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Borrego Springs, CA

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

I’ve become a tree hugger. :(

First, I’d like to thank all of you for your advice and concern.  I decided if I felt like crap this morning, I would seek out an urgent care facility.  Wouldn’t you know it?  I had no fever last night, slept like a log overnight, and had no fever this morning.  So, I decided to head about 110 miles up the road to Columbus, IN.  I took my time getting ready, and pulled out shortly after 10:00.  I didn’t want to push it too hard, and only tackled one major city today…Louisville, KY.  It was an uneventful trip until about 100 yards before the entrance to the Columbus Woods-N-Water Kampground.

_MG_1650 _MG_1655

A 40’ motorhome was in the ditch near the entrance.  It’s hard to see, but the front tire of the rig was actually about 10” off the ground when I arrived.  I turned on my emergency blinkers, shut off the engine, and settled in to watch the extraction.  It only took about an hour for them to be pulled out.  Of course, there’s more to the story.  It turns out that as they were pulling out around 9:30, a Fed Ex truck came barreling over the hill at very high speed.  They’re only choice to avoid a head on collision was to head quickly for the ditch.  The Fed Ex guy didn’t even stop!  They then called their road service company – Coach Net.  Coach Net sent out a tow company, but they refused to take the job.  So, they called again.  The second company said they could do the job, and did without any damage to the coach.  Turns out Coach Net won’t cover the second call, so these folks have to pay the whole bill.  That doesn’t seem very fair to me since the first company refused to do the job.  Would you believe that these folks have only had the rig about six weeks?  They’ve been on the road for several years, and had just traded up to a new model.  Sad smile

 

When I finally got into the campground, I was assigned site#24.  The approach to the site was a very tight S-curve.  I proceeded very slowly watching my mirrors, but dang it, I crunched into a tree.  My awning took the brunt of the ‘hug.’  Annoyed  Immediately, three men showed up to ask if I really liked trees.  I could not appreciate their humor at this point.  Since I was on a curve, it was a monumental task to detach the toad.  Two of the guys, campground employees, helped me with this, thank goodness!  I could never have done it myself.  Then they helped direct me off of the tree, and into my site.  Ugh!  How embarrassing was that!  Another repair on the horizon.

_MG_1635 _MG_1638

Soon after I got into the site, the rain began once again.  Even the blue jays are looking bedraggled. 

 

I’ve got about 180 miles left to reach Pioneer Family Campground, and I hope I’ll be able to do that tomorrow.  I’m ready to settle in for a bit.  My friend, Jack, is staying there right now, and has agreed to meet me at the exit off the interstate, and lead me into my summer home.  He even offered to come down to KY and drive my rig for me if I needed that.  What a friend!

 

Thanks for stopping by…. talk to you later,  Judy

29 comments:

  1. Wow! What a day! I am so sorry you had an unfortunate encounter with a tree and your awning.
    Hopefully the fix will be an easy one.

    There is nothing scarier than to see a huge motorhome leaning in a ditch. Glad they got out without any damage.

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  2. Not a good day for you or the guy in the ditch. I'd be calling UPS and finding out what truck was in that area today and sending the tow bill to them.

    Glad you're feeling better but if the fever comes back again, get you to a doctor!

    Great to have friends like that. I know when we were in AZ in 2008 and Gordon had Valley Fever apparently there were various people that were going to offer to drive our rig back for us. Glad Gordon was able to do it himself though!

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  3. Sounds like an interesting day for you. I'm glad you feel better and sorry about your encounter with that tree.

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  4. I think at this point I would gracefully and gratefully accept Jack's offer. I was going to say that I remember Columbus and a really quaint little town back in the 1960's. I'm sure it is much different now.

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  5. Good to hear you're feeling better and able to move on. And, uhmm, please hug trees in a different way from now on, OK? ;D

    Too bad about the folks in the coach. I hope they will call FedEx and let them know what happened. I've heard several complaints about their drivers, and I have had problems with deliveries and customer service. Makes you wonder what's going on, doesn't it?

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  6. Bless your heart -- glad you are ok & feeling better. Feel bad for the other folks & disappointed in Coach Net -- those folks can't help if the first company wouldn't do the job! Someone should've been helping (escorting) you to your site & maybe you wouldn't have hit the tree -- glad you weren't hurt!

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  7. That looks like a narrow little road with no line in the middle and a sloping ditch... But a beautiful green!

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  8. Glad you are feeling better but sorry you and a tree had a bad encounter. Was surprised to read about Coach-Net not paying for the correct wrecker for getting the motorhome out of the ditch. Maybe there is more to that story. Those skinny little roads make me so nervous...and I'm the passenger, not the driver.

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  9. I understand FedEx and UPS drivers are on a very stressful delivery quota. If the take their time they are likely to fall behind and get fired.

    That is no excuse for the driver who did not stop, but it is in part an explanation.

    glad you are better.

    Soon you can have a long rest.

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  10. too bad about the other motorhome and your mirrors!..maybe tomorrow will be a better day!

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  11. I'm sure that tree jumped out and hit you on purpose. I've heard they can do that sometimes.

    I'm just about to change my road service from Good Sam to Coachnet. I think I'll go back and check for the fine print.

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  12. Nothin's Easy! Have a relaxing evening and an easier day tomorrow. Glad you are feeling better!

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  13. Glad the fever is history, life is interesting to say the least, tomorrow.... piece of cake !!!!

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  14. I'm so glad you're feeling better!! Hope your damages are minimal. Enjoy your short trip tomorrow. Stay well.

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  15. Thanks for the heads up on Coach Net. Sounds like another insurance rip-off to me. Hope your rig didn't incur too much damage from the bout with the tree.

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  16. Glad to hear that you are feeling better, Judy. I KNEW it wasn't good to be a tree hugger! Hope your repairs are minimal.

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  17. Sorry about your mishap yesterday Judy. These things happen to all of us at one time or another. Also thanks for the information about Coach Net. I feel bad for the other people who had to find out the “hard way”.

    John
    relaxedrush.blogspot.com

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  18. Oh my, so sorry to hear about your tree encounter. Happened to us in WY, don't beat yourself up about it.

    So glad that you are feeling better.

    Safe travels.

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  19. So sorry to hear about the tree--my heart stopped when I saw the photo of the other MH thinking it was you before reading more. Jack sounds like a great friend--hope you get settled soon and that you stay well.

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  20. Man, that'll ruin a beautiful day..McGuyver hugged a pine tree at Pedernales State Park in Texas and scuffed the awning on our Cougar..The first ding is always the hardest to take! It's sooo great you had some help getting your rig out of the tree limbs and into it's spot..We have found so many helpful RV'ers along the way, it does the heart good. Glad you are better...Now, get the Heck to your summer home and soak up some Midwest ambience..or whatever.

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  21. I don't think that's what they mean when they tell you to be a tree hugger :-) Glad to read that you're feeling better and hope the damage to the MH is minimal. I'm surprised about CoachNet not picking up the tab on the second wrecker ... maybe there's a bit more to the story there.

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  22. Judy,

    It could have been worse. It could have been snowing. Your insurance company will take care of the damage. You are safe and not injured. I hope you have smooth sailing going forward.

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  23. The nerve of that damned tree. Jumping out at you just as you rounded the curve.:))) Glad you are feeling better, and hope you enjoy your stay in Indiana. We are, after all, a pretty good bunch of people.....

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  24. Strange story about the motorhome in the ditch. On the tow, it sounds like they did not call Coach Net back, but found the second one themselves. If they had reported the problem with the first one Coach Net sent, maybe it would have been a different story.

    I have seen so many tree/MH damages over the years. I have come to really hate trees in campgrounds. Our closest call was in a KOA in Calhoun Ga. The place was a dump and never trimmed any trees. I learned then that in anything but a wide open campground to always unhook first before heading in. If the place looks iffy, I always walk the route first. I do not care how silly or timid I may appear.

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  25. Unusual for Coach Net! We've had wonderful service from Coach Net. These folks should politely but firmly make an appeal, on up the ladder to the top if necessary. My lady is a master at that, and nearly always can get what we need from the most recalcitrant companies!

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  26. Glad you're feeling better but hope you will see a doc if you start getting punky again soon. Okay? I hope those folks in the ditch got the FedEx plate or truck number and reported it. Geez. Last but not least, there is an easier way to hug a tree . . . I'll be happy to coach you on that. Okay, don't cyberslap me! :)

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  27. There is customer service and then, there isn't..

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  28. ouch! that can't have been fun at all. Last spring when we arrived at the North Rim, there was so much snow on the ground that we scraped one side of our trailer trying to get through the plowed road to our site. It took off a couple of the running lights on that side of the trailer, but thank goodness it didn't do any more damage than that.

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  29. Wow - I've really missed out on your misadventures. Like you, I would be so happy to just be parked somewhere and I'd deal with the problems tomorrow or whenever. We've ruined an awning, run into posts, and scratched somebody's really fancy paint job on their motor home. These things do happen to all of us.

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