Highway Miracles

30 Hawks, 10 Cemeteries, and 2 Crows Later...

2007-01-16T07:43:00.000-08:00

Whew! We finally made it home on Wednesday night, January 3rd, and boy, were we glad to be home! We were able to get a rental vehicle (a Ford Freestar minivan) and travel due south out of Lamar. Once we passed Springfield, about 50 miles, we passed out of the snow-bound area and had clear roads all the way home. It took us about 9.5 hours altogether.

To pass the time traveling "The Northwest Passage" through the Oklahoma Panhandle, we decided to count things. We actually counted 30 hawks between Boise City and Guymon. We only saw one after that. Hmmm, interesting...

Once home, we slowly got back in the swing of things. The best part is, that the trucking company "Landstar" has agreed to pay all of our expenses, without hesitation. I think they were so grateful that noone was injured that the property damage and other misc. expenses seemed like no big deal. Praise the Lord for His favor and provision!

This should be the last entry to this blog. It's been real and it's been run, but it hasn't been real fun...

--Steve & Karen

Homeward Bound??

2007-01-03T08:59:00.000-08:00

We received a phone call at 8:10 a.m. this morning saying a vehicle was on its way to us. It will be a mini van. We decided to not count our chickens before they hatch; but hope to leave by noon. Steve just got through talking to a trucker who said highway 50 is open in Kansas but not in Colorado. There goes our route home. The trucker suggested we take another highway, I think 287, north to I-70 and then we will be on interstate the whole rest of the way instead of back roads that may or may not be cleared. He said the first 23 miles might be hard but that it would be dry after that. YEAH!!!!

Our waitress this morning at breakfast said the storm had brought 30 inches of snow here in Lamar. Some of the drifts are up to 10 feet high! They are expecting another storm in this weekend. They have told us that they hardly ever get snow in this part of Colorado. Hum, aren't we the blessed ones that get to experience this anomaly?? There was a group of men that have been working to clear the roads at breakfast this morning. They sure had some stories to tell. They were still saying how bad the roads are. They had seen drifts up to 15 feet high in some places.

Please continue to pray for our safety as we drive home. Hopefully our next entry will be from good old OKC, OK.

Love to all
Karen and Steve

Growing in Patience in Lamar

2007-01-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

Here we still wait in Lamar, Colorado. Our wonderful State Farm agent, Chuck Davis, has arranged for a rental car for us. The hard part is that the rental place is in Pueblo. They are trying to get a team to bring a car to us. All their teams are out right now and there is someone else ahead of us in getting a car delivered. So still we wait. I haven't prayed for patience in recent memory, but Steve and I are having the opportunity to grow in this area anyway. I just talked with a man who spent 3 days at a truck stop. We were so blessed to be here this whole time.

The roads are so bad that, even though it has not snowed since Sunday, some national guard men yesterday said they had flipped a Snow Cat. We also heard from the highway patrol that they had a snowplow either stuck or flipped. The national guard are here now, trying to help motorists and feed cattle. So it's the worst possible road conditions imaginable. We will wait till tomorrow to leave even if we receive a car today because we don't want to drive on the ice at night. The high here today is only about 17, but it is sunny. The low tonight is predicted to be about 7.

We continue to become more proficient at Rummikub. Carol has really grown attached to it also.

http://www.rummikub.com/

A short while ago, Blackhawk Helicopters were spotted down the road in a hay lift operation for stranded cattle (seriously!). Should we try to hitch a ride? :)

More drama than we were really looking for...
Steve & Karen

Top 10 reasons to be thankful for our stay at the Cow Palace

2007-01-01T13:22:00.000-08:00

We can always find something to be thankful for; even after a devastating wreck and being stranded far from home in a blizzard over a holiday. Here is our list of reasons:

10 - We are not stuck on the side of the road

9 - We have a warm room with a great shower and plenty of hot water!

8 - We have the only hotel in town that has a restaurant inside

7 - We have been able to share the goodness of God to lots of friendly travelers also stranded by the blizzard

6 - No one has been seriously injured through this experience

5 - Our family has been getting along and has drawn closer to each other

4 - We don't have to work, do chores, or clean and there is no GUILT

3 - We can eat to our hearts content and don't have to cook or do the dishes

2 - We can stay up late and sleep in every morning and take afternoon naps

FINALLY THE NUMBER 1 REASON: Unlimited hours to play Rummikub!!!

Ode to the Cow Palace

2007-01-01T12:37:00.000-08:00

We'd like to write an ode
To our current snug abode.

The Palace on the Plains,
We thank you for all your pains.

Your staff has been great,
Serving travelers early and late.

We've all been locked together,
In this inclement weather.

Over the food we have raved,
From starvation we've been saved.

Your hard work has been noted.
May you all get promoted!

We hope whatever weather may arrive

You will continue to thrive.

Dedicated to the hardworking management and staff of the Best Western Cow Palace Inn in Lamar, Colorado. You have made a difficult time enjoyable.

Blizzard Pictures

2007-01-01T10:24:00.000-08:00

Although the blizzard is over, we are still here at the Cow Palace waiting for the roads to the south to open. Highway 50 (east & west) opened this morning so people are clearing out. Please pray for Wayne Davis as he prepares to head this way to pick us up. It is a warm15 degrees outside right now and partly sunny, so hopefully the roads will clear up a little bit more today. We expect to spend our New Years Day snug in the hotel and watching football games. There is microwave popcorn in the vending machine and the staff will pop it for us in their microwave.
The following is a view of what we have seen and continue to see when we look out the window. We even ventured a walk out in it.

Wreck Pictures

2007-01-01T10:13:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to all!

Please excuse the large size (and slow download) of our pictures. This PC at the hotel does not have any photo-editing software, so we can't 'shrink' them before uploading them.

Carol's caved-in Buick with trailer on top

This is the space Carol had to get out of!

Cab of Truck 2 that hit Truck 1's trailer

Another view of Carol's car

Snug in the Cow Palace

2006-12-31T16:17:00.000-08:00

Hi all! Here we are on New Year's Eve all cozy and warm in the Cow Palace Best Western Hotel in scenic Lamar, CO. We thought we had a way out today, but the highway never opened so here we stay for another day. The sun did arrive today and the snow stopped. How beautiful it looked. We took lots of pictures on a stroll around the parking lot and a little way down the highway. We will post the pictures as soon as we can. We also have pictures of the wreck that we will post.
There are many things to do at the Cow Palace. If it was warm, we would be "enjoying???" the odors of the local feed lot. Since it is cold we have been spared this pleasure. If we had brought our swim suits we could be swimming or enjoying the hot tub. The food is GREAT!! Steve said it's the best coffee ever. The staff and management have bent over backwards making our stay as comfortable as possible. They have been stranded here also since even the local roads are covered with snow drifts up to 8 feet tall. We have entertained ourselves with riotous games of Rummikub, meeting new friends, and eating.
Carol and Faithe are doing great also. We're all a little tired of hotel living, but are sure glad to be here, alive and warm. We hosted a church service this morning in the Colorado Room of the hotel. Three people in addition to our family came. We had a good time of scripture reading, prayer, sharing of testimonies, and singing to the Lord.
We will add more as the adventure continues. We wish you all a very Happy New Year!
Steve and Karen

Angels on Our Side

2006-12-30T11:04:00.000-08:00

As most of you know, we (Carol, Karen, Steve, and Faithe) were traveling back from Colorado Springs on Thursday. We made it through a tremendous snow storm going out of Colorado Springs. It took us an hour just to make it out of the city. We eventually drove out of the snow and into rain. About 20 miles west of Lamar, CO we thought we were seeing a bridge across the highway. As we approached, we suddenly realized it was not a bridge, but a semi blocking the whole highway. We were in two vehicles since Steve was driving his son's car back to Oklahoma. We were both able to stop in time. Steve got out of his car and went to check on the truck driver. He also called 911. While waiting for help to show up, another semi heading west did not see the first semi across the road in time and plowed into the truck blocking the road. The three women were in the Carol's car. We watched as the semi got pushed toward us then stopped inches from our bumper. As we were praising God we heard a noise and looked up only to see the trailer of the semi falling toward us in slow motion. It literally moved slowly like someone (our Guardian Angels!) was just gradually laying it down. This gave Carol time to slide down in her seat as the roof and hood were caving in. The trailer stopped at the same time that Carol could no longer slide down any further. It had bent her glasses frame and popped out one lens. Karen in the passenger side and Faithe, in the back seat were able to get right out. Carol had to squirm a bit, but made it out fine also. Meanwhile, back at the side of the road Steve had heard and seen the 2nd truck coming. To avoid being hit, he ran to the side of the road. Unknowingly running right into a barbed wire fence. He quickly came back to check on the women in the car with punctured and scratched up legs and a punctured hand with a sprained finger. You never saw such grateful and cold people in your life. It was about 32 degrees. We had to wait for emergency people to show up. The fire department, ambulance, and Colorado Highway patrol and later Hazmat crews all showed up (more Angels on the Highway!). Steve was looked after by the EMTs and the rest of us were put into a warm vehicle while we waited for the necesarry paperwork to be filled out. It was about 2 hours before they eventually towed away our cars and took us to a hotel in Lamar, CO. Later that night a major blizzard moved in. So here we are in Lamar, CO till the roads open back up. Stay tuned for more updates!