This year we began our journey mid-week to avoid the traffic around the July 1st holiday weekend (Canada Day). As usual, we rose early and were on the road by 6 am. What was unusual was that Glen was still suffering from a gastrointestinal illness. He'd dragged himself into work the previous two days but by Wednesday, he felt better.
We were a little concerned about the highway near Revelstoke as a mudslide had closed it for two days. A detour would mean staying in a hotel partway there. Normally I don't bring toiletries as we drive directly to the condo but this time, I tucked in some travel-size deodorant, just in case. Turns out this was a good idea.
The weather along the highway was drizzly but the traffic was sparse so we made good time until we reached the avalanche sheds on the approach to Rogers Pass. The first two are old and dimly lit. Even though the day was dull, there is a brief moment in time when you cannot see. As we entered the second shed, a chunk of wood (12"x12"x10") appeared in the middle of the highway. There are no shoulders in these old tunnels. Glen could either ply the brakes or hit the block at full speed (70 kmph at that point). He chose the latter.
Smoke began billowing around us as the engine warning lights flashed and beeped. Fortunately, the Ion could still move and we limped from the tunnel to a pull-off between the tunnels. Not a moment too soon as a large pick-up truck came barreling through the tunnel after us. Had we stopped, it would have slammed into our car and people would have been hurt or killed.
Our first thought was to call CAA to have the car towed but our cell phones didn't work. Just as we pondered our next move, a guy in a van pulled up and offered to drive us to Rogers Pass. There is a museum and lodge at the top where we could call for help. The man had seen the wood we hit and said our car had cut it in half and tossed it aside so it was no longer a hazard.
He dropped us off at Glacier Park Lodge, a rustic inn we had passed many times but had never entered. It is used as a rest stop for bus tours so had modern washrooms, a large restaurant and café. Their pay phones didn't work but there was a strong cell signal. BCAA told us a tow truck would be there in an hour and a half. I was hungry but Glen felt sick both literally and figuratively. We got him some ginger ale and me a packaged, ham and cheese sandwich since the café was still serving breakfast. It's amazing how good food tastes when you've had a brush with death.
At this point, we realized we should probably call our insurance company, TD Meloche Monnex. They were very helpful and soon we had all the information recorded and the authority to rent a car once we reached Revelstoke. At this time, the tow truck arrived but he wanted us to stay at the lodge as it was safer than us standing on the highway. Made infinite sense.
When he came back with our car, the news was not good. There was a hole in the engine so he felt there was no point in towing it to a garage as they wouldn't have the parts to fix it. He took it to the Columbia Towing Company yard. Thrifty's car rental was around the corner. We organized renting a Toyota Yaris while Columbia off-loaded our car. We then stripped everything from the car that was ours and abandoned it.
By this time, Glen was very ill and needed to be in bed. We booked a room at the newly refurbished Best Western Plus, using our CAA card to get a discount on an upgraded room. This proved to be a bed/sitting room so Glen could nap while I read on the couch. An hour or so later, he felt well enough to drive into town in search of tooth brushes. That's when he saw a cop and remembered we had to file an accident report with the RCMP (he had failed to tell me this). I had grabbed a town map when we left the hotel so used that to find the police station.
It is quite the process filing a report but we made it through with the help of a very nice officer. At one point there was a question of whether or not the tunnel was in the Golden jurisdiction but that was resolved so we didn't have to drive back to that town to file our report.
Best Western gave us a 10% discount on entrées at The Regent Hotel's One Twelve Steakhouse restaurant so we had a lovely meal. We began with a toast to life, drinking Mt. Begbie Brewing Company's High Country Kolsch. Glen wasn't hungry so he had one of my crab stuffed mushroom caps then a beef brochette while I had a seafood one (shrimp, scallops, and salmon. All dishes were excellent.
We fell into bed with no plans to wake early believing that all decisions would be made after our complimentary breakfast.
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