America The Beautiful
October 27, 2012
The terrible accident we survived happened five months ago today, May 27th.
About 10 days ago I got to feeling well enough to finally stop wearing my elastic chest bandage, taking ibuprofen and icing my chest twice daily. My right rib cage remains slightly swollen and somewhat tender to the touch. I need to maintain a constant awareness not to physically over exert myself. I remain with a constant mild burning sensation in my right rib cage area. I’m wondering when, if ever, it will finally leave me.
Mary remains at home in California tending to medical issues. Some believed to be related to after effects of the accident.
If you missed the Blog entry about the accident, here’s the link. If you want to understand the full scope of the accident you’ll need to read the Blog entries for the following several days…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4Eh
In the meantime, I’m in my second day here at Sumner Lake State Park in New Mexico.
We have a brief cold front moving though the area. Yesterday’s high temperature was only 48 degrees so I stayed inside most of the day playing with the computer and came up with this 1:58 minute video. It was 30 degrees at 5:00 AM this morning.
The music America The Beautiful is by Christopher W. French. The photos, which I randomly selected, are from the states of Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Tennessee and West Virginia (not shown in that order)…are mine. Yup, That’s me standing in front of the Post Office in Luckenbach, Texas…Y’all!
Click this link to start the video. Make sure you have your speakers turned on and go to full screen asap.
http://youtu.be/FfZUzEB4rM8
Enjoying our beautiful country is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!
If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…
http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
Four Corners U.S.A.
June 6, 2012
After a 12 day visit to Canyon de Chelly near Chinle, Arizona, I drove the motorhome 140 miles to Cortez, Colorado yesterday.
It was the first time for me to drive the motorhome since the tragic accident ten days ago. My chest is still wrapped with the elastic bandage and I’m still taking my pain medications. I really would have preferred a shorter trip for the first day, but this area is so remote I had to drive that far to reach this city with a population of 8,284 at an elevation of 6,200 feet. We passed through a lot of empty space yesterday.. Mary took this photo with my camera…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
Along the way we passed through a location known as Four Corners. This is the only place in the United States where four states intersect at one point…Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico and Utah. Through the magic of Google Earth, I can show you an image of what it looks like directly overhead from an elevation of 6,367 feet above the site. Since this image has due North at the top of your computer screen, you can see the four states. Like looking at a clock, 12-3 is Colorado, 3-6 is New Mexico, 6-9 is Arizona and 9-12 is Utah…
The site is maintained by the Navajo Nation Parks and Recreation Department. Here’s their official website link…
http://www.navajonationparks.org/htm/fourcorners.htm
Down on the ground, this is what it looks like…
The marker is in the center of this plaza…
Once there, everyone performs this ritual. Here’s Mary doing her thing. Her left arm is in New Mexico, her right arm in Arizona, her right foot in Utah and her left foot in Colorado…
In each quadrant there is a brass replica of each state’s seal…
The area is really remote…no electricity, no running water, no telephones…for miles. I took this photo looking North…Utah on the left, Colorado on the right…
40 miles later we arrived in Cortez, Colorado where we are parked at American Legion Post #75…
I expect we will be in this area for 2-3 days…seeing the sights.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
NEWS?
June 5, 2012
Last night, I received a comment from Barbara Bald that newspaper coverage of the Canyon de Chelly accident was practically non-existent. So, right. And, if you don’t know the story, JUST MAKE IT UP!!!
We talked to a person in the park yesterday who told us a Gallup Paper had the accident as a tour bus that went over the rim and landed upright. Totally bizarre.
And, that another news paper claimed two people were killed and that Dr. Crowe was staying in Sedona before his canyon tour. All of this is heresay, of course. I used to work for a newspaper and I can truthfully say, our paper never made up news.
The little independent newspaper, the Navajo Times contacted Jim yesterday and there will be an article in that paper, but he did not consent to an interview. He told Cindy, the whole story is in the blog. He gave permission for her to use any of the information and pictures in it. The editor, Cindy, was gone during the event and that was why she had not reported on the accident before this week.
Even crazier, there are rumors that the driver was drunk. UNTRUE. That he just drove it over the ledge and jumped out and saved himself. UNTRUE. Again, bizarre. Where does such mean stuff come from? The driver, Davidson, has made about a thousand trips into that canyon over many years; experienced and professional. There is no communication between the canvas cab of the truck and the passengers in the back. He stopped and got out of the truck in order to speak to us when we got to a specific site. He could not warn us of his sudden steering problem, for instance. Besides, it happened in five seconds.
This morning, we got an on-line copy of the phoenixnewstimes that is accurate about the accident. You can read it at this link: http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/06/canyon_de_chelly_fatal_tour-tr.php
Yesterday, we went to town, did the laundry, shopped for groceries and spent the afternoon reading outside in a cool breeze. I can’t remember when I spent a day and didn’t take a picture. So, I’ll take your advice, Barbara, and post more of the canyon pictures. Bless you, I think I needed a reprieve.
And, also, surprisingly, Jim and I received news from Essya Nabbali, one of the victims in the October 2011 bicycle accident with an update of their case. (My Blog entry Black Monday at
http://wp.me/pDCku-2vx )
No word about their personal lives pending litigation, just the results of the trial:
Canyon De Chelly National Monument, Chinle, Arizona…
June 5, 2012
Today we depart this beautiful area to move on down the road once again.
After 12 days here and after a very different visit than what we had anticipated, I’ve taken a lot photos and wondering how to present them to you. There are three distinct days…
* the north rim,
*the canyon floor, and
* the south rim.
I’m going to give you six sample photos for each of the three locations and then a link to the appropriate Picasa Web Album where the rest of the photos are located.
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
Starting with the north rim, here are six photos…
To see the other 58 photos I took of the north rim, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/NorthRimOfCanyonDeChellyNationalMonumentChinleArizona
Now six photos from the canyon floor…
To see the other 102 photos I took of the canyon floor, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/CanyonDeChellyNationalMonumentChinleArizonaDay2
Now six photos from the south rim taken with my new camera…
To see tho other 55 photos I took from the south rim, click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/CanyonDeChellyNationalMonumentChinleArizonaDay3#
What started out to be a five day visit, because of the tragic accident turned out to be a twelve day visit. I’ve come to the conclusion that the only place for 71 year old people to attempt flying is on the inside of an airplane!
In other news…
This morning I found this article. For those of you know us, Mary is my life-partner, not my wife. Click this link to read the article…
http://blogs.phoenixnewtimes.com/valleyfever/2012/06/canyon_de_chelly_fatal_tour-tr.php
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
At least in this sequence of events. I expect some time in the future we may have occasion to discuss this event again…but for now it’s time to move on both physically and mentally.
We are planning to depart Chinle, Arizona tomorrow morning and head on down the road once again.
Yesterday Mary and I took our Ford Bronco II and headed out on the south rim of Canyon de Chelly, here in remote northeastern Arizona. I’ll show you the photos that I took, tomorrow. I also wanted to confirm my ability to drive a vehicle once again and I seemed to do okay.
We started out on the south rim trip one week ago Saturday, but after only about 30 minutes called it quits because of high winds and blowing sand. You can read about that day by clicking this link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4Dx
In the previous seven Blog entries I’ve reported about a terrible accident Mary and I lived through eight days ago. In case you missed those entries, here are the links…
In today’s Blog entry I want to discuss odds and ends associated with the tragic accident.
First, the remoteness of the location. Here’s a couple of Google Earth images to assist. The dark shadows that look like lakes are indeed dark shadows caused by late afternoon sun coming across the mesas on the other side of the canyon. X marks the approximate tragic accident site location. I was helicoptered up from the accident site to the Mummy Cave overlook parking area where a waiting ambulance took me to the Chinle Hospital about 20 miles distant.
The nearest metropolitan cities straight-line distance approximate mileage is 185 to Albuquerque, New Mexico, 235 to Phoenix, Arizona and 325 to Denver, Colorado.
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
Next is to discuss the three other fatalities of the tragic accident…our three cameras. Mary’s two and my one. Due to the physical shocks they received, like us, and the extensive amount of dirt and dust they were exposed to, they soon stopped working. I spent about two hours last Monday afternoon cleaning them with the hopes I could revive them. Nope, no hope. Done for…kaput…finished.
The owner of the tour company and the Thunderbird Lodge told us to go ahead and order our new cameras right away and submit the receipts to her insurance company. We did so and received the cameras a couple of days later. Here’s my new camera…a Sony HX200V…
Here’s just one review about this camera, click this link…
http://www.imaging-resource.com/PRODS/sony-hx200v/sony-hx200vA.HTM
Next, I have been unable to find one news account other than the newspaper that reported local resident Richard Crowe’s death. See my Blog entry by clicking this link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4Gq
The National Park Service has finally issued a statement about the accident. It is on the News page of the Canyon de Chelly website and can be read by clicking this link…
http://www.nps.gov/cach/parknews/index.htm
Over the past several days Mary and I have been interviewed by several law enforcement accident investigators. In addition to their questions, I’ve indicated that everything I/we know about this accident has been documented on our Blog at
http://otrwjam.wordpress.com/
Finally, the interest in our personal blog has been phenomenal…in excess of 10,000 hits in seven days. I was unable to get hit numbers for our Seattle PI and San Francisco Blogs.
Tomorrow you’ll get to see all of my Canyon de Chelly photos.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
The Driver Of The Tragic Accident…
June 3, 2012
In the previous six Blog entries I’ve reported about a terrible accident Mary and I lived through seven days ago. In case you missed those entries, here are the links…
In today’s Blog entry I want to discuss the driver, Deschennes Davison. We are told his friends call him Denny and that he has a wife and five young children.
THE REASON I WANT TO DISCUSS HIM IS BECAUSE I WANT THE WORLD, AND ESPECIALLY THE CHINLE, ARIZONA NAVAJO COMMUNITY TO KNOW HE IS A VERY PROFESSIONAL AND CAPABLE DRIVER AND IN NO WAY HAS ANY RESPONSIBILITY OR LIABILITY FOR THE TRAGIC ACCIDENT. I SHOULD KNOW…BECAUSE MARY AND I WERE SITTING DIRECTLY BEHIND HIM AND SAW EVERYTHING!
We found him to be a very nice, soft-spoken man with a wonderful knowledge of the area’s history. At the beginning of the tour he introduced himself to us as Davison. During the tour, when we had stopped at a particular site, he would sit atop the half-high driver’s door and tell us the history of the site. I took this photo at one of those stops…
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
I took this photo of the driver’s compartment from our seat directly behind the driver…
During the trip I looked over the top of the driver’s cab and took some photos of the roads on which he was driving…
This last photo was taken at our lunch stop location. The tragic accident occurred shortly after our departure from this site…
After the accident and after getting out from under the truck, a rescuer assisted me in lying down under a shade tree about 50 yards from to accident scene while others attended to the more seriously injured. Mary took photos of Davison assisting in the digging-out of other passengers. Later Davison came and sat under the shade tree with me and we talked some.
He told me he was suffering from back and side pains. I asked how many times a week he drove this all-day tour and he replied two to three. I asked how long he had been driving these all-day tours and he replied…eleven years. He then quickly added…without an accident. I did some quick mental math and came up with around 1,250 trips.
In closing, I want to reiterate…I was sitting directly behind Davison and I saw everything. He did everything humanly possible in the about 2-3 seconds from when the steering failed (see my second Blog entry) until we were headed over the ravine’s edge. I have told his employer and several accident investigators the same thing. Davison has no responsibility or liability in this tragic accident.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
THE BEAUTY OF THE CANYON
June 1, 2012
I took many beautiful pictures on the way into the canyon. It seems to take longer to do anything these days. I find I need a nap in the afternoon, so most of them are raw and un-cropped. We are healing and feeling better each day. But Megan’s note about how rumors fly in a community prompted me to also give this information. The nut that dropped from the tie rod bolt was found on the road above the accident and turned into the Sheriff’s Department.
Jim considered driving into the canyon for this tour with his four-wheel drive Bronco. Very soon, looking at the deep sands to navigate, he was glad we decided to take the tour.
Majestic solitary pinnacles sit on the canyon floor.
Our guide showed us fascinating petroglyphs drawn by the ancient Anasazi.
These photos can be double clicked to get a better look at them.
Explanations not needed. As Sara Dailey from the Chinle Clinic told me, “Walk in beauty.”
.
.
.
.
On the road, there were places where the canyon walls are over your head.
I enjoyed sitting behind the driver and looking through his window as we bounced along.
He stopped for the horses to cross in front of us.
This rock edifice reminded me of a man leaning up against a rock.
Where I sat, I could peer over the edge of the truck and see the wheels churning through a muddy low spot.
Majestic. I was stunned to learn that some locals have never been in the canyon.
.
.
Sometimes the rocks are caramel color.
The awesome big picture.
Our guide explained the color variations come from the various minerals that are in the rock.
Coming from a more populated state, it is delicious to watch these horses running free and wild.
Though I took several pictures of the Mummy Cave, this is the last photo I took. The tour stops here for a lunch break before starting our return trip. (This album does not have the accident photos.) To see the rest of my pictures in a full screen slide show, click on the link below:
The Unluckiest Soul Of The Tragic Accident…
June 1, 2012
In the previous four Blog entries I’ve reported about a terrible accident Mary and I lived through five days ago. In case you missed those entries, here are the links…
On Sunday, May 27, 2012, Mary and myself, along with 12 other souls, (13 passengers and a driver) started out on a sightseeing trip in Canyon de Chelly (d’SHAY) in remote northeastern Arizona.
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
This is the tour vehicle at about 9:30 AM…
and the tour vehicle at about 1:00 PM…
Dr. Richard Crowe died at the scene. To the best of my knowledge he was the only fatality . In the below photo he is the fellow on the left with the white sweatshirt and brown hat…
We heard from his sister Carolyn who sent us this newspaper story. You can read it by clicking this link…
http://www.hawaiitribune-herald.com/sections/news/local-news/uhh-astronomy-professor-dies-rollover-jeep-crash.html
She also sent me his biography which you can read by clicking this link…
http://www.astro.uhh.hawaii.edu/Faculty.php
The World is a sadder place today because one really nice man is missing.
Mary and I are truly saddened by this happening. To his family, we offer our condolences and best wishes.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
THE ACCIDENT AT CANYON DE CHELLY
May 29, 2012
An accident like the one we survived is a horrific event. I chose to take pictures of it and I hesitated for fear of appearing ghoulish. But after the bicycle accident last October, (my blog entitled Black Monday) where I took three pictures and felt guilty about it and stopped, I found out through the long process , when the Highway Patrol needed my pictures, and after becoming friendly with the victims Essya Nabballi and Martha Wright, that it was the right thing to do. So, I hope these photos offend no one.
This photo shows the long drop we took.
The driver, front, radioed the office several times for help, telling them we need paramedics, NOW! There is no signal in the canyon for cell phones for those who tried dialing 911. And, when you accept the remote location, when you accept the beauty and adventure you are about to enjoy, you also surrender those conveniences we’ve come to know, including immediate emergency services.
Jim and I were seated right behind the driver. The road is bumpy, rutted, rock strewn and I watched as he navigated the half day journey to our lunch spot through the many twists and turns, around downed trees and through heavy sands and mud. I can only say, Deschennes Davidson is an excellent, driver, a strong man who knows this road. When we left our lunch spot and began the ascent, I saw him go over a berm, he turned his wheel frantically to the right, but the vehicle continued to the left. Jim yelled, we are going over. And I dove for the floor as others who heard him did the same.
There were only about five of us who were mobile, to help the others. In this tragedy, there was good luck in that the incident happened so close to the lunch stop, that the tour that pulled in behind us for their lunch, heard the screams and the shouts and the noise and came to see. They were our rescuers and, they came running to help. Though I know none of them, I saw them all working their hearts out, and we are ever grateful to them. Bill, Anita, Jim, Davidson, and myself were unable to do much. Jean and Chris, a couple from Wisconsin were unhurt and did most of the heavy hauling in our group and continued when the other tour members pitched in.
For my own situation, Jim and I were protected somewhat by the cab. Thus our injuries were not as severe as others. I was trapped and pinned painfully under a collapsed bench with the woman above, Deby, sitting on top of it. She struggled to lift her weight up so that I could remove my painful breast, ribs and back out. My hand was still trapped under the back of the bench seat, now with her full weight turning my hand numb. I was able to dig in the dirt and free my hand. Deby struggled to get out and became the first to get out. She was worried because her husband was struggling to breathe. I went out behind her. Then they got her husband, Richard, out.
Jim was helped out behind Richard and others worked getting the most injured out of the wreck. They were closer to the ground at the back of the truck and took the brunt of the crash. Jim was mobile for awhile. He laid in the shade to rest and was never able to really navigate on his own well after that.
Remembering black Monday, I took pictures of the undercarriage of the truck. A gentleman from the other tour was a mechanic and he held up the tie rod, showing that it was missing the nut and cotter pin, thus the driver had no control of his steering.
My favorite canon camera was scraped and crushed under the truck, but I used my alternate camera and just kept taking pictures and documenting everything I could. I had also brought a half-gallon jug of water and became the official water person, moving from group to group and trying to keep water in the small bottles. We luckily had a former medic from Viet Nam, his name is Beau, from Virginia, who knew what to do and he kept order. Moving from place to place making sure everyone could wiggle their toes, move their hands, and talk. He instructed helpers to keep them talking, keep them hydrated, keep the sun off them so they wouldn’t burn. He was indispensable and Beau, where ever you are, we are so very grateful. He worked extensively with Richard, clearing his breathing passages, talking to him, begging him to keep breathing, giving him CPR. Richard went into shock and died at the scene. Beau went off to himself and cried a bit, and then came back to pitch in. The driver, too, was much affected by Richard’s death and got sick in the bushes. None of us were left untouched.
This woman and her husband were determined by the first medics on the scene to be the most severely injured. He kept demanding to be by his wife. She could hear him and said tell him it is his fault I won’t be able to make my class on Monday, because he wanted to take this dam tour. With her sense of humor intact, he was then calm enough to quit trying to get up and move about.
It took over an hour to get everyone out from under the truck. It was three hours before the helicopter arrived to take people out. The first plan was to fly them out of the canyon to ambulances waiting above on the overlook. But, the injured were severe and were taken directly to a trauma center and a second helicopter dispatched.
Again, without all the helping hands of the second tour group, the job of making it up to the copter would have been much more difficult and timely. Circumstances, not birth, make people heroes.
Bill, with his jacket over his head, sheltered and kept his injured wife’s spirits up as best he could through the entire three hours. He, too was injured and needed stitches in his head. She was in the most pain and her screams of pain is what brought the group to help us.
Margaret and her friend Anita sat next to the truck, both complaining of being in pain, but feeling okay. But, when they tried to get up, Margaret could not walk and had to be carried out on a back board as well.
As the last helicopter left, with the sight of the ancient ruins behind it, I couldn’t help but think, what a different world we live in compared to the ancients. We will never know them, but we all experienced the beauty of this special place.
What Caused The Accident???
May 29, 2012
Yesterday my Blog entry was entitled…”We Survive A Terrible Accident. If you missed it, you can read it by clicking this link…
http://wp.me/pDCku-4
I’ve had a number of people ask me…”What caused the accident?”. I’ll answer that question today.
First of all, this is the vehicle involved in the accident. It’s a 1952, 6 wheel drive, 2.5 ton truck chassis built by General Motors Corporation. You can read all about this vehicle by clicking this link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/GMC_CCKW
Mary is sitting in the front left passenger seat. This is where we both were sitting when the vehicle rolled over to the left until it ended upside down. We had a real good view of the happenings!
As always you may left click upon an image to see an enlarged view and then click once again to see an even larger view…
This is the scene of the accident…
and here’s photo of what caused the accident…
That bolt slips through a hole on the tie rod and is affixed there by a nut secured by a cotter pin which holds the nut in place. After I got out from under the vehicle, for stability I leaned against the front left tire which, because the vehicle is upside down, is now on the left side as you look at the photo of the accident scene. While there another guy pointed out the missing nut and cotter pin and said..:”Here’s the problem!”. Sure enough that’s what caused the accident. Once that nut fell off the bolt and separated from the tie rod assembly, the driver could no longer steer the vehicle.
Now you know what caused the accident.
Late yesterday morning the owner of the Thunderbird Lodge and hence the tour company, stopped by to visit with me…Mary was in the motorhome sleeping. She expressed her apologies and condolences and told me that she and her chief mechanic had just returned from the scene of the accident. She acknowledged the missing nut and cotter pin was the cause of the accident and will do what ever it takes to make things right. She also told me she has been here for thirty years, that they have made several thousand of these trips into the canyons without an accident. I’m most pleased she came to visit me and with her attitude about the whole affair.
I’m not of a mind to sit down and write a long story of the accident. However it’s my intention to provide short daily Blog entries over the next few days until I’ve covered the whole story. For further details, just continue to monitor the Blog daily for the next few days.
We both feel a whole lot better this morning than we felt yesterday. It appears we are both slowly healing.
All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust
2gadabout
ramblinmanjimj
