Don't you just hate that sound?

Don't you just hate the sound of a thud, then feel a jarring motion shove you forward a bit, and you don't know what's causing it? That was our first thought when the hitch holding the 5th wheel (goes by the name of Montana) to the truck broke into 3 pieces, allowing Montana to slam down on the sides of the truck. The full 15,000 pounds were held back by Ian's tool box and a piece of wood he'd put in the back. Oh, by the way, I was driving, so this will be forever my fault! The fact that he had a tool box there and had just thrown in that piece of wood willy-nilly was his fault, so the fact that we didn't have Montana up on the front seat with us was his fault! Anyway, needless to say, our day was spent. Previous to Montana moving, we had been enjoying a beautiful, sunny day, showcasing the unbelievable mountains, lakes, peaks, and wildlife that northern British Columbia has to offer. It's such gorgeous country - at times we felt we were in Switzerland, or western Montana, or even parts of New Foundland, but different. Towns were few and far between, and usually consisted of a gas station, and if you're lucky, an RV park, most of which weren't open yet. The day before, we drove into a raging snow storm, wondering if we should have purchased chains after all, but then, who ever heard of chains on an RV??? We decided to get gas at the top of the mountain, as did every other trucker, RV, car, and truck that made it there. Unfortunately, we couldn't get Montana turned around to continue north, so had to retrace our steps southward 'til we found an area to to a 5-prong turn. It was a blessing in disguise, though, as at the gas station we met a young couple, Katie and Chad, from Grand Rapids, MI on their way to Alaska. They asked to follow us, as this was their first experience pulling a large 5th wheel through weather conditiosn such as that. They had already gotten turned around, so waited for us to make it back to the top, and we caravanned to the next open RV park. We got to know them a bit better, and what nice young people that are, as we found out the next day when Montana decided to depart. Also, just an hour or so before Montana rebelled, we stopped at a rest area to make lunch and let Mac stretch his old legs. There, we met a couple on their way back to Alaska from Arizona, where they winter over. Another wonderful couple, as we found out shortly. OK, back to the side of the road with Montana now completely off the truck, and who should show up but Katie and Chad from the day before and the other couple from the rest area. The men examined the hitch, realizing that one side of it had already been broken a while, and we had been traveling and hauling on borrowed time. We women just stayed out of their way and gave moral support to each other. Then, another car stopped, Air Force retirees who saw our Air Force sticker on the truck and couldn't NOT stop. Well, the men got it all figured out, and before we knew it, Chad, the young man, unhitched his 5th wheel, hitched Montana to his truck (he hadn't figured out that he was dealing with a rebellious animal!), and towed it to the next rest area. Oh, I failed to mention that we had already been without cell phone service for days, and even the OnStar which touts world wide service, could not be contacted. Luckily, there was a log cabin down the road from which Ian was able to call Good Sam Emergency Road Service (thank goodness we had decided when we left Alabama to get this service, just in case!) Seven hours later, a tow truck came from the next closest town, towed Montana, as we followed, to Watson Lake (a 3 hour trip), Yukon Territory, where we now sit. Ian trucked 5 hours yesterday to the next larger town (Whitehorse) that actually had an RV supply store to find that yes, they had a hitch for us, but no, they couldn't install it 'til Monday. So, tomorrow he'll make the 10-hour round trip once again, but we should be able to be on our way Tuesday. We just may stay that night in Whitehorse!

Well, I haven't posted anything since the first posting because I couldn't figure out how. Our tekky son, Scot, though caught up with us in Edmonton, Alberta (no matter how far we go, they still find us!) and explained it, so here I am. I have a lot to catch up on, but will save it for a later blog. I don't want to overwhelm you! Just wanted to let you know of our latest little adventure inside the bigger adventure. We're OK, the truck and Montana are OK, God had this all in His hands, obviously, as it could have been so much worse! And putting the right people in the right place to make the situation so much easier to cope with is priceless.