It has been a very hot and dry summer so far. Finally, we got an inch of rain during the night. I have driven before when we got that much but it must have come more slowly this time. Because it was so dry and the rain came so nicely and it was still raining, the road was very slick. I got out of the driveway and into the road and past the corner just fine. Then I came to the corn field. The road there was very slick and I began to slide around and came close to the north edge of the road but kept the van in the road and kept going. I thought of turning around but was afraid to even try it so I kept going. I made it to the hill and past the pasture gate by the Rogers' house. OK so far. But just past their house the road became even slicker and there was a little more of the hill and the van just stopped moving forward. I could not go any more. I backed up and tried again to go forward with little progress. I kept trying until I made it far enough to turn into the driveway on the north side of the road into my cousin's old trailer house where nobody lives at this time. I got the van turned sideways towards the driveway and got as far as the edge of the road where the grader leaves a bit of a ditch for water to run down the hill. I could not get past that. I tried and tried but was not going anywhere. Seven minutes had elapsed since I left home and I was only 1/2 mile from home. Stuck. Time to call in reinforcements.
I planned ahead and took jeans and tennis shoes with me just in case I needed them. I was wearing a white dress with sweater and heeled sandals. I called Dad for help and began changing my clothes. I pulled off my sandals, sweater then the dress. I pulled on jeans and the sweater again hoping that nobody would come down the road while I was standing up and bent over with my rear sticking up by the window. As I was putting on my socks and shoes, my cousin came down the road. He tried to go around my but that put him at the edge of the south ditch and he got stuck. He has 4-wheel drive and backed up and finally got around me and stopped. I told him that Dad was on his way to help me. Rescue arrived on the Polaris Ranger wearing shorts, slippers and a coat. Dad was going to pull the van off the road and further into the drive but decided to try to drive it himself first. After a few attempts he got it out of the rut and into the driveway. As he was doing this he kicked mud from the tires and splattered me with mud. I gathered my purse and mug and we headed for home. What a morning! All this was before 9:30 a.m. I put my sweater in the washer as soon as I got home and I am still rubbing dried mud specks from my scalp.
Later this afternoon, we went back and got the van. The roads are dry and dust flew behind the van as Dad drove it home.
I will try again to drive the mud roads. I have to learn to do it or just stay home when it is muddy. I need to learn when more rain faster means less muddy roads. I need to learn when the road conditions prior to the rain makes the roads more muddy. I need to learn to drive faster so the vehicle will not just stop because of slow speed as today. Maybe driving faster will give me a more impressive experience getting stuck in the mud. Maybe I will just stay home when it is muddy.
I am so grateful for the rain and the cooler day today.
Rose
