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[RC] Back to the low rent district - Chris PausNot to be outdone by the excitement back east at Biltmore, we had some "stuff" happen here in Kansas that got our adrenaline going. My beautiful 28 foot Southwind Motor home exists no more. It's back to the low rent district for me... sigh.. it was an oldie, 1984, but had everything we needed and was luxurious compared to the olden days of sleeping in the back of the truck.. It had AC, heat, a full kitchen, bathroom and slept 5 comfortably.. no more... Never think your week just couldn?t get any more bizarre, because it sure can! I feel as if I?ve been trapped in the twilight zone or something. First all the stuff with the foals, and Ray?s liver test and Katie our dog missing, now there?s nothing left of our RV but a blackened frame. Pictures at this link: http://www.imagestation.com/album/pictures.html?id=4286933631 Some background.. the RV had been my foaling station. As I was trying to move it out of the pasture two weeks ago, I got it stuck in an old pile of hay and mud leftover from an old round bale.. don?t ask, it just happened. Where to begin. I moved Shak and Nadeem (the sick foal) from the round pen today because I just couldn?t bear to give the little guy any more shots. I put them in the pasture with Tee and Surprise. Ten minutes later, Ray and I were hooking up the tow chain to the Rv and trying again to pull it out with the big Dodge Ram V-10. We made some progress backwards but got stuck again, so decided to pull forwards. I was in the RV. Ray was hooking up the tow chain to the bumper. I thought I smelled something, but disregarded it (bad idea). Then I hear grandson John screaming at the top of his lungs FIRE, FIRE, FIRE. I leaped out of the RV with it still running and saw flames coming out from under the front right wheel. I yelled to Ray to get the hell out of there as he was close to the flames. He screamed something about the RV still running, so he jumped inside to turn it off. EEKKKK? John and I run for the garden hose. Ray is making progress. I run to the Dodge and move it out of the way. The fire is getting out of control despite Ray?s best efforts. John runs to the house to get the cell phone and I call 911. By now the propane tank is hissing. It?s nearly full and about ready to blow. I scream at Ray to get out of there, he does. He runs pretty darn fast on his crippled legs! Ray and John and I watch the smoke and flames and listen to the explosions. Each tire pops as it goes, the propane is a really loud bang and then the gas tank! By then, the sherrif?s deputy has arrived and finally the fire truck. John dissolves into tears. I told him he is MY HERO. He probably saved our lives. He went across the street to the neighbors as Ray and I dealt with the fire and the authorities. Not really much we could do but watch it burn. Then I was very very thankful that I had moved Shak and Nadeem or they surely would have been asphyxiated by the dense smoke. The deputy told me she saw the smoke from 5 miles away! All we have left now is black rubble. All the stuff inside it is gone too, including Zab?s distance riding records, all our camping equipment and furniture, bedding, tools, and my favorite traveling CD by Tom Crain. The fire got within 25 feet of our house with the wind blowing it right toward us! Geesh, that was CLOSE? I can?t believe this week. I?ve entered bizarro world. The nearest we can figure is there must have been a spark from the catalytic converter that caught the hay on fire under the RV. It went SO FAST. Geesh, unbelievable. My lungs ache from the smoke and haven?t run so fast in all my life! Sigh? what a day? end ===== "A good horse makes short miles," George Eliot Chris and Star BayRab Acres http://pages.prodigy.net/paus ============================================================ There are 2 ways to win at this sport. You take a horse and race him for a short time and then find a new horse or you can take one horse , do the homework and spend many miles and years enjoying that horse. ~ Paddi Sprecher ridecamp.net information: http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/ ============================================================
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