Kelley: 0 Mother Nature: 1...Part 2

And we continue with the saga of Mother Nature vs. Kelley.....

I felt like I drove for hundreds of miles while being on I94 in total white out conditions. I didn't really pay much attention to my odometer at that point. If someone told me I drove across North Dakota in that blizzard, I would have believed them. I really had no sense of time or direction while driving into 60 mph winds. I was too distraught and too focused on getting off that awful interstate. Yes, I know...being distraught and focused at the same exact time doesn't make much sense. I was trapped in a Taurus of emotion! HAH! Get it?? Anchorman?? Alright then...

After driving with no guidance for about 3 minutes (a horrible 3 minutes at that), I finally came across a black Durango pulled off on the shoulder. I figured since it was a beast of a car, it would be best to follow them where ever they were going. I made it a Blizzard 101 Rule of mine that when there's a blizzard, icy roads, tornadoes, hurricanes or any other force of nature you follow a large vehicle because they can plow through most of anything. Which really isn't the truth, but it made me feel better thinking that while driving. I pulled up behind my black knight Durango along with another car that desperately wanted to get off I94, as well. I looked in my rear view mirror and it was an itty-bitty cherry red Chevy Cavalier which was driven by a horrified looking girl. Sigh...if only we were scared for that reason instead of a stretch of road.

Now, I would like to mention I had absolutely no idea where I was on the interstate. The only landmark I saw was an exit sign and ramp, but I passed by it because I had no clue where it led to. Mr. Durango decided to make his move and made a U-turn onto some type of gravel road right off the interstate. I followed his lead along with Miss Cherry Red Cavalier. And then I saw what I thought was a  flicker of hope. The Durango flashed blue and red lights in his rear window. POLICE! We were saved! I instantly calmed down and quickly called my mom and Keith to let them know that the black knight was a police officer.

We made our way up the little road and I finally realized we were at the exit I passed up previously. I apparently didn't get very far. There was a clutter of cars huddled together off the exit and Mr. Durango Police Officer decided to keep going and drove on by. I thought this was a little peculiar that he didn't really stop to take notice at all those cars, but I just told myself he wanted others to follow him because he knew the way back to Bismarck or to another safe haven. So we kept driving down what I would like to refer to as a "Bob's Road" which translates into "Nobody knows where the heck we are" road. But that didn't bother me because I was following what I THOUGHT was a police officer. Turned out he wasn't after I saw he wasn't in uniform when he hopped out of his car to clear his wiper blades. He was just some average Joe. Clearly my mind was playing tricks on me and made me believe I saw little beacons of red and blue hope flashing on his car. I guess that's what happens when you're in panic mode. But I decided to keep following him and hope he knew where he was going.

While I was playing Follow the Leader with Mr. Durango, I called Keith a couple times to play "Where in the North Dakota is Kelley Eukel?" I was in a post distraught mood after getting off the interstate so I was rambling off random land marks to Keith, and flat out begged him to Google my location. "Keith! I'm going past Apple River Cemetery! I'm on 22nd Ave SE! There's railroad tracks! Now how do I get back to Bismarck!?" Keith couldn't find where I was and rightfully so. I don't even think Magellan or Christopher Columbus could find me.

So in our convoy of vehicles, we had Mr. Durango leading the way, followed by me, along with Miss Cherry Red Cavalier and probably 5 other cars. As we were driving along, we hit a white out spot and I brought everybody to a halt. After it passed, Mr. Durango disappeared. There was absolutely no sign of him what-so-ever. I kept driving a little ways hoping to catch up with him, but he was gone-zo. He seriously vanished into thin air, and there I was leading a caravan of cars on Bob's Road. Ohhhhh drats. I led the way for about 2 minutes and saw what was probably the best sight in the entire world. A white Chevy Silverado pickup truck just chilling at an intersection. He wasn't stuck....he was just sitting there watching my caravan come up to him.

I made the quick decision to turn off at that intersection and hoped Miss Cherry Red Cavalier would follow along with the others, but they didn't. They kept driving on Bob's Road. I rolled down my window and the white knight pickup did as well. He was an old farmer/rancher type...the kind you see hanging out in Hallock :) I asked him where in the world I was, how far was Bismarck from here and if there were any roads to take to get back there. He could definitely tell I had a heck of time already so he flat out said, "Bismarck is about 15 minutes away, but the back roads to get there are all drifted over and you can't see a thing. The road you were driving on and the direction you were going wasn't leading you anywhere.You are more than welcome to come out to my house and stay with my family, " AHHHHH!! Those were the golden words I was longing to hear. I immediately said yes and I was following my white knight to safety.

After driving over some pretty iffy drifts on a gravel road, we finally made it to his house. We walked in and his wife and 2-year-old grandson welcomed me immediately. I gave my little spiel about how I came to be out here and Jeannie (the wife) was SO kind that she offered me a beer to calm my nerves. Of course, I graciously accepted :) The house was actually their two sons' and girlfriends place and they were about the same age as me so it was very easy to get along with them. They fed me, gave me a couple more beers, chit-chatted with me and gave me a nice warm bed to sleep in for the night. I slept my horrible drive away and woke up to sun shine and visibility for miles! I wasn't able to leave their house until noon because Charles (my white knight) said the gravel roads weren't plowed yet and he needed to take his huge Case tractor and plow a get-away route from the driveway to the road.

I said goodbye to everybody and thanked them a million times over for everything they did and I made my way out to a main highway that led to Bismarck. It only took me 30 minutes to get back. The family I stayed with was one of the most genuinely nicest people I have ever met, and I am so incredibly grateful toward them for taking me in. Only in rural North Dakota can you find a nice farmer man to take a stranded driver in and take care of them. Now, lesson learned though. If you have some fun things planned like going to a baby shower and Mother Nature is uber cranky, stay home and don't mess with her :)