The Longest Day of My Life

One of my biggest joys in life is traveling, seeing as much of the world as I can experience. That involves a lot of driving but it is not something I give a second thought to because jumping in my car and heading off to somewhere new is so much fun and something I’ve always wanted to do.

With all the driving I do around the country there has occasionally been a hiccup; having my exhaust fall off in Kansas, almost running out of gas in Texas, almost freezing in Wyoming but none of those compare to my most recent road trip to Montana. Driving along a scenic route in Glacier National Park when some loose gravel cost me to lose control of my car, side swipe a truck and slide off road and down a hill.

How am I gonna get home? How am I gonna afford this? What do I do with the guy I hit? I was angry, I was panicked, I was upset with myself. I couldn’t believe this car I had less than a year was now possibly totaled and there were still so many other expenses and issues to deal with.

To make matters even worse, I was stuck down a hill in an area with no cellphone reception. The panic got even worse being in a brand new place and now totally stuck. Luckily, the kindness of strangers prevailed. Plenty of cars stopped to see if we were okay, a couple drove up the road to call the police and a man even offered me some water while we waited.

Very often on the morning show I talk about how little people know each other and even how I very rarely interact with my neighbor. That’s not to say I wouldn’t stop in the same situation, just a few weeks ago I witnessed an awful accident where an SUV was flipped over in an intersection and I of course stopped to try and help. That accident shook up Ashleigh and myself and that’s what frustrated me most about my accident in Montana. I’m supposed to protect my girlfriend and here I put us in danger.

Two couples stayed with us until the police showed up and the other driver was able to finally leave. At the end of it one of the couples even apologized that I was in the situation but also gave me some kind words about how accidents happen and it could have been anyone in this exact same situation. The lady told me that they just had the three year anniversary of their daughter passing away due to a texting and driving accident. She put that in perspective and those words will stick with me forever. She even gave me a hug before her and her husband left.

While I’m still dealing with the frustrations and financial burdens of my car accident, the truth is it’s just things. Those are the words my family, friends and even the strangers told me. While it’s a tough situation to be in, the truth is if we didn’t hit the truck we could have hit the guard rail and possibly ended up in the creek on the other side. The fact that after such a final accident we could walk away just a little bit sore is just amazing.

Those few hours being upset with me, waiting on the police and having all that to pay for and deal with were the longest of my life, but the truth is I was very lucky. Thanks to close family I don’t have to worry about as much as I should in this situation and things got put in perspective for me that I will never forget. And despite the jokes about some travel mishaps it’s also not gonna stop me from seeing the world and loving to travel.