As I mentioned in the previous post, it has been raining non-stop for two days now.  Last night mother nature ramped it up to what I'm sure was the equivalent to a tropical storm . . . on the prairies.  We had high winds, thunder and lightning and, of course, copious amounts of rain.  The wind was roaring so loudly and was rocking the trailer so much it was hard to sleep.  Probably more accurately it was the thoughts in my head that were keeping me awake . . . "I probably should have taken down the Starlink dish" and "are we going to make it out of here".  You see, Toothless is a great truck and pulls the trailer down the road like a dream.  However, he does have his drawbacks.  For one, there is no four wheel drive option and for another he does not have very aggressive tires for being a non-four wheel drive option.  That means that there are certain situations that one should probably avoid -- wet grass, soft ground and mud.  It seemed that we were brewing the perfect storm.

When we got up in the morning and surveyed the situation Julie asked "are we going to get out of here" and the only answer I had was "I don't know".  The hosts had generously offered for us to stay until a break in the weather but, unfortunately because of our electrical issues we had to go back to Calgary to get it fixed.  So, I went outside and took a walk around the trailer.  The ground was saturated with about an inch of water sitting on top.  It seemed that the campsite was in a bit of a low area of the field and that if I could just run it backwards far enough to be on higher ground then we should be able to get out, at least out of the field.  The second issue was going to be at the spot where the path from the field joined up with their driveway.  This was a bit of a soft spot and we had started to create a few ruts and muddy spots driving in and out to run errands and visit friends.  This, I knew was going to be a challenge however, as rash a decision as it may be, we decided to give it a shot.

We packed up our stuff and yes, (to my relief), the Starlink dish weathered the storm!  Apparently our broken extendable broom handle and velcro straps are very steadfast!  I explained the plan to Julie .  "I'm just going to back up as far and as fast as I can to get out of this little hollow then we should be good, except for the mud at the driveway and I'm not at all sure how that's going to pan out".  I think she was reassured . . . not!

The beginning of the plan was flawless.  Toothless effortlessly backed the trailer up to higher ground.  Next, we headed for the mud.  I had picked up a bit of steam through the field and, because of the awkward angle that the field exited onto the driveway I felt I had better not hit it at Mach speed so I let off the gas a little.  Julie said, a little concerned, "don't slow down!"  I explained that I didn't want to hit the mud and risk going sideways and not being able to make the corner all in one shot.  We hit the mud and instantly we were bogging down.  Toothless started to spin and with every skid the back end of the truck went one way and the trailer went the other.  Toothless spun and clawed and pulled his way through the mud until he reached solid ground and the driveway on the other side.  We breathed a small sigh of relief but we were not out of the woods (or field so to speak).  The trailer still hadn't hit the worst of the mud pit and Toothless, being a bit heavier this time through, had made quite a mess.  And, because of the sliding around the trailer was not in the ideal position to stay on the path.  We slowly crept forward and I watched in the mirror as the trailer sank up to it's axles in the mud.  I secretly hoped that it would not sink much further or slide much more sideways and urged Toothless to keep going.  Needless to say, we made it through and we both began to breathe again.  Toothless had not let us down!  We stopped on the road to survey the damages and were pleasantly surprised that all bits seemed intact.  The photos don't quite do justice to the actual mud boggin' event itself.  There was even mud up on the mirror of the truck!

The rest of the trip was uneventful and here we now sit, crammed into a campground with neighbors on all sides waiting for the electrician to arrive.  At least the full hook-up site gives us the opportunity to do some laundry and take "real" showers now, but we have decided that if we can Hipcamp and boondock it the rest of the way across Canada to Quebec that would be more our style.  We have six little traveling companions that support that as well.  The next camping spot is for them . . . .