It was Thursday, we only had today and tomorrow and our fishing vacation in Cranberry Portage was going to be over. When we were having breakfast that morning, my wife said she was going to take the morning off and go to the laundromat in town. She did not want us to travel back home with bags of dirty laundry. My son, Jason, and I tried to convince her that having her with us fishing was more important than having taking clean clothes home. But the clean clothes were important to her.
She told us what time she wanted us to be back for lunch and she began sorting clothes. So Jason and I took off and fished the morning. Coming back to camp we looked for the rental car but could not see it. We discussed that she had probable been delayed in town and planned that we would get lunch ready and wait for her and we would all eat together.
With no car in sight we pulled up to the dock and began organizing the boat when suddenly she appeared next to the boat. She said; “Hurry up and get out of the boat, I totaled the car!”. Jason and I looked at each other as if she was playing a trick on us. Her hurried explanation followed, and we soon learned this was no joke.
She had gone the mile to the laundromat in town and it had been fully occupied. Questioning the people there she found that this was the only one for 30 miles. The next closest one was in Flin Flon and she decided to go to that one.
On the road there she encountered a section where a small bridge over a creek was under repair and there was a crude bypass around it. This little looping bypass was only covered with loose gravel and banked in the wrong direction. She had lost control going around the loop and the car had tumbled down the 30 foot embankment and rolled over three times. Luckily she had been completely belted in and was unhurt except her ego was really bruised.
Another car following her had seen the entire thing and they pulled over and peered over the embankment. Our car had come to rest on the passenger door and she was peering out the drivers window at them and was waving and saying; “Yoo hoo! Yoo hoo!”. I can not imagine the story these folks tell, it must be hilarious! Of course the Mounties soon showed up, got statements from everyone and they called a tow truck and the car was towed to a local repair shop.
The Mounties had completely absolved her of all responsibility for the accident. Additionally they told her that she was just one of many that had had problems on this little bypass. In fact several months earlier one of their own had a similar accident there. He had not been belted in and had received a broken arm and leg as well as internal injuries and was still recovering.
It took a while for Jason and I to absorb this story. Then we were able to get a ride to the repair shop where we saw the car. There was not a square foot of that car’s exterior that was in its original shape. Everything was bent and wrinkled. One rear tire had burst and its rim badly twisted. But the motor was still running perfectly and their was no damage to the drive train, etc. We could if we wanted drive the car back to Winnipeg. I had the rear tire replaced and decided to drive the car back.
This looked like it may be very difficult as the roof of the car was completely flat and resting on the seats of the car. But I had a plan and crawled onto the floor of the back seat and pressing my back against the roof I pushed up with all my strength and got the roof raised about 8-10 inches. Jason soon joined me and we pushed from both the front and back seats and eventually we had the roof high enough that we all could sit in the car.
We called ahead to the rental facility reported that we had an accident and asked where to return the car. The next day we drove back to Winnipeg. I can not describe the embarrassment that Jason exhibited. At first he was reluctant to even get in the car. I am sure that if this had happened back in Chicago he would have walked home. We got a lot of polite stares on the 500 mile trip back and even more as we drove through Winnipeg. The expression on the face of the manager at the rental facility was priceless and one I will never forget. I suspect that I must have had that same look when I first saw the car.
The lesson here is: “To heck with doing the laundry, take the dirty clothes home with you”.
Now
Read about the fishing on the Cranberry Lakes.
Read about our drive up to Cranberry Portage.
And
Discover the geology of the Cranberry Portage area.
