- What a great story and lessons to be learned! Thanks for sharing. :) Too bad there are expensive repairs to go with it. :( -Tracy of MutherAndSun On Tue, May 25, 2010 at 12:24 AM, ehamemail <sydstyr@xxxxxxxxx> wrote: > - > I love a good story: even if it does result in my shame and humiliation. > In hindsight I was pretty stupid, I think, but at the time.. well .. > you think you can turn around without a problem. No humans were physically > harmed during the making of this adventure. Ego bruised and banl account is > going to pay, but ll aches and pains are residual and only showing up for > me today -- and that's mostly my achey feet. > I set out with my daughter and one of her friends to have a couple of hours > of fun at the Toledo, Illinois .. something.. Spring Day Festival, Summer > day Festival .. something like that. It's about 30 miles from here, rides > were a $1.00 each. On the way out I looked at the GPS and we headed to a > cemetery cache (not with the Kyd's blessing, as she does NOT approve of > cemetery caches at all.) Anyway, it was hot, the cache must have been in a > rock on a hill covered with rocks and snake skins, so we gave up and left. > According to the GPS, the nearest cache was "Before the River Bottoms" > GC20TKK > > Clearly, the name should have been a big hint. > > We made our way to the cache and had I been thinking, the standing water in > the fields and on the road should have been a red flag. The girls got out, > made their way to the cache about 10 feet from the road, signed the log, > laughed at the mud they were in and got back in. > > Checked the GPS for the route to the next cache. > > You know those stories about people who are run over by a train because the > GPS told them to turn onto the railroad track? Yeah. ME! > > (I'll be needing to eventually buy new maps since, CLEARLY, Mapsource and > Roads and Rec suck rocks.) > > Here's my log for the cache: > > (The log right before mine, dated February 23 -- which I had not read > because I only had the GPS -- is: I tried to go down some roads that I > should not have. Turned the jeep around. tftc) > > My log: > Found the cache. We also went down some road we shouldn't have. However, I > slid off the road while in the process of turning around and now have > several thousand dollars of damage to show for it. I think I hate this > cache. > > Do NOT go past the sign that says "Road Closed When Muddy." There IS no > road. > > There are people who are willing to call a tow truck and if that doesn't > work they'll bring in friends to help. They are also willing to chuckle, > point and give great advice, "It does tend to get a bit scary down here > after dark." Luckily, a few men, young and old were willing to pull my truck > out with their truck. They also, luckily, had a tractor available to pull > their truck out. Thank God for the kindness of strangers or one overweight > middle aged geocacher, her kyd and kyd's friend would STILL be on the road > that isn't there. The GPS will tell you it's there as will the paper maps, > but, according to our rescuers, "There are trees THIS big growing where the > maps say that road is." Turns out, we're rescue #2 of the week. The last guy > was a salesman from Pennsylvania. > > > Of course my log makes it sound a little more simple than it really was. It > was hot. DAMN hot. We were over a mile into a road that clearly showed on a > map. We came down a hill, made it through a very muddy spot: HA road must be > CLOSED, to only realize that, what I couldn't see before going through that > spot was that there was more water around a bit of a curve, hidden by brush. > I made a great attempt to turn around, but the back end slid into a ditch > and in trying to get out of that I nose dived into the ditch. > > I can't begin to describe the mud. The girls waded through with their shoes > off. I had on the fake Birkenstocks (the indigenous peoples here call them > "potato shoes") and was hopeless. I did find a pair of old tennis shoes in > the truck and after leaving a note, taking a waypoint and writing down the > coordinates in case the GPS died we starte to walk out. > > After we had found the cache, we passed a house about a hundred yards down > the road. They waved. We waved. They later decided to come looking for us > because we hadn't come back. By this time we were heading back up the road. > Of course the girls were 1/4 mile ahead of me. Grandpa said, "Betchyer > stuck down there ain't ya?". Grandma said, "You're the second one this > week." > > Grandpa said they'd go back and call the guy with the tow truck that they > usually called when this happened. And, off they went. > The girls headed up the road for cell service. We had managed to get just > enough half-calls out to start to alarm the friend's dad, "Tim, this is > Nancy. We're stuck. Do you know anyone with a tow truck.... no I don't know > where we are but I can give you GPS coordinates." > > Grandpa came back with a neighbor in another 4 wheel drive truck. We met > up on a hill. I stopped them and asked if I could have a ride back. When the > kid lowered the tail gate and I said it was too high I couldn't get in, the > guy said,"Just give me your keys and we'll get it out." > > They did. I actually think that's when the damage ocurred. It would have > been impossible to get to the front and pull it forward. > > Meanwhile, I had no idea where the two girls are. They were supposed to go > until they got cell service to let Friend's dad know we weren't dead. Gramps > told them they should just stay there. All in all, by that time I was much > more concerned with them than the truck. I AM from the "Big City" as the > indigenous peoples also like to point out. > > Eventually my truck was freed and while someone went for a tractor to pull > the other truck out; we took the opportunity to escape. I should say that I > offered to pay for their help and it was turned down. When I got back to the > the house, I had gathered up all the cash that was in the truck and told > Grams that I was putting in her mailbox so no one could say "no". > > Turns out, this is a regular happening. The road has two names; it > straddles county lines and neither county wants to put up a "Dead End" sign. > Grandma and Grandpa are the parents of the cache placer. I sent a little > note to the owner asking her if she'd please put a little note on the cache > page to not go down that road. SHE DID! > > While we are OK, my truck is not. It will need a new bumper, front panel > that goes above the bumper, fog light, passenger side mirror, right front > fender/quarter panel. The entire truck will need to be buffed and most > likely the entire passenger side, hood and roof repainted. After driving > it tonight and while cleaning the mud from the steering wheel, hubby thinks > the ball joints will need to replaced too. > > So. Here's one for lunch table lol. > > Nancy > > > > **************************************** > For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes to your account, including > unsubscribing from this > list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching > > Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw > Missouri Geocaching land policies --> http://tinyurl.com/lgyy84 > Missouri Geocachers Forums -->http://mogeo.ipbhost.com/index.php > > **************************************** For List Info or To make _ANY_ changes to your account, including unsubscribing from this list, click -----> //www.freelists.org/list/geocaching Missouri Caches Scheduled to be Archived http://tinyurl.com/87cqw Missouri Geocaching land policies --> http://tinyurl.com/lgyy84 Missouri Geocachers Forums -->http://mogeo.ipbhost.com/index.php