Oh Deer!

Okay, so here’s the full story of our “major incident”. Mike had been driving since we left that morning, so when we stopped for gas in Spokane we switched. It was my turn to drive.

I was doing great. I had a book on my mp3 player. Kelby and Tegan were arguing about their feet touching on the bench seat while they tried to sleep and Mike made them sit up. Kelby was so tired she was beside herself. But, finally got calmed down.

Just then, I saw a doe right in the middle of my lane. I hit the brakes and was just thinking, “don’t swerve, don’t swerve, you can’t swerve, you’re pulling a trailer.” The lessons of Montana driver’s training came back to me just when I needed them. I did try to aim toward the shoulder as I braked hard. I didn’t stop in time and must have been going pretty fast still when I hit her. She hit on the front drivers side. The picture of that moment is etched in my mind.

Apparently I screamed from the moment I saw the deer until I stopped, which really seems like forever. I think then it turned into a sort of blubbering and the girls had joined in. They didn’t see me actually hit her, but were screaming because I was screaming.

I didn’t even consider at that point that we might not be able to finish our trip home that evening. I was just so sad I had murdered the poor animal. It took another 30 seconds or more before Mike got out of the car and told me to shut off the engine. It was pouring out steam and the hood was crumpled up.

Thank goodness for cell phones. I was very shaky as I dialed 911. The trooper got there right away. I had to sit in the back of his car to do paperwork, so Mike had to calm the girls down. I was able to laugh while I was sitting there with the trooper about what a wonderful trip we had and all the great things we saw…but what will my girls remember most about this trip?!

Mike called his dad while we waited. This all happened at about 11:00 on Saturday night. It was late, but George was ready to jump in a vehicle and come and get us right then. He tried, but couldn’t. He wanted to borrow Heather and Derek’s SUV because they were out of town, but the battery was dead. That forced him to sleep and not leave until morning, so that was good.

In the Police Car

Once the tow truck got there, the girls and I rode in the back of the trooper’s car to the motel. The hotels in the small town of Ritzville were full, so we ended up in a 50’s style motel. It was a bit run-down, but very clean and they gave us a room with three queen beds.

The tow truck had to haul the van and the trailer. They dropped the trailer off in the parking lot across from the motel and we had to unload everything from the van right then at 1:30 am. We stuffed what we could in the trailer. The only thing we know we missed is our garage door opener, so that’s not too bad.

Debbie and George got to Ritzville at noon the next day. They were super heroes to us. We didn’t have the coverage on the van that provided for a rental. We might have to reconsider that for next time! They ended up bringing Zach and Melissa’s Suburban to get us. It towed the trailer back nicely and had plenty of room for all of us and our stuff. Everyone pitched in to bring us home!

We were pooped by the time we got home. We are now just recovering from all the excitement. This week has been low key. Partially because we are tired, and partially because we don’t have our van. Great Gramma Wright has loaned us her car for the week, so we are able to get around. I’ve been waiting to hear what the insurance company was going to do for us.

It took them forever to figure it out, but it is apparently a total loss. They will give us $3,500 to put toward a new vehicle. I have been looking around. I just love the Dodge Caravan, so I’ll probably stick with that. We could probably use an SUV to pull that trailer, but I just don’t want to sacrifice my gas mileage and seven seats for the power. Besides the other van made it over seven passes to Montana, so that is good enough for me! We’ll just have to see what’s out there. We won’t get anything too new; that’s not how we roll. But whatever we get, I hope it is soon!