Like the title says, I keep getting myself into sticky situations while I'm looking for new CP sites. Today I got myself into a situation that could have turned ugly for the second time since I been home.
The first time was about two weeks after I moved back to NC. I would give the whole story here but it's a long story and I'll try to add it to a blog that I'm working on of all my cp trips. Anyway, I went down a road I have never been down and I saw a dirt road that looked like it could have cp's. I turned around and turned down the dirt road. I went for about 1/4 mile and It started getting a little sandy. I had my eyes in the woods looking for a spot to search, when I noticed that it all of a sudden the sand was deeper than I wanted to drive through. So I stopped put it in reverse but it wouldn't move. I was stuck. I got out to see how bad, it was pretty bad. I got my machete and try to dig the sand away from the tire. But it was no use.
So I made a call and got a couple of number for a tow truck. I made a call to one of them. I told them where I was and the guy all of a sudden said, I'm sorry but I don't have time today, to go pull you out. I called the next two on the list. As soon as I told them where I was they all made an excuse and told me they couldn't pull me out. I called about 15 tow truck companies and I was turned down by all of them. So I called somebody I knew and asked if they knew somebody with a 4 wheel drive. She said no, but she would make some calls for me. She called me back and told me that a tow truck driver would be calling me. He call and I told him where I was and he said "We don't go down that road at all." I asked why and he said "Well we've and some trouble down that road." I asked "What kind of trouble?" He said "Well I don't want to get into it over the phone, but I'll call my dispatcher and see if I'm allowed to go get you." So he hung up and I sit there thinking about what kind of trouble they have had. A few minutes later he called back and said he was sorry but he wasn't allowed to pull me out. I asked "Can you at least tell me what why you can't come down this road?" He said "It's a very bad neighborhood."
To make a long story short, and I'm leaving out the worst part of this story, but I found a guy a few miles away that had never heard of the road I was on. He told me it would be better for you if you called somebody closer. I told him that if he would pull me out I'll be glad to pay a little extra. He showed up and the first thing he said was, I don't know if you know this or not but this is a really bad neighborhood. I said "Yeah I kind of figured that out." I was there for about four or five hours. I found out later that I was in a very bad crack area.
Now for what happened today.
I was again riding down a road that I had never been down. But this time I knew what was down the road though, an Island called Crusoe. I have always heard stories about he people that lived there. To put it simply, there is one way into Crusoe, and if the people there don't know you, they will block your way out and I'm sure you can fill in the rest.
Here's two sites I found that tell a little about Crusoe.
http://www.ncsu.edu/linguistics/code/Research%20Sites/crusoe.htm
http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/12824/places/28842/
Anyway, I had no plans on driving onto the island. I was looking to see if I could find a road that connected me to Hwy 211 in the Green swamp. Well I pasted a church that said Crusoe Baptist Church, so I knew I was very close to the island. The road then made a sharp curve. Just after the curve, I saw a unique looking snake that had been killed in the road. There was no much of a shoulder beside the road so I part with my tires still on the pavement. The road had no traffic so I wasn't really worried about being beside the road like that. I walked back to the snake and took a pic. I heard a noise, toward my van. I turned and looked but didn't see anything. So I took another pic. I then decided I would hurry back to my van and get on my way. As I was walking up to my van I realized it wasn't in the same place I parked it. As I said I left it with two tires still on the pavement. Now those two tires was a foot from the road and the other two were in the ditch. I looked at it and thought that I could still drive out, so I went to open the door, it was locked. The keys were still in the ignition and the van was running, and I was low on gas.
I knew I had to think of something really fast. There was a few houses around, but I decided that it was best if I didn't ask for help. There was no way I could get into the van without breaking a window. I spent about a minute trying to think what I was going to do. Then a car came around the curve and pulled into a dirt road right beside me. I thought, oh no here we go. A women about 25 got out and asked me what happened. I explained, then I saw a guy walking from a house towards me. She said his name, but I forgot and said maybe he can help you. He got there and asked what happened. I explained again. He said he would go get a clothes hanger and we would get the door opened. He went back to his house and then a truck pulled up and parked at his house. The first guy drove back to my van on a lawn mower. He had the clothes hanger and a pair of pliers. We went to work on trying to get the door opened. Then the guy that was in the truck walked over. As we were working on the door he was asking me questions like, where are you from, what are you doing down here, and things like that. I then asked him, How far am I from Crusoe?, he said this is it. I then realized I was in Crusoe, and not just near it. I laughed and said "You guys sure aren't like what I've heard. He didn't say anything.
Well I finally got the door unlocked with the clothes hanger and I looked at the gas gauge and it was all the way on E. I turned the AC off. and put it in reverse to see if I could get it out. I barley got it out of the ditch, but I did.
I got out and went up to the guy shook his hand and said "Thank you so much, How much do I owe you?" He said " You don't owe me anything, just hurry up and get the the gas station before you run out of gas." It was about 5 miles to the closest gas station, and I was already on E. I drove really slow to the gas station and I made it without running out of gas.
Does anybody else have luck like I do? I'm like that song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "When a black cat cross my trail, lord, they come in pairs of twos."
The first time was about two weeks after I moved back to NC. I would give the whole story here but it's a long story and I'll try to add it to a blog that I'm working on of all my cp trips. Anyway, I went down a road I have never been down and I saw a dirt road that looked like it could have cp's. I turned around and turned down the dirt road. I went for about 1/4 mile and It started getting a little sandy. I had my eyes in the woods looking for a spot to search, when I noticed that it all of a sudden the sand was deeper than I wanted to drive through. So I stopped put it in reverse but it wouldn't move. I was stuck. I got out to see how bad, it was pretty bad. I got my machete and try to dig the sand away from the tire. But it was no use.
So I made a call and got a couple of number for a tow truck. I made a call to one of them. I told them where I was and the guy all of a sudden said, I'm sorry but I don't have time today, to go pull you out. I called the next two on the list. As soon as I told them where I was they all made an excuse and told me they couldn't pull me out. I called about 15 tow truck companies and I was turned down by all of them. So I called somebody I knew and asked if they knew somebody with a 4 wheel drive. She said no, but she would make some calls for me. She called me back and told me that a tow truck driver would be calling me. He call and I told him where I was and he said "We don't go down that road at all." I asked why and he said "Well we've and some trouble down that road." I asked "What kind of trouble?" He said "Well I don't want to get into it over the phone, but I'll call my dispatcher and see if I'm allowed to go get you." So he hung up and I sit there thinking about what kind of trouble they have had. A few minutes later he called back and said he was sorry but he wasn't allowed to pull me out. I asked "Can you at least tell me what why you can't come down this road?" He said "It's a very bad neighborhood."
To make a long story short, and I'm leaving out the worst part of this story, but I found a guy a few miles away that had never heard of the road I was on. He told me it would be better for you if you called somebody closer. I told him that if he would pull me out I'll be glad to pay a little extra. He showed up and the first thing he said was, I don't know if you know this or not but this is a really bad neighborhood. I said "Yeah I kind of figured that out." I was there for about four or five hours. I found out later that I was in a very bad crack area.
Now for what happened today.
I was again riding down a road that I had never been down. But this time I knew what was down the road though, an Island called Crusoe. I have always heard stories about he people that lived there. To put it simply, there is one way into Crusoe, and if the people there don't know you, they will block your way out and I'm sure you can fill in the rest.
Here's two sites I found that tell a little about Crusoe.
http://www.ncsu.edu/linguistics/code/Research%20Sites/crusoe.htm
http://www.byways.org/browse/byways/12824/places/28842/
Anyway, I had no plans on driving onto the island. I was looking to see if I could find a road that connected me to Hwy 211 in the Green swamp. Well I pasted a church that said Crusoe Baptist Church, so I knew I was very close to the island. The road then made a sharp curve. Just after the curve, I saw a unique looking snake that had been killed in the road. There was no much of a shoulder beside the road so I part with my tires still on the pavement. The road had no traffic so I wasn't really worried about being beside the road like that. I walked back to the snake and took a pic. I heard a noise, toward my van. I turned and looked but didn't see anything. So I took another pic. I then decided I would hurry back to my van and get on my way. As I was walking up to my van I realized it wasn't in the same place I parked it. As I said I left it with two tires still on the pavement. Now those two tires was a foot from the road and the other two were in the ditch. I looked at it and thought that I could still drive out, so I went to open the door, it was locked. The keys were still in the ignition and the van was running, and I was low on gas.
I knew I had to think of something really fast. There was a few houses around, but I decided that it was best if I didn't ask for help. There was no way I could get into the van without breaking a window. I spent about a minute trying to think what I was going to do. Then a car came around the curve and pulled into a dirt road right beside me. I thought, oh no here we go. A women about 25 got out and asked me what happened. I explained, then I saw a guy walking from a house towards me. She said his name, but I forgot and said maybe he can help you. He got there and asked what happened. I explained again. He said he would go get a clothes hanger and we would get the door opened. He went back to his house and then a truck pulled up and parked at his house. The first guy drove back to my van on a lawn mower. He had the clothes hanger and a pair of pliers. We went to work on trying to get the door opened. Then the guy that was in the truck walked over. As we were working on the door he was asking me questions like, where are you from, what are you doing down here, and things like that. I then asked him, How far am I from Crusoe?, he said this is it. I then realized I was in Crusoe, and not just near it. I laughed and said "You guys sure aren't like what I've heard. He didn't say anything.
Well I finally got the door unlocked with the clothes hanger and I looked at the gas gauge and it was all the way on E. I turned the AC off. and put it in reverse to see if I could get it out. I barley got it out of the ditch, but I did.
I got out and went up to the guy shook his hand and said "Thank you so much, How much do I owe you?" He said " You don't owe me anything, just hurry up and get the the gas station before you run out of gas." It was about 5 miles to the closest gas station, and I was already on E. I drove really slow to the gas station and I made it without running out of gas.
Does anybody else have luck like I do? I'm like that song by Lynyrd Skynyrd, "When a black cat cross my trail, lord, they come in pairs of twos."