Long Awaited Update...

Hey Everybody,

I was finally able to gain some Internet access and give you guys a full update! It’s been a crazy couple of days with so much to fully update you all on. First, Vegas was awesome, we were so fortunate to have our good friend Mike Amico meet us in the city so he could show us around. We got to see so much of the city in a minimal amount of time because he knew what was worth seeing and where he was going. (Thanks Mike) We ended up getting 2 (somewhat sketchy, but halfway decent) hotel rooms that were connected, about 20 minutes outside of the strip for 70 bucks. (We all just appreciated the fact we could shower in the morning) The next morning we took our time getting up, ran some errands, and headed for Yosemite at around 1pm. This is where the story gets interesting. As we heading for Yosemite, we saw a sign that said that the one road we needed to take to get into the park was still closed due to snow. After finding out this new news, we found this small diner to have dinner and figure out/ask for directions. We ended up meeting (in all places) this couple from the Buffalo area that was pretty familiar with how to get around this road. They told us the only option we had was an additional 6hr journey around the park to get to the other entrance because of other road closures. We had already been traveling for 6hrs, so another 6hrs was quite discouraging and frankly, annoying. We then accepted the fact that this 6hr trek was our only option to get to Yosemite. We did not know what the Lord had in store for us because of our new 6hr detour.

We were driving on our new route (Route 88) and we saw a car in the far distance with their hazards on. Soon we realized that as we got closer, this car was flipped completely over in the ditch. We quickly stopped and grabbed our flashlights. We approached the car cautiously and discovered a limp body in the mangled car. Fear struck over all of us, for we thought we have come across a fatal car accident. We all checked our cell phones and we all did not have any service. The car was not on fire and the location of the accident was not putting the woman in any imminent danger so we left her in the car. We looked to see if there were any others in the car and if anyone happened to be ejected from the car but did not see anyone else but the woman. We couldn't reach into the car to see if she was breathing and couldn't see anything but her legs. I quickly jumped in my car to try to find service/find help while the guys stayed at the scene attempting to wake the unconscious woman. I drove about two miles back where we were coming from and found a building with lots of lights on. I banged and yelled at the door with no response. I took out my phone and found (by the grace of God) I had “Emergency Only” service. I called 911 and told the operator what happened. She and I attempted to figure out where I was (because we were in the middle of no where) and thankfully, there was a sign pointing to a small intersection that I passed when I was trying to get service. As I was driving to get service, I kept track of how many miles I was traveling away from the scene, which helped the 911 operator determine where it was. No more than 2 mins after hanging up with the operator a Sheriff car appears and stops right where I was standing to ask how far up the accident was. After I told him, we both traveled back to the scene. When I arrived back at the scene, the guys somehow (after much yelling) were able to get the woman conscious again. The officer then called in for more emergency services, which arrived soon after that. I told the guys how I just happened to get emergency service and they told me what happened in the 15 mins I was gone. They said after I left they said they unplugged the horn that was blowing and saw that the woman was breathing, so they yelled and yelled to try to get her conscious. After an arduous attempt, they stopped, prayed, and then continued the efforts. The woman then started to gain consciousness and they found out her name was Lisa and they were able to perform some basic neurological tests (what her name was, where she was from, what were her kids names were, if she had feeling in her arms and legs). The guys told me that she seemed to be somewhat coherent enough to just answer those basic questions but she still was in a comatose state, and unable to realize where she was, and what happened. When all the emergency personnel showed up we stepped back and let them do what they needed to do. We then prayed as a group and watched the jaws of life pull Lisa from the wreckage. Then one of the Police Officers asked us if we saw the accident happen, which we didn’t, so he said we could go. We were so glad that because of the 6hr detour, God was able to place us at the right place at the right time. Needless to say, we did not care at all that we had to travel 6 hours out of our way.

We arrived at Yosemite at 430am and found that the gate that the GPS was leading us to was closed until 7am. We then found a way to navigate around that, and finally got to our campsite at 5am. We then tried to locate our campsite in the dark (which took a lot of effort in the dark) and after 15 mins we found it. We setup our tents and slept until noon the next day. Then we got up and into the Valley of Yosemite. We had a relaxed day seeing what the valley had and getting laundry done. We then went back up to the campsite and got some more much needed rest. Today the guys went on a hike up to the top of Yosemite’s largest, and the US’s largest waterfall. I stayed behind because my back is bothering me today. (But it gives me a chance to upload and update!) Tomorrow we head to San Francisco to stay at a state park on the coast for a few days, to enjoy the beach and the sun. (Which I am personally so excited for)

Sorry for such a long post but it was necessary in order to update you all! Also, Here are some videos that were not posted:

 Vegas Shot:

Daily Update in the Car:

Day 1 at Yosemite:

PS: There will be picture updates of the Grand Canyon and Yosemite very soon!

Love You All!

The Guys