As we drove into the deep fog leading us into the mountain of the Targhee National Forest, we thought very littel of the obvious signs of distress. Like, going from a beautiful sunrise to thick discusting, novisibley deep fog in 5 minutes time. Nope, we just kept truckin along.
Chad, like the manly man that he is, got his saw and got that tree on its side in about 3 minutes! We cut some branches off for me to make wreathes out of and ties the tree to the top.
Isn't it awesome! (please lie and agree with me!)
We were all set to go, chad did a great job strapping the tree up on the jeep and I cheered from inside the warm cozy car. We started going forward to look for a place tot urn around but there was nothing so Chad remembered a place just about 50 yards back and we planned to reverse that sucka till we got to the opening, then turn around and head home. However, we didn't realize that the snow there was not only sparkly, thick and beautiful but it was also straight up POWDER, meaning it wouldn't compact at all. its just slippery and there is a ton if it. Before we even knew what was happening we had slide off the road and our back right tire was off the ground. (btw, jeeps are perhaps one of the easiest vehicles to tip).
We tried a few different this, turning the wheels different ways, distributing weight differently by after about 30 minutes, it way further stuck than before. we called our insurance company, and considering how much we pay for full coverage, we assumed " full coverage" meant that it wasnt going to be a huge deal considering it was partially on the road, that was less than 5 miles from the main highway that was less than ten miles from the nearest town. Wrongo! Apparently, even though the road was recently plowed and it had no signed indicating otherwise, the sheriff told our insurance company that it was "supposed to be" closed. A sign would have been nice but whatever! SO they weren't even permitted to come back there at all, not to mention, if they were to come back there, our so called " full coverage" only cover the first $150 of the towing (which for those of you unaware of the towing prices, that would pay 1/12th of the cost. SOOOO! We called our favorite people in the whole wide world Justin and Kelsey Halbert! Being the saints that they are, they dropped everything, picked us up some Arctic Circle and rushed out to the rescue! The road sign wasn't visible from the high way so to pass the 45 minutes it would take them to get there, Chad and I walked to the high way. Note to self, never ever ever wear PJs (thin t shirt and sweatshirt, sweat pants and boots, to go cut down a tree, dress for the worst.) I about froze and since chad was wearing jeans he was soaked by the time we got there.
Justin and Kelsey arrived shortly after we got to the road and made the whole day turn around! What had once been a total disaster, turned into a fun challenge. Kelsey has to be one of the sweetest, most optimistic and submissive ( in a Christ-like way) person I have ever met, I don't think she'll even know what a strength she was to me that day. Anyways, we took down the straps that were holding our tree and hooked it up to their four-runner. We tried a few things and ended up dragging the Jeep along the side into the path of a rather larger tree. The tow straps then did something I had never seen strong tow straps do... SNAP! it was so discouraging. We got in their four runner and headed to the nearest town to get more reliable tow ropes and possibly some chains.
I'm sorry, it was just too funny that the store we chose to check first for tow equipment was called "Last Chance" General Store. Seriously, how fitting! We got some heavy duty tow ropes and headed back out! Mind you, at this point it was about 3:30 and we had been outside pushing, pulling and praying for this jeep for about 6 hours, so this was defiantly a final attempt for the day considering it starts to get dark around 4:30-5 o clock. We had a few good tries and we even drug it a little further. We ended up cutting down a second tree (sorry mama earth) because the jeep was literally going to be drug right into it. the men sawed away at this 20 foot pine and finally got it to topple, thankfully, in the opposite direction of the jeep and us. The stump still put a pretty big dent into the plastics but if that's the biggest problem that we have at the end of all this, id be happy. We tried everything, we put branches underneath the tires to create more traction, we pushed on the front and tried to rock the back tire back on to the ground but it became very clear that this wasn't going to happen. Feeling a little defeated but ultimately grateful for a safe turn out, we decided to lock up the jeep (because there are so many people wanting to steal a jeep hanging off the old "closed" forest road.) and had the Halberts take us back to our house and drop us off. We were so lost! How were we gunna get this car out! We called our friend Zane, who had a big truck, more than capable to taking car of this and he said he would call us the next day and let us know when he could help us out. I was happy with that! i could survive a night without a car knowing that i would get it back the next day with little to no expense. The next day he calls us and informs us that his truck battery is dead....of course its dead, i could have told him that! We needed it, so NATURALLY, it would be unavailable to us!
We had very little options, we didn't know anyone else with a big car or truck, I started networking, trying to get out the distress call and Chad kept calling and "thinking". We prayed for a Christmas miracle (that was supposed to sound cheesy). The next morning (day three of this crappy story) we called Cindy and Ken, our boss and her husband. They had a tracker so we were gunna ask about that. Ken just happened to have all the towing equipment in the back of his HUGE 3500 truck and was more than willing to come down at 8:15 in the morning and get us out! these seemed optimistic but we were completely convinced yet, not with our track record, something could still go wrong. Preston and Jordan Jensen, came over to help and all the boys were off to save the jeep by 8:30.
All day I was so worried until about 12:30, Chad calls with the good news! They got it out! I just couldnt believe how much effort went into this blasted TREE!!! We got it off the jeep, now safely parked in our lot and brought it in anxious to get it decorated! Having spent the majority of our Christmas money on getting the jeep out, we had quite a smaller budget for decor and present so DI gave us all that you see, besides the berries that I bought on sale a few week ago. I think you can always describe your tree with two words. Last years tree...Absolutely Perfect! It was beautiful, a full grow Nobler Pine and this year, after all the work put into it and the time we spent in the woods that day, i am pleased to say the two words that I would use to decribe this years are...Ghetto FABULOUS!
^ last years tree of perfection
THIS YEARS GHETTO FABULOUS "Jeep Wrecker"
Was it worth it....absolutely not, but the experience was defiantly unforgettable! This has been such a great way to get us into the Christmas Spirit and remind us what its all about, serving other and appreciating the angels in our lives, I know, so cheesy but i cant help but feel so overwhelmingly grateful for this week and all the love Ive felt from my friends family and the Lord. You gotta love the Holidays :)
hahaha oh how i miss Idaho!!!! :) and YOU!! We would have sooooo helped you with everything if we lived there! BTW- i love your tree. so cute.
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