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Blogs by Jim Bondy
Grand Bend continuation 4/12/2010 4:39:35 PM
…This was the worst. I was bucking a gale-force head wind with nothing around to block it except my huge boxy camper. I went for about 10 minutes…the truck winding out…wailing…complaining. I glanced at my temp gauge and it was way over half way. Oops. Time for a break, so I pulled as far off of the shoulder as possible, called Pam and let her know that I was going to take an hour break, and not to worry. She advised me to just take it easy and don’t hurry. I had my Saturday edition of the Toronto Star and was quite content. Actually, I was thanking God that I made it this far and was about half way home. I was about 15 feet from the roadway and felt quite safe till the first truck roared past me. The draft from his trailer made me feel like I was at the epicenter of an earthquake. I was inside the trailer and my glasses shook right off of the corner of the table. Even the larger cars made the traveling house quiver a little. You’d think the 5000-pound anchor wouldn’t even budge.
Well about an hour passed and it’s time to try again. I stepped out and forgot that the step wasn’t pulled out and down I went. Being so far off the road, I was right on the edge of the shoulder and the landscape was on about a twenty-degree slope and ended at the wet reeds of the ditch. I rolled once but stopped the motion so that I wouldn’t get a soaker. I couldn’t believe it…there I was flat on my back laughing and trying to hold onto my hat so the wind whirling past wouldn’t de(cap)itate me. Sheesh. Well I picked myself up, brushed off and made my way back up the slope, shut the camper door and climbed back into the truck somehow feeling pretty good about the whole ordeal. I started the engine and the temperature gauge was down where it belonged. So off I went. The wind somehow seemed stronger. Back to the grueling push against the weather. Every inch seemed to by my last. I promised the old girl that I’d give her an oil change if she could just get us home. Finally there it was the 77 highway exit sign. There’s a Timmy’s at this corner and just within about 45 minutes from home. The heat gauge is crawling back up to the half way mark but I felt like I was home now and decided to take another break to let things cool down. I called Pam again who was so relieved that I was off of the 401. That coffee never tasted so good. I just sat back and enjoyed the hustle and bustle of the busy patrons. I was home as far as I was considered. I gassed up after about a half hour of pure relaxation. The gas here is usually about the cheapest in Essex County. Just for fun I calculated my MPG. It came up at 4.3 miles per gallon. I knew that It was going to be crazy. The rest of the ride home seemed to take forever. I anticipated it to be a hop skip and jump away but the trailer tugged at my hitch every inch of the way.
Home never looked so good.
Jim Bondy
Author of: Friday on the Trail
A book about our backpacking adventures in Ontario Canada
http://jimbondy.webs.com effexus3.yahoo.com
