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Those were my thoughts last week as I was heading down our steep canyon. It had gone down to about 20 ℉ the night before as it had been all week. My computer project had just been completed and needed to be delivered to SURCP's Beaver Advocacy Committee (BAC). BAC has been struggling to develop capacity for their work and I thought I'd build them a computer that would speed up operations for them. The first one i built for them was an old amd a7n class with not much ram. This one would feel like light speed in comparison.

So merrily I set out for delivery last week. First thing I noticed was that there were pockets of pure white hoar frost in various places. We've been here two decades and I had never seen it like this. The density of the frost was dazzling against the backdrop of the green and brown nooks and crannies the frost was bedded in.

When I arrived at the canyon I slowed down because of black ice on the winding road. No breaks on the curve. Zero traction on the road. 5% grade on the road. I was heading right at the road cliff toward the frigid waters of Elk Creek. Only the tall aged brittle red alder trees were there to abruptly divert the Isuzu decent and fling me upside down in the stream.

In slow motion I said,"I...can...not...go...into...the...creek!" Desperately I pumped the breaks hoping for some control. Nada! simultaneously I cranked the steering wheel hard right thinking that the narrow road with its steep rock canyon wall was a better option than the stream. This proved to be a good decision. Just before I shot off the road the right front tire grabbed some friction. Around the rig spun doing a 180。. Wham-crash into the canyon wall. 360。 this time. Bang-crash into the canyon wall again! Then stillness.

Aha! Thank you Lord! I'm not over the cliff and in the creek! When I got out of the truck (which was quite deformed) I was hardly able to stand on the road. Apparently a thin layer of water was resting on top of the frozen road.

The computer that was sitting in the front seat was now resting on its open side in the back of the pickup bed. The glass from the rear window lay everywhere. How that thing wound up in the air and through the window I do not have a clue.

The front left bumper and left rear bumper were really hammered. With a little ingenuity I jacked the bumper away from the tire and pulled the fan guard away from the fan. I hopped into the rig and started hobbling down to deliver the computer. What a racket the rig made! Poor thing .

A couple of minutes into the ride I see a logging truck in front of me on my side of the road coming right at me. I think he was having ice problems also. "Am I going to die today?"

After arriving at the BAC base of operations we plugged in the computer. Tah! Dah! It worked great. Now it is sporting a few dents and scratches but we're up and running.

I'm stiff still. It's been about a week and my left shoulder is still feeling bad. Hey, I'm a far cry from dead and the days have been warm and clear in spite of the nightly frosts. I'm grateful to the Lord that he has pulled me through another incident.

The Izusu is totaled and parts are impossible to get. I gave the remains to a neighbor who also has a diesel Pup like mine. Good source of parts.

Definitely a financial set back but life is good. Now we are sporting a 1985 Toyota Turbo diesel. On the road again---with caution.

Never a dull moment in the boonies.