Coming west from Independence, MO we drove past this scene and saw a 2003 Suburban rolled over:
http://www.kansascity.com/news/local/article30036822.html
The bottom of the vehicle was facing towards traffic, but I looked back and saw the driver still strapped in and clearly dead. I couldn't believe what I saw and said "I think I just saw a db (dead body)". It was the man pictured in this article. As we were coming up on the scene, I saw skid marks as the driver's side tires hit the rumble strips on the right side of the interstate and over-corrected going sideways at about 65mph and then about 6 rolls in the median onto the side of the vehicle. We could tell there were kids in this crash because of all the diaper bags and luggage strewn about. All windows were blown out - it was a violent crash, but it looked survivable to me. At least if the vehicle had been equipped with side impact bags to keep heads from fatally smacking side pillars, etc According to this info, the SUV had anti-lock brakes as well as front seat-mounted side impact bags. Those tire marks sure did not look anti-skid to me.... http://www.autoblog.com/buy/2003-Chevrolet-Suburban+1500/safety-features/
It was shocking to see the body just hanging there. Sadly, both of my girls saw the man still strapped in. I had to look this up to make sure it was not a family coming back to Utah from Nauvoo. Regardless, it makes you realize how fragile life is. We put over 6,000 miles on our vehicle and this could have been us at many junctures....
A little later that day, as we made our way north up to Chimney Rock, NB just inside the CO border, we heard tornado warnings coming over the radio. They said there would be touch-downs between two towns on the exact highway we were on. No way to escape east or west on that road. I could tell we were going thru the wind shear zone as we tried to outrun the black wall that was starting to drop down; I had it floored and could not get above 55mph on the flat, the winds were so intense. I had to drive down the middle of the two lane highway (with no shoulders to speak of) in order to keep the vehicle on the road. Sheesh that was a white-knuckle ride - especially with people making a run for it in the opposite direction like bats out of hades. We only saw a few small starts forming in the clouds, but never saw any turn into the real deal. That was enough excitement for me. I was about to click my heels twice to get out of there.
This guy in Taiwan had a scare of a lifetime as they have dealt with unstable air over there the last few days:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SEz1wmVUIho&feature=player_detailpage
Then we drove through Jellystone the next day right past where this guy got eaten by a grizzly:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/08/09/grizzly-kills-veteran-hiker-in-yellowstone-national-park-authorities-say/
It is a raw world out there.
We stayed for a week at a campground (Chewing Blackbones - run by the Blackfeet Tribe) just outside Many Glacier and were plagued by grizzlies the whole time because one of their dumpsters brought in for the 4th of July weekend was not bear-proof. One came right into a camp and staked out a cooler of one of the tent campers. One afternoon, I saw what we thought was a black bear climb into the unsecured dumpster. I went closer to examine him. I had three baseball-sized rocks to defend myself with. I chucked them at the metal dumpster and the third one connected really well. Out came my friend probably with some messed up ear drums, and he got up on his rear legs - and I examined him and he sized me up. He was about a 300lb grizzly - NOT a black bear. I didn't check for tennis shoes on him and I knew he could beat me in a wrassling match; but I had my tennis shoes on and put them to good use since I had no rocks left (literally and figuratively). My daughter and another camper were already well on their way back to hard-sided campers. The girls slept in a vehicle that night.
At the end of our family get together at Glacier NP during the first week of our trip, my daughters were charged by a
grizzly in Glacier NP while hiking with my sister and her family. My
sister's shriek to her husband (at the back of the hiking group, of
course) for the bear spray likely averted disaster....
Just glad to be back to normalcy once again!
It will be interesting to see how many times unseen hands have helped from the other side on behalf of my family and other loved ones. Having lost one, I know the sting of loss - but I also know that we have many who are looking out for our welfare from the other side. If it is our time to go, there is nothing that can be done. It simply will happen and we need to accept it and not worry. Fear is not of the Lord. Trust and confidence, tempered with faith and meekness is the Lord's way.
Sorry you and your family had to witness that. I guess it was a gift the loving couple went together ya know? One isn't left behind with a broken heart. But then again, the matriarch and patriarch of a small family (I read the article) have been taken away at the same time. At least their children are grown and stable it seems and it sounds like their parents left them a legacy of love and family strength. I prayed for them.
ReplyDeleteSo glad you and yours made it through the bad storm too. That car in Taiwan being swept up was an incredible video! Shocking as well. I've seen my share of tornado activity and hurricanes. No fun! I've seen what happens to society when hurricanes cause runs on the gas pumps and grocery stores. Yes, brother it truly is a raw world out there as you say.
And we don't realize how small our sheltered bubble is away from it until we get a full taste of what's really happening out there. Like about a month ago, we saw a dead body behind a McD's when we were in drive-thru! It was OBVIOUS this person was deceased. Could see a bic lighter and a syringe by his stiff, upturned arm. We were so sickened we could barely eat. I had about 3 bites and that was it for me, then hours of feeling traumatized by what I had just seen. And we had to follow the ambulance in traffic that came without fanfare and put him in a body bag. Must be a common thing in that city it seemed.
I try not to despair over the carnage others say they have seen coming our way in visions/prophecies. And yes, it is absolutely true that angels do attend. Without going into detail, I, for one, am living proof of that. I should NOT be alive today.
One thing we know for sure, Jesus Christ is ALIVE and He's coming back for us! So we have a happy day to keep front and center in our minds to make it through.
Prayers for safe travels brother for you and yours. Thanks for sharing your journey with us, good, bad, and sad.
I've always loved the campfire story my scoutmaster told about a guy who was chased and trapped by a grizzly bear. The man got to his knees and asked God to make this bear a Christian. When he was done praying, he heard the bear saying, "Dear Lord, thank you for this meal..."
ReplyDeleteI was also at Chewing Blackbones to camp and I saw one bear; then on another evening I saw another; I was there when the managers reported another and let every camper know, and then I also saw a super huge Grizzly the last day we were there. They had asked for their extra dumpster to be removed. They do have a bear proof dumpster, but those who were asked to take the other temporary dumpster away did not do so. It was supposed to have been removed right after the 4th of July, but no one ever came to do it I was told by management and it was there for a whole week after. Someone needs to do their job, and remove that dumpster for them. They seem to be doing a great job trying to get that camp up to snuff and I saw a lot of improvements happen under my eyes while I was staying there. They would go around often each night asking if anyone needed them to take their trash and they educated the campers on not keeping any food out in the open or in a tent. Hopefully somebody in the community has taken the dumpster as the management there had requested. If the dumpster was not taken, then why was it not?
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