THE BEST IS YET TO COME...: 06/06/11

Monday, June 6, 2011

KOA, Flagstaff, AZ, to KOA, Laughlin, NV: Well, today started out bad and just got worse. I started out driving again. Driving west on I40 again through the mountains west of Flagstaff was beautiful with the mountains thick with ponderosa pines. But the winds were horrible—worse than anything we’d experienced so far. Stopped in Williams about 30 miles west of Flagstaff and fueled up. I continued driving. Told Mike I’d pull off at one of the exits around Seligman and we’d switch. However, we came over a hill and the traffic in both of the westbound lanes had come to an abrupt stop. I put the flashers on and slammed on the brakes, hoping that someone behind us didn’t slam into us. Weren’t sure what had happened yet. Traffic was moving over to the passing lane and some vehicles got through before the state police showed up and blocked all traffic. Turns out a car slammed into the back of a motorcycle with a guy and his wife or girlfriend on the back. She was killed and her body was on the left shoulder. He was in the center line—still alive. So those vehicles that got through before the state police showed up had to weave between these two bodies to get through. Unbelievable! We ended up three vehicles back from the accident scene. Traffic was backed up for miles behind us. We sat there for three hours. They brought in some National Forest firefighters who were working on the alpine fire. Then some EMTs showed up. All together there were 3 state police vehicles, 6 National Forest vehicles, two ambulances and some DOT trucks. They worked on him for a while, then brought in a helicopter which landed right on I40 (in this horrible wind) and they took him away. Then the state police worked the scene for an hour more. By now it’s three hours. Finally the DOT had us go over on the right shoulder to get by the scene. When we went by, we realized her body was still on the road, covered by a tarp. The motorcycle was ¼ mile down the road and ended up in the median. The car that hit them was a little further down the road. The car had a lot of damage. He must have been going pretty fast when he hit them. The speed limit here in 75. Finally got going and stopped for something to eat. Continued on over the mountains to Bullhead City, AZ, and then crossed the Colorado River into Nevada. Got lost trying to find the KOA. Had to turn around a couple of times before we finally found our way. Driving through Laughlin was fun. One casino after another and lots of construction. The KOA we’re staying at is really nice. Across the street from a large casino and next to a beautiful golf course. Mountains all around. After we got set up we headed over to the casino for a couple of drinks. Then played the slots for a while. I lost. Mike won. Back to our site and let the cable TV wash over us. Bad day, but at least we’re still alive.