Big losses and even bigger gains in Utah, Chapter 3: Rescuing Buggy
We had such a traumatic situation occur, that we did something we only do in the most dire circumstances. We recorded ourselves on video! So, if you'd like to watch our video recaps, they will be listed at the end of each blog post when applicable.
Read Chapter 1 here
Read Chapter 2 here
A sleepless night at the Comfort Inn left us exhausted and feeling sick to our stomachs. We checked the water levels throughout the night and saw that they hit peak around 2:15AM.
Even still, the levels weren't anywhere near high enough for the category to change from "provisional" to "action." We thought about the soft soil, and it was no wonder that the river's current eroded the ground so much that the river diverted itself in new directions. We tried to think clearly through our fuzzy minds, figuring out the next course of action. We couldn't go back to the campground until we got word of the damage, but we could find someone to assist us in getting the trailer out when we were able to go. Our first thought was Patriot Truck and Diesel, the company that Garret our axle dude works for. We knew that he also offers roadside assistance. Anthony got in touch with the company, who said to contact Garret. Before Anthony even had a chance to, Garret called and said he would help. He must have heard that we were about to reach out to him. After all, he did ask us if we were concerned about the water. So now we had to tell him, that yes, we did escape the water, but it came at a price.
That morning, we also got a call from a woman at the Utah County Surveyor's Office. She was calling everyone who had booked campsites to let us know the park was going to be closed. We let her know that we had already evacuated, but our trailer got stuck, and she gave us the number for the guy who was on-site. Anthony called him and left a message. Shortly after, we got a call back, and the guy told us that our trailer was fine and hadn't moved, and that we could come and get it any time. The park would have a padlock on the gate, but it wouldn't be locked. We could just come in.
With that, we had formulated a plan and already felt like we had a support system, despite being brand new to Utah. The fact that people would be so open to communication, without us needing to chase anyone down, was a whole new concept for us. Back in Massachusetts, to even get one person on the phone would take at least a day, if we could get in touch with them at all. Even in Louisiana, we never once had the state or any park staff reach out to us after evacuating, and the communication between the two state parks was frustrating for all involved. Utah is something special. It's the beehive at work.
We still had a few hours to kill before meeting Garret at the park, and so we waited until check-out time, then ran a few errands and grabbed lunch. During our downtime, we began livestreaming our story on Instagram. We partially wanted to vent, partially wanted to update people in the easiest fashion possible, and partially wanted to warn our RV community that this year's snowmelt is no joke. It helped us feel like we were less alone, as the RV community, friends, and family watched and supported us as we navigated through the mess. We're so thankful for everyone who wished us well and checked in.
We returned to the campground a little before 2PM. The water had receded, but we could tell the floods reached to the far sides of the campground. Everyone had left except for the camphosts and one fifth wheel, situated across from them. Our site had gotten mostly submerged and was wet and muddy. The road next to our site had lots of damage. Our neighbors' site had deep tire tracks. It looks like they got out safely, but not without a struggle, because we saw multiple tracks, deep ruts, and a few wooden boards that we aren't sure were new or were already there.
Garret arrived only a few minutes after us, and he and Anthony got to work trying to winch the trailer out of the ground. Garret had a Dodge Ram and a chain, which he connected to our truck, which Anthony rehitched to the trailer. I stood watch and filmed.
The first attempt to get Buggy out of the trench failed. The ground was so soft that the trailer wheels dug further into the ground and caused Buggy to bottom out on the road even more. I panicked, seeing the back corner start crashing into the pavement. I ran to tell the guys to stop. Attempt two was to try and reverse the trailer. Anthony drove backwards as Garret tried to pull the trailer from the back, but there wasn't enough momentum. Both trucks would need to be moving together to get enough power.
I could tell Garret's mind was working a mile a minute. Even though he seemed frustrated, he never gave up. He decided that, since we've already dug a giant trench by moving the trailer back and forth, that maybe we could use the trench was a runway and pull it more gradually up to the road. At this point, what did we have to lose? He reconnected his chain to the front of our truck and started getting into position. I suggested that they try using the wooden boards, now that there was a longer trench. With any luck, we could get the tires to move enough to catch the boards and propel off with the friction. Otherwise, we weren't working with much stability. The ground was soft enough when it was dry, but now it was wet and extremely muddy.
Anthony placed the boards in the trench, in line with the tires. Then, moment of truth. This was our only remaining solution before we'd need to try and call in someone to literally lift the trailer out of the ground. My money was on needing that Plan B, but I remained hopeful that the guys' hail Mary attempt would work. They revved their engines, and before I knew it, Buggy was moving. The tires hit the wood, I heard a loud cracking sound, and Buggy made his way out of the trench. It took me a second to take it all in. I was so happy to see our beloved trailer back on level ground, but boy, was he a mess! The tires were caked in mud, there was dirt in every crevice, and a couple of the wooden boards had exploded under the pressure of the wheels. Anthony's best guess is, when the wheels hit the boards, they started going faster, pushing the boards even more into the soft ground, and ultimately the boards that got crushed the most, shattered under the weight. I wasn't sure if I'd see Buggy set free, but I definitely wasn't expecting a wooden board explosion. Everything seemed to happen in the most dramatic fashion.
Buggy may have gotten out of the trench, but we were far from out of the woods. It was time to assess the damage, something that was very difficult given that the whole passenger side and undercarriage were caked in mud and gravel. First, we'd need to spray some of the mud off. Then we could see what we were working with.
To be continued...
Associated videos:
Checking out the flood damage at the campground