs along the river that is just 10 minutes away and allows the fur babies to run, harass other dogs, swim and get some of their energy out. 

It is also public access to the river which means we will be able to fish there once we get our licenses :) 

We took the dogs out today (had plans to fish but... lightening and fishing don't mix) 
Here are a few pictures of the Wyoming scenery in this beautiful park. I feel like the pictures perfectly capture this area of Wyoming. 

Our First Wyoming 'Storm'

It's been far too long since I've been in a good storm, and though this was just a small thunderstorm, I sat outside and by the window to enjoy it. Wyoming does have some beautiful sunsets! Will try to capture more as the days come and go... But for tonight, this teaser will have to do.

Hiking The Bridle Trail

So, as a traveler I don't always have the most say in scheduling preferences. My first week is looking like that, as I was called upon to cover the upcoming weekend when a PRN therapist flaked. ((I'll leave out my comments on unreliable professionals)). Working a weekend means getting days off during the week, which are usually pretty nice since you get to enjoy things with less crowds. Today was one of those days, and we took off to hills to explore Casper Mountain!

The elevation of Casper is over 5,000 feet which put the trail head at over 6,000. Hello elevation! Bridle rises around 1200 feet as it winds through the mountains, over creeks and by waterfalls.

We may have broken the rules of the above sign which told us to not climb rocks, but in our defense we truly didn't read the bottom part until we had finished our climbing for the day. 

Even the doggies got some trail magic along the way! An entire mailbox full of treats!!

And towards the half way point of the trail, we got to walk THROUGH the rocks. How cool is this?? They appropriately named this spot "split rock".

After a fun day hiking, we dropped the pups off for their mid-day naps and went treasure shopping around town for some essentials and filling up our bookshelves. We even both got library cards, and I am impressed by the size of the library in this city! 

You aren't to shabby at all, Casper.

Settling in to the new place

So, we knew the lake house was setting the bar a little high for future housing, but the next rental was amazing as well. This time... not so much. It is an extended stay with a new/young/inexperienced/probably overwhelmed owner.

So the first information we get is about how the key pads aren't working properly to get into the rooms. I figured I have had this before, no big deal. No, its a huge deal. We have a stack of 10+ key cards we have to carry around and try every time we want to get in our front door, and cross our fingers that one works. Average time: 2-3 minutes to get in the front door. That's annoying. Even more annoying when the front/back doors to the building lock at night as well and your dogs need to pee before bed.

The first night we were here we got locked out of our bathroom after conquering the monster that is the front door keypad. Brad shut the bathroom door, and when I tried to open it again the handle turned and nothing happened. Instant panic. I didn't really feel like peeing my pants in front of my rather new live-in boyfriend or getting arrested for peeing in a bush behind the building. So maintenance arrived and literally just took off the handle, because they were unable to fix it at 10pm.

Then I tried to go into my bedroom and the light bulb was burnt out. This was the tone for our first day/night.

Luckily, they have made diligent efforts to fix such problems and have so far mostly won me over (only for effort, its def no 5 star hotel). I think we will be quite content here as the other options we looked at over the weekend were no better.

It's always an adventure, just thankful to have a roof over my head tonight. It is a two bedroom place so me and Brad still have our own personal space and some freedom. We don't have an oven, but the crockpot is my best friend anyhow!  Plus we are on the ground floor so we can still do our plyo workouts and not get kicked out :)

Because a bike rack outside would be too radical. Check out that killer TV too!! :/

Traveling to Casper,Wyoming from Spokane, Washington

We recently ended the most gorgeous drive to our new location in Wyoming. Because my new car is AWD, we could not tow it as we did before so we both got to drive. We had a couple extra days between assignments so decided to take the scenic route. After leaving Idaho, we dropped South in Montana and went through Yellowstone Park. It was a short trip to such a huge park, but still worth the cruise through! We got to see geysers and took the dogs for a couple walks along the lake and scenic spots. We did a drive through by Old Faithful but I had no idea it was such a massive complex and would be loaded with thousands of people, so we didn't stop. In fact, I had such anxiety with all the people I stalled my car for the first time! On the way out, Brad was able to see the top of Old Faithful as it went off, but I missed it. I also missed the dozens of elk, bison, deer and antelope wandering through the park, apparently I was much more concerned with watching the road and not wrecking my new car!

Yellowstone Lake

Turbo at the lake

Stretching our legs by the road

It was an amazing drive, especially in the WRX. It conquered the Rockies without skipping a beat, taking 50mph turns at 80 without even making Ani flinch in her passenger seat bed. Across Wyoming I was able to open it up and see a lil bit more of what she can do, and I am impressed! I definitely made the right decision for this season of life. It averaged 33 mph through the whole trip, and over an hour stretch of downhill from Yellowstone to Cody it averaged 50.3!!!

I wish we could have taken more picture of the beautiful canyon lands and river roads we got to enjoy on this relocation, but it was one for the memory book! And now we are in Casper, to adventure and to work.