Mayday Mayday.. we've been hit!

Lets start this past Saturday on a positive note.. Derek had to work (okay thats not so positive, but it is nice his first week on the job and he was able to put in 10 hours of OT!) so I woke early to play on the computer and get some much much needed cleaning done for the day (okay.. again cleaning is not so positive.. what part of this is good so far.. lol) Anyways, the plan was that we were going to have some horse club friends over for Movie Night that evening and I had the entire day to get some chores done, deep cleaning time! As I sat and checked mail, I noticed at 8am a very light light snow was falling.. yes that was the positive note I intended to start on.. LOL I know I am in the minority, but I just cant help but smile at the sight of snow.. I love it and my dogs love it!

I spent the next 5 hours taking my time and cleaning, I even took the vacuum apart as the suction wasnt working so great and got it working better.. deep cleaned our bedroom.. The house was as clean as it was gonna get and at about 2:30 decided I should take a shower and head off to the grocery store and Papa Murphys. At this point, we had already canceled the movie night, there was very little interest from people in coming plus with the all-day snow, it was just safer to reschedule. Most of the snow had not stuck too much since it still was so very light all day, but I knew it could get worse as the night drug on.

So I head off to Monroe, the roads were 50% clear with patches of snow dust, not super slick but definately still drove carefully. As I was heading to the store checkout, I get a call from my aunt Dena.. her and Jennifer are in Downtown Snohomish at a wedding dress store and invited me to come down! I was super excited to be invited... When I got to Snohomish, Derek had just gotten to Snohomish as well on his way home from work, so he picked up my refrigerator groceries and headed home. I told him I would pick up pizza when we were done.

So I saw BEAUTIFUL Jennifer in 2 different dresses she had set aside and was debating. She looked amazing of course. We 3 decided to head to Mardini's and have a late lunch and chit chat for a bit before heading home. We never get to spend much time together. The snow was now coming down pretty good but not accumulating much. We had a great time and decided we had better all head home, it was now dark and snowing still pretty good.

I picked up the pizza and headed home. Now if you know Snohomish at all, I decided to go past Emerson Elementary and ventured down that BIG hill towards Centennial Trail. I made it down that hill just fine, zero sliding. Roads seemed pretty decent with a heavy dusting on them. I was in 4WD of course. I turn onto Three Lakes Rd and took a mental note that there was maybe an inch or so on the center line with still just a heavy dusting on the main part of the road. I get up to the S-Curve hill section and a van ahead of me stopped and started backing up. I was confused, assumed he just didnt want to take the hill with his 2WD. The car infront of him attempted to turn around in the road and got stuck with her front end on the side and her ass-end sticking out in the lane. So I decide, hell I can make this hill no problem.

What I should have done and I'm pissed for not doing, is stopped, got out and walked up around the corner where I couldnt see. But I didnt, I stepped on the gass for a little momentum, passed the car that was now stuck, got into the curve and realized 2 vehicles were STOPPED up ahead in the middle of the hill. One 2WD vehicle was in the right lane and the other dumbass was in the middle of the F*ing ROAD! So I have NO choice but to stop. Now I am on the straight section, I have made it through the curve in the road. I decide since I am now in the middle of the road as well, I should back up and get into the driveway on my left and turn around. I put the truck in Reverse, took my foot off the brake, I had NOT even put my foot on the gas pedal yet when all the sudden I was moving!!! I was not moving backwards, nor forward, NO I was SIDEPASSING (NO SHIT) straight towards the edge, which normally would be no big deal, however on the other side of that edge is a HUGE DEEP DEEP RAVINE!!

It was one of those Slow-Motion moments.. as I was sliding, I had ZERO control of the truck, so I unbuckled my belt and felt my life was over.. Internally I was sure the truck was headed over the edge into the ravine and I was going to die. I opened the truck door, prepared to jump out. THANK GOD, as soon as we hit the edge, the truck stopped. I sat there for a second, unsure what to do. I knew I was in no condition to try to move the truck. The car I had passed was only about 15-20 feet behind me. If she wasnt there, I could have backed up using the traction of the edge and gotten out of the situation, but with her back there, I had no options that I could see. The road was a sheeting of ICE.. It was absolutely the worse condition I have ever seen a road before. I shut the truck off, turned the flashers on and got out. I have NEVER shook so bad in my life.. I was trembling, almost hyperventilating.

I called Derek and told him I was stuck and unsure what to do. There was no way the car would make it safely so he said he'd see me in a while, he was gonna walk the probably 3.5+ miles to get to me. He then called back and said he would ride his bike to get to me faster! I told him good luck in this shitty condition!

So as the lady and I stood there looking at our perfectly fine vehicles stuck, we talked a little of how panicked she felt for me when the truck was headed for the ravine! The reason the truck headed that direction is because the road is sloped towards the ravine, so when I put it in reverse, 4WD made zero difference, the slope was so great and road so icey that it was out of my control. I would have made it up that road JUST FINE if the damn idiots in 2WD were not blocking the way.

As she waited for her son and I waited for Derek, a guy in a Bronco decides he's going to pass us and head up the hill. Now at this point, we should have stopped any vehicles from attempting to pass us until the hill was clear, but you dont always think of everything when you are a bit shaken up. I really was not shookin up from the snow at all, I knew I could handle the snow. But when my life flashed and I thought I was headed off into the ravine, that is what scared me. I know it sounds overly dramatic, but that's how I felt at the moment. The feeling of having NO control and just waiting to stop or drop....

So the bronco sees he cant get up the hill and stops... He stops on the curve part and decides he's going to back up into this driveway we are standing in. He does the EXACT same thing I did, as soon as he took his foot of the brake, he sidepassed towards the ravine. Well unfortunately for him and for the lady with the car, her car was completely blocking his path to the ravine, so we watch in agony as he slams into her drivers side, mirror parts flying! He too was in 4WD and now we all just stood there wondering what the hell to do now.

A guy in a 4WD truck comes up, stops, gets out and a little abbrassively says to us.. "Well I can get you 3 out. Would you rather wait for the cops, get a ticket and pay a tow truck driver to get you out or would you rather have me get you out now?" Seemed to be a good plan, it wasnt really my decision because my vehicle was uninjured and I knew if he pulled those other 2 out, Derek would be able to back out of the situation.

So the guy gets in his truck and I have NO idea what his exact plan is, but he pulls up a little further in the curve than the bronco did and stops! GODDAMMIT!! Why the HELL did he do that.. Was he planning to turn around in the driveway so he could use his back bumper to pull the car out? So as he stops and puts it in Reverse, well his 4WD did the EXACT same thing my truck and the bronco did.. so he is sliding and this time I knew I was going to take some damage. He hits the bronco, and then his front end slams into my rear end, I was a bit concerned the force would push my rear end off the edge and into the ravine, but there was not enough force . I was PISSED!

About 15 minutes later, I see Derek flying down the hill on his bicycle! A couple people were like.. "look at this guy on the bike!" lol He was going pretty fast with no ability to really brake on the ice. So now we all stand there wondering what the hell to do now. The guy that was going to save us all, called a buddy to come with a wench truck. A policeman eventually showed up, he parked at the top of the hill and walked down. Told us he was not going to issue any tickets, he had far too many other flipped cars and worse scenarios to deal with, but he did call a sander truck to get there ASAP or else he was going to close the road. He stayed with us until the sander showed up and we were all cleared out to ensure nothing else happened.

Once the sander was there, he spent a lot of time dumping as much sand as he could around our vehicles and got the hill 1/4 sanded up and then left. Not sure why he left and didnt finish sanding the hill, maybe he ran out of sand? The car was pulled out by the one guys buddy and I dont know where that car ended up, maybe the lady or someone drove it off. Then the bronco was pulled out, then the ford and then Derek was able to drive our truck out w/o any assistance. I jumped in and we easily cruised up the hill (which had been cleared of previous dumbass's for atleast 30 minutes at this point).

Oh no, story doesnt quite end there.. As we get to the top, the one police car was blocking any traffic from coming down the hill and up ahead of us was a car and a tractor. The tractor was stopping and talking with drivers headed the opposite direction of us and blocking us from going anywhere. We knew cars would be coming up that hill behind us real quick and if we didnt keep going, they would have to stop on the hill back there.. So we were getting VERY aggitated at this point, we just wanted to get home. So as the tractor moved forward, the car in front of us slowly crept forward and we stayed in the same spot. We were waiting for the car and tractor to get far enough ahead that there was a free lane to pass them in so we could get going and make it up the little incline w/o having to stop mid hill. As we waited, a cop car pulls into our lane, flashing his lights and was face/face with us. We could not back up, the ford truck was behind us. So I get out and head up to the cop and said to him "Where do you expect us to go?" I was not very friendly, I mean seriously.. WTF was his problem! He was very Assholey with his demeanor, he sat way back in his seat, head up all snotty like, didnt roll down his window until I was standing at it! He said "Well I wasnt sure why you werent moving and what you were doing?" OKay I am thinking, then why not GET OUT OF YOUR DAMN CAR and WALK a few feet up to ask us!! Lazy Asshole.. So I say to him "well we are waiting for the tractor to get out of the way so we can get up the next little hill and get home! As soon as he is out of the way, we will be on our way". So he doesnt really say anything, I dont recall what he did say, but I ask him again "where do you expect me to go? I cant back up." He says "cant you back into that driveway?" Now mind you, this driveway he is referring to is steeper than the hill we just came up and he wants me to pull down that driveway? WTF asshole, why would I do that. So I tell him "NO I cant pull into that driveway, I dont want to get stuck, I just want to get home!" I was getting really snippy by this point, this guy was the biggest dumbass idiot cop I have ever experienced.. I said again " as soon as the tractor is out of the way, we will move forward and get home, OK" He then closed his window and backed up into his own lane. He didnt smile, never said, okay have a safe drive.. nothing. I just shook my head, I guess you dont have to have common sense to be a police officer!

So we put it in drive, cruised past officer dumbass, passed the car that was creaping along and as we are in the middle of the road ready to pass the upcoming tractor, a damn stray dog was in the road. This same dog had been down visiting us earlier when we were on the side of the road, some kids said it was a stray and unsure where it belonged. So as we are approaching the dog, it decides its a good time to cross the damn street to be with the kids that were walking along the road. Derek puts on the brakes (we are on the hill/incline now) and I start yelling.. pardon my language.. "FUCK THE DOG>> FUCK THE DOG!!!" At this moment (because Dereks window is down) a girl starts screaming from the left side of the road.. well the dog must have backed off at the very last second because we did not feel a thud and Derek had opted not to attempt to stop.. NO WAY were we risking another accident over a dog.. I'm very sorry to those that may think we are wrong, but my life is a little more important to me.

The rest of the drive was uneventful, we made it home safely and curled up with our children and enjoyed a little downtime in a very clean house!

That was quite the evening. Come morning, the roads were slush and driveable again. We headed off to the 4H tack sale, found a couple items that my friend Molly graciously offered to put with her things so we wouldnt have to spend 1-2 hours in line.. we had a nice lunch, headed home and spent Sunday relaxing and catching up on some TV time that we havent had all week with Derek working 2 jobs.

Oh and did I mention 4WD Ford truck driver that hit me is uninsured! Of the 3 people that have hit us over the years, all 3 have been uninsured.. but I have ALWAYS collected! Ford dude promises to pay cash for damages.. I'm off to get an estimate today, we will see how loyal to his word this guys really is.

I still LOVE the snow, it just reaffirms that I hate stupid people! :)