Shit happens.

I am disabling comments for this post and will not welcome emails about it, especially from people with recriminations and after-the-fact suggestions for how I should have dealt with the situation without them having been there. I know this sounds harsh, but the only reason I’m even sharing this story right now, when my heart is still in my throat, is that it’s part of my story.

It happened, it’s being dealt with, I’m alive, the cats are alive, my RV is fixable, and I’m going to have one hell of a story to tell my grand-children (should I ever have kids, of course).

Let’s just say that all the preparation in the world and all the doing of the right things in the right order did not stop my brakes from crapping out on me in the middle of the worst hill in British Columbia. Had someone not been blocking the first ‘runaway lane’ I encountered, I would have been fine, albeit shaken, but the lane was blocked (the car better have been in the middle of an emergency of its own). So, I had to do what needed to be done to get around two hairpin turns to the next ‘runaway lane.’

I arrived there at a higher speed than I would have liked, but safe, and except for cooked brakes and smoking tires, all wasn’t bad.

Then a tired exploded and burst into flames and made me grateful that I take fire safety seriously and had a fire extinguisher.

Yesterday was Thanksgiving, so everything was closed. I hunkered down, endured one of the longest nights of my life, and was able to call for help this morning. I was grateful last night to have access to a hot shower, good food, and heating. Imagine how much longer the night would have been otherwise. Being close enough to a town with cell service was yet another blessing.

A tow truck arrived promptly at 8:30 today and took me to a garage in Pemberton, north of Whistler, where I will be comfortable until I can get new brakes and replace the tires. The estimate should be forthcoming.

A special mention needs to go out to my mother who is helping me manage this crisis. I’m a very proud person and it’s not easy to ask for help, but I suspected that it would take more time than I have to get access to my emergency funds, so I made call. Merci, mom!