The Rest Of My Story And The Tragic Accident… (GA128)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 22nd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

---

The motorhome is parked at Thousand Trails RV Resort in La Connor, Washington. I’ll depart here July 24th.

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

 

 

In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

 

 

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

 

 

 

This entry was posted May 31, 2012…

 

 

In the previous three Blog entries I’ve reported about a terrible accident Mary and I lived through four days ago. In case you missed those entries, here are the links…

http://wp.me/pDCku-4Eh

http://wp.me/pDCku-4Ep

http://wp.me/pDCku-4EE

 

 

The rest of my story continues today…

 

 

 

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

 

Mary took this photo while I was still under the vehicle…

 

 

 

 

 

Then she took this photo of me being led away from the vehicle. I took a severe blow on my right rib cage. Notice my right hand holding my side…

 

 

 

 

 

The rescuers managed to get me on a pad from the vehicle and under this shade tree where I spent about three hours. Mary took this photo. notice I’m still holding my right side…

 

 

 

 

 

While lying under the shade tree I managed to take these two photos. The first one is looking straight up at the sky…

 

 

 

 

 

Then I rolled over on my left side to look back at the rescue activities. This is the last photo I personally took of this tragic accident. Because of the abundant dirt and dust I had been in, my camera no longer wanted to work…

 

 

 

 

 

After what seemed an awfully long time, two men assisted me in walking back up the hill of the ravine to the road above from which the vehicle had plunged off. The exertion of climbing that hill now had me experiencing severe stabbing-like pain in my right side rib cage area. I asked to lie down as the pain was less severe in a horizontal position. Mary took this photo of me lying on this rock awaiting the call to the helicopter…

 

 

 

 

 

I’m now in the helicopter awaiting the boarding of this other passenger. Mary took this photo…

 

 

 

 

 

The helicopter flew me to the top of this cliff (to the left) to the Mummy Cave overlook parking area. I remember telling the flight surgeon that Mary and I had parked our Ford Bronco II in this same parking lot two days earlier while out sight-seeing. Mary took this photo. Because of the dirt contaminating Mary’s camera, the protective shutter for the lens only opened partially. Hence the black areas on the lower left and the upper right…

 

 

 

 

 

After a 20 mile ride we arrived at the Chinle, Arizona Medical Center where I received great service. This next photo shows me in the Emergency Room after being treated and waiting to be released. The gal on the left is Donna, the lead nurse and the lady on the right is Mary…

 

 

A policeman drove us back to our campsite where we are now in the process of recuperating. We are still moving very slowly. Still frequently. when I try to lift my right arm, I get a hot burning sensation in my mid-chest area like I had been branded with a red-hot cattle brand. Still, the pain is not as bad as it has been.

I’m 71 years old and because of this tragic accident I can no longer claim…

* never riding in a helicopter…

* never riding in an ambulance…

* never having a cat scan.

 

 

However, my records for never having any broken bones and never having spent a night in a hospital remain in tact. I’m hoping to be well enough to once again drive the motorhome by next Monday.

 

 

In the next few days I intend to publish additional Blog entries about other stories associated with this tragic event.

 

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW…!!!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2012/05/31/in-tragedy-we-find-fellowship/

 

 

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

 Forecast for today is mostly cloudy and 67 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of Washington. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. 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, Washington 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

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2017

Fort Bayard National Historic Landmark – New Mexico (GA69)

Mary is no longer available for RV traveling, but we remain good friends.
Because we have 4,000+ postings, I’ve invited her to continue posting entries on this blog.

I’m currently in my 22nd year of full-time RVing and my lifestyle is changing, For more info click Here

---

The motorhome is parked at Mary’s home in Murphys, California. I expect to leave here May 8th. While here, I’ll be doing routine maintenance, repairs and general cleaning.

 

 

Since my RVing life is changing (see above), I’m starting to re-visit previously visited places. So rather than constantly re-blogging past entries, I’ve decided to do something different.

 

 

In 2011-2013, Mary and I did a 682 day, 12,679 miles in the motorhome and 8,000 miles in the Bronco, circumnavigation of the United States, which I called The Great Adventure. I called it so because other than my oldest granddaughter’s high school graduation in June in Connecticut, I didn’t know where we would be going or when we would be there!

 

 

So, unless I do something really different and unusual warranting a new blog entry, I’ll be posting entries from that trip.

 

 

 

This entry was posted April 3, 2012…

 

 

 

A few days ago while my Ford Bronco II was in the shop for a transmission rebuild, I drove the motorhome the about seven miles east from Silver City, New Mexico to Fort Bayard.

 

 

The fort site was chosen in 1863 for its springs and outstanding view of the Apache war trails. The fort was established in 1866. In 1899, the Army deactivated Fort Bayard and established it as a tuberculosis hospital and research center. In 1922, the hospital was transferred to the Veterans Bureau, which became part the new Veterans Administration in 1930. The last patient was transferred to another hospital in November, 2010.

 

 

The first known internment in the cemetery was Sergeant David H.Boyd of the 3rd U.S. Calvary, buried in 1866. The cemetery was designated a National Cemetery in 1973.

 

 

To read the complete history of Fort Bayard…click this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bayard_Historic_District

 

 

To read the history of the Fort Bayard National Cemetery…click this Wikipedia link…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Bayard_National_Cemetery

 

 

Here are some photos I took at Fort Bayard…

 

 

 

 

 

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…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

To see the other 26 photos that I took…click this link…
https://picasaweb.google.com/110455945462646142273/FortBayardNewMexico

 

 

Visiting old military installations is another of my enjoyments as a full-time RVer!

 

 

 

TWO FOR THE PRICE OF ONE! MARY WROTE A MANY GREAT BLOGS…SO WHENEVER SHE PUBLISHED A BLOG POSTING THE SAME DAY THAT I DID…YOU WILL BE ABLE TO READ HER BLOG BY CLICKING THE BELOW LINK! DO IT NOW…!!!

https://otrwjam.wordpress.com/2012/04/03/taxes-and-damn-taxes/

 

 

 

I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE PHOTOS.

 Yesterday was sunny and 73 degrees. Forecast for today is sunny  and 80 degrees.

Enjoying nice weather is another joy in the life of a full-time RVer!

The red dot on the below map shows my approximate location in the State of California. You may double left-click the map to make it larger…

Enjoying 65-75 degree temperatures with low humidity most of the year is a primary joy in the RVing lifestyle!

“Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving”…Albert Einstein

My current travel rig is a 2006 Fleetwood 26′ Class A Motorhome and a towed 1986 Ford Bronco II, Eddie Bauer Model. This photo was taken in the desert at Slab City near Niland, California…

On October 27, 2012, I created a two-minute video titled America The Beautiful. 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, Washington 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

If you would like to see my YouTube videos, click this link… http://www.youtube.com/user/JimJ1579/videos

There are more than 700 photo albums in my Picasa Web Albums File. To gain access, you simply have to click this link… https://get.google.com/albumarchive/110455945462646142273?source=pwa

If you have not checked out my Ramblin Man’s Photos Blog, you can do so by clicking this link…http://ramblinmanphotos.wordpress.com/

For more information about my books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust

All original works copyrighted – Jim Jaillet -2017

LIBBY, MONTANA

Driving from Kelispell to Libby yesterday morning  brought us through 9 miles of road work much of it really, bumpy gravel.

Elevation rises, more trees and stump farms with scraggly second or third growth. One plot had about 3 scraggly trees and nothing but stumps. This is lumber country obviously and the twigs we see everywhere that pass for trees is disheartening even if it is private land.

Libby is called the City of Eagles. We didn’t see any flying around or nesting spots along the roadway, but there were plenty of them around town.

.

.

.

We had expected to see the Museum and Nordic Heritage Center, but it was closed.

We missed by one day the Nordic Heritage Days annual celebration. This sign was left on the street. We pulled in to stay at the VFW in town and just walked the downtown area and took pictures.

I  judge the health of a small town by its art or lack of it, good beer, buildings that are well cared for and if you see a nice child care center, a drug treatment center, senior center, plenty of doctors offices, a hospital and good looking schools you know you are in a progressive community. Libby qualifies. The main street was only about four blocks long and two blocks deep, but it was full of murals and they are expensive.

.

.

Even their garbage cans were painted. This one mentions their Annual River Front Blues Festival.

They still have a working theater in town. Nice.

The Libby Cafe claims to have the best huckleberry flapjacks in Montana.  I liked their sign.

This one too.

Libby has an Amtrak Station so you can get where you want to go. Country living, small town, pretty nice place to live.

HARLINGEN TEXAS

When Jim arranged to be near an airport I questioned Harlingen? Why drive the whole of Texas to the southernmost tip?. My weather wimp declared this is what they call Winter Texans, where retired Texans like to winter for the heat. Yesterday in the bitter cold we ventured out in the rain to visit the Harlingen Arts and Heritage Cultural Museum. And, yes, I’m poking fun at Jim about the horrible weather.

At the center, the staff was removing their Christmas Extravaganza and the museum exhibits were in temporary storage. The local organizations and businesses trim themed trees for everyone to enjoy for the season. A couple trees hadn’t been dismantled yet and the display must have been spectacular. Open for visitors were three buildings, Harlingen founder, Lon Hill’s house, Paso Real Stage Stop and the old Harlingen Hospital.

Lon Hill moved with ten wagons to this part of the world and built here and settled in and founded the town. The house above was his second house, which is open to the public.

The completely furnished house was quite beautiful.

Notes on various items were attributed to family members who donated stuff for the museum.

I was impressed with how prosperous the Hill family was, considering he was from the approximate same generation as my grandparents who struggled and worked very hard but didn’t live as sumptuously as the hills off the land. Then from one note I learned that Lon brought his slaves with him and it all became quite clear. I tend to forget that Texas was a slave state.

The curator’s told us the next cultural center exhibit would be their yearly quilt show, beginning January 16th. We will miss it, but the Hill house bedrooms had many nice quilts on view besides this crazy quilt. The house was very worth visiting and well done.

Someone rescued the school bell.

The Stage Stop had the most beautiful cash register. Makes one long for the days of such craftsmanship.

The old PBX machine reminded me of my first major job at age 17 working one not much bigger than this. The Stage Stop also served as a telegraph office and post office.

The hospital, like the house was so completely furnished, it made one think they just walked away and left everything in it. A very complete dental office above.

The color blindness test gave me a chuckle.

The eye doctor gave very simple tests, but, glasses were such a precious invention. The optician performed such a needed service for those times. And, I swear the eye chart is the same one used today.

The surgery, cribs, hospital beds, pharmacy, all so complete and well done. So often we see medical items in a museum, but the whole hospital completely furnished is an eye opener. The braces on this wall give evidence of the horrible polio epidemic that struck during my own time.

I’m beginning to rightly own the title of old-timer I suppose, though I certainly don’t feel old. The buildings were unheated and we moved through quickly and on to the grocery store to stock up on things I like to cook. (Jim is a mono eater.) But, I gotta have Greek yogurt, onions, garlic, lentils, lots of veggies and, the spinach souffle I made and the soup for today, heated up the motor home.  Tasted great.

ODE TO SURGERY

 

The brain is not up to poetry, but this is still an ode to surgery. What a fascinating experience. Smooth operation from point A to Point E, above, just before my ride was coming to take me home. I needed no pain pills and didn’t have a whisper of uneasiness.

The nurses were dedicated and competent and smiled the whole time. I was very impressed at how hard they work; they multitask; they fill emergency demands with a smile; nothing seems to ruffle them.  I had a required four hours, plus a happenstance two more hours in the recovery room to watch the ballet of patients in, nurses attention, patients out; to get acquainted, to laugh and joke and meet the many players and watch various patients thread through their paces. Wake up. Sit up. Talk, cough, wiggle your toes and fingers.  A neck surgery, thyroidectomy, appendectomy, and ectopic pregnancy rupture, and so on. And, the drug ATM, a marvelous machine where drugs are dispensed by the scan of your wristband, thus assuring that the patient gets the correct drugs, no harried nurses error. Such a deal.

Throughout the hospital, The hand sanitizing stations are used by office workers, janitors, visitors and nurses alike. Dispensers are everywhere you look, and used repeatedly without the horrible dryness typical of the old harsh anti-bacterial scrubs. Gleaming, clean comfortable. I’m grateful for the marvelous care I got at St Joseph’s Hospital in Stockton.

On the way to surgery, my truck cab filled with smoke. I’d forgotten to release the emergency brake. I’ve owned that truck since 1994. Go figure. I arrived at my brother’s smelling like a roasted marshmallow. I stopped for gas and at the laundromat near the station was a couple waiting for their clothes to finish.  I couldn’t resist asking:  “Do you always bring your chicken with you to the laundromat?”  The guy obviously didn’t want his picture taken. She told me the chicken belonged to the nursery next door, which I figured. They feed it bread crumbs whenever they do their washing.

I slept deeply, woke up late. I’ve read a book and expect to be quiet and catch up on my reading for a week. Thanks to all of you for your good wishes and good cheer.

 

The Rest Of My Story And The Tragic Accident…

In the previous three Blog entries I’ve reported about a terrible accident Mary and I lived through four days ago. In case you missed those entries, here are the links…

http://wp.me/pDCku-4Eh

http://wp.me/pDCku-4Ep

http://wp.me/pDCku-4EE

The rest of my story continues today…

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…

Mary took this photo while I was still under the vehicle…

Then she took this photo of me being led away from the vehicle. I took a severe blow on my right rib cage. Notice my right hand holding my side…

The rescuers managed to get me on a pad from the vehicle and under this shade tree where I spent about three hours. Mary took this photo. notice I’m still holding my right side…

While lying under the shade tree I managed to take these two photos. The first one is looking straight up at the sky…

Then I rolled over on my left side to look back at the rescue activities. This is the last photo I personally took of this tragic accident. Because of the abundant dirt and dust I had been in, my camera no longer wanted to work…

After what seemed an awfully long time, two men assisted me in walking back up the hill of the ravine to the road above from which the vehicle had plunged off. The exertion of climbing that hill now had me experiencing severe stabbing-like pain in my right side rib cage area. I asked to lie down as the pain was less severe in a horizontal position. Mary took this photo of me lying on this rock awaiting the call to the helicopter…

I’m now in the helicopter awaiting the boarding of this other passenger. Mary took this photo…

The helicopter flew me to the top of this cliff (to the left) to the Mummy Cave overlook parking area. I remember telling the flight surgeon that Mary and I had parked our Ford Bronco II in this same parking lot two days earlier while out sight-seeing. Mary took this photo. Because of the dirt contaminating Mary’s camera, the protective shutter for the lens only opened partially. Hence the black areas on the lower left and the upper right…

After a 20 mile ride we arrived at the Chinle, Arizona Medical Center where I received great service. This next photo shows me in the Emergency Room after being treated and waiting to be released. The gal on the left is Donna, the lead nurse and the lady on the right is Mary…

A policeman drove us back to our campsite where we are now in the process of recuperating. We are still moving very slowly. Still frequently. when I try to lift my right arm, I get a hot burning sensation in my mid-chest area like I had been branded with a red-hot cattle brand. Still, the pain is not as bad as it has been.

I’m 71 years old and because of this tragic accident I can no longer claim…

* never riding in a helicopter…

* never riding in an ambulance…

* never having a cat scan.

However, my records for never having any broken bones and never having spent a night in a hospital remain in tact. I’m hoping to be well enough to once again drive the motorhome by next Monday.

In the next few days I intend to publish additional Blog entries about other stories associated with this tragic event.

All original material Copyright – Jim Jaillet 2012
For more information about my three books, click this link:
http://www.lulu.com/spotlight/panamaorbust