Aftermath

Well, the storms seemed to blow itself out around 9:30 last night. We sure were rocking during some of the bigger gusts. As one of the fellows I met at the dumping station this morning put it, "It was raining sideways".

Since I have been 3 days overdue to do laundry, I decided that it would be easier to take it to my parent's place and that way I could make a visit of it, and I wouldn't have to haul away the water afterwards.

We dashed in and started the first load, then "quickly" ran a couple of errands - top up on all 3 fuels (diesel, unleaded (bikes) and propane) then grabbed a bite, and a couple things from Walmart. We got back to the laundry around 2:30 and started the second load.

The second load included our sheets, so I put those in the dryer, but left the other items on the clothesline where they got mostly dry in spite of the spitting rain that attempted to foil their efforts. Tomorrow will be drier, so I should be able to hang and finish the process tomorrow.

All that aside, getting into Yuma revealed the results of the previous day's efforts by the forces of nature. We passed several washouts, and noted that the next section over from us on the Wash, Skunk Hollow, was nearly half drowned, and 3 trailers are stranded, 1 of which was actually about ankle deep at the door.

Fortunately, most of the areas we had to go were affected minimally by the storm, so other than a couple lane dodges, our path was clear.

Another matter that recently crossed our path was one that was bridged in an earlier post. Medical coverage.

As stated in said post, a friend had a fluke accident, and was wise enough to have coverage. She is healing well, and the injury was covered by medical.

However, we now have heard from a friend (our Oliver neighbour last year) who was going to be connecting with us shortly, and spending the duration of the snowbird season with us here at the Wash.

Their plans have substantially changed due to an accident on Sunday. He was out quadding in the dunes and hit a soft spot that caved in on him. He rolled the quad and as it crossed over him, broke his scapula (shoulder blade) and a rib or two. They splurged, and got him x-rayed ($1000 later) and confirmed the breaks and that fortunately, there were no punctures or internal bleeding. The pain is severe though.

They are now bee-lining it back to Abbotsford where his daughter lives. There, they will re-diagnose, and treat - likely with surgery - and start recovery. In the meantime, the bones are attempting to mend themselves, hopefully not poorly. Said bee-line has been delayed by the storms in California, and they can't take the mountain passes. I think they were finally able to make some headway today, but I won't know until they get to Vancouver.

This to me is further confirmation that if you plan to travel internationally, medical coverage should not be neglected or considered optional.

So those are my thoughts today, and I bid you

Adieu.