I PICKED UP MY SOCKS AND SHOES AND WALKED OVER TO SIT DOWN ON THE COOL green grass. The sky above me was filled with a warm glow and the air was calm and slightly damp. It was like a dream, actually. I started to put on one of my socks and realized there was an ember slowly burning the cloth. I crushed it between my thumb and forefinger.

 

Fifteen minutes earlier, I was fast asleep; now I was sitting in the grass watching a fully engulfed RV burn…watching my RV burn! I’m sure everyone has at least one moment like this in their life. For most it is probably the birth of a child or the death of a loved one, maybe a cancer diagnosis, the shock of your existence taking a turn you may or may not have expected. This was unreal, something that happens to someone else, something you see on the news.

 

I began to put the burnt sock on my foot when someone grabbed my shoulder. I turned and there was a man crouched over me, “You may want to get your car out of there.”

“FUCK!” I jumped up and, still barefoot, ran past the fire to the rear of the RV where my car was connected to the RV tow bar. It was still attached because I was planning a quick getaway in the morning and I had no need to drive it while I was here.

 

I pulled on the passenger side tow bar pin but it was jammed. This happened from time to time when the angle of the car put pressure on the connecting mechanisms. Normally I would take the time to work it free, but right now, with flames swirling overhead, that was not an option. I once again pulled out my wad of keys and fumbled with them until I found the key to unlock the padlocks connecting the tow crossbar to the car. I unlocked both locks and yanked the crossbar and tow mechanism off of the pins linking the Subaru to the RV and ran around to the driver’s side door, unlocking it before I got there. Once inside I backed, the car away from the still burning wreckage and headed back to the patch of grass where all my worldly possessions now sat.

 

I would guess just about everyone staying there was out watching the inferno, circled around like it was a scout campfire.

 

I sat down again and was finally able to put on my socks and shoes, and as the police arrived, I picked up my laptop and go bag, filled with things like a copy of my driver’s license, an extra set of glasses, and a few days’ worth of my prescriptions, and locked them away in the back of my car.

 

I walked back to the front of the vehicle and suddenly there was a large pop and fire shot out of the passenger side of the RV like a flamethrower in a World War II movie. It was the propane tank releasing the gas. I would later find out it was actually a good thing the tank was full, because when they are half full or less the tanks tend to explode, throwing shrapnel everywhere. However, it was this release that melted the side of the RV parked next to me. Unfortunately, it belonged to an RV park host couple and, in fact, it was the woman who had checked me into the park just hours before. It was lucky this was an RV “resort” and there was thirty to thirty-five feet between each RV. If this had happened in a regular RV park, some of which are so tightly packed that you can stand between the RVs and touch both, five or six RVs may have burned.

 

Shortly after the extraordinary pyrotechnics, the La Grande Oregon Rural Fire Department arrived and went to work to put out the fire. It had only been about twenty minutes since my smoke alarm went off.

​

People were now coming up to me asking if I needed anything, and someone asked if I knew how the fire started. I mumbled “refrigerator” and they told me about some recalls for issues involving shorts and a fire danger. This was the first I heard about it and it was a little late for me. Another person asked how I got out and I said the smoke alarm woke me up. A voice in the crowd quipped, “I guess we’ll all be checking our smoke alarms tonight!”

 

As the fire department continued to put out the fire, an ENT came over and escorted me to an ambulance where he asked if I thought I needed to go to the hospital. I said no, they checked my vital signs, and released me. I asked for some aspirin, but they said they would have to report it to my insurance and it may cost me more than it was worth in the end, so I said forget it and walked back to the park office.

 

Someone handed me a bottled water and I sat down in an outdoor hallway next to the office. A minute or two later the fire chief came up to me and asked if I had a gun or any ammo in the RV. Apparently there was popping and they didn’t want to be in danger. “It’s all right if you do,” he said, “we just need to know.” I told him no. Apparently the popping was aerosol cans exploding.

 

I went back out to snap a few pictures on my iPhone and watch the firemen do their work. It’s not often you get this close to a scene like this. I might as well take advantage of the opportunity, after all I was paying dearly for the right.

 

The sky was brightening, and this time it was because the sun would soon be coming up over the horizon. One of the park workers came and got me, saying the Red Cross was here and wanted to talk to me, so we headed back to the office. I had a cup of coffee as the woman briefed me on their available services and she gave me a debit card with 295 dollars on it, along with a quilt sewn by a local church group. At first, I turned the quilt down thinking they could give it to someone else more needy, but then I decided to take it just in case I actually turned out to be that more needy person, and I eventually put it in the car with everything else.

 

I left the office to go back outside and sat down on the bench to tie my shoe when the fire inspector came by to ask some questions, my personal information, how I think the fire started, etc. While we were there a fireman came by to ask if the RV was gas or diesel. I told him diesel and he said they would have to knock a hole in the fuel tank to drain it. This was another plus, as diesel doesn’t ignite or explode. He started to leave and I remembered my safe deposit box, asking him if they could dig it out for me from under the floor on the driver’s side of the bedroom. He returned several minutes later with the box in hand. I opened it and found all inside was safe, including my two external computer drives, one for sports and the other for travel images, 400 dollars in cash, and my passport. Without my wallet I really needed that now! I removed the money and passport and walked the safe deposit box out to put it in the car.

 

The sun was now coming up and I looked on as the firemen were combing through the remains of my RV, making sure there were no hot spots, when an older gentleman came by and asked if I would like some of his old clothes, maybe some jeans and a shirt or two. I declined but it struck me how good everyone had been. From the police and fire department to the park workers and guests, everyone just rallied around to do whatever they could.

 

Someone came up to me and suggested I go into town to get settled. Eventually I got in my car and drove away. The sun had just risen and it had already been a very, very long day!

#

 

I drove the ten miles into La Grande, Oregon, where I stopped at a McDonalds for breakfast, a sausage, egg and cheese muffin, hash browns and an orange juice. I ate and then sat quietly for just a minute or two knowing I would be spending every waking moment from this point on trying to recover from this disaster. I had lost just about everything and my dream of finishing my goal to visit the last of the fifty-nine national parks this year was probably going to end up being a casualty too.

I snapped out of my funk and called my sisters to let them know what happened. I wanted them to be informed first so they knew what was going on before I called my parents.

There was a Super 8 Hotel right behind the McDonalds, so I checked in, having to call my sister Sue back so she could temporarily put the charge on her credit card until I got some new cards sent to me. I had run right by my wallet when I exited the RV, so I lost my driver’s license, credit cards, and even my national park pass.

 

One thing I did save, and it was at this moment worth its weight in gold, was my laptop. It was the tool I would use to fuel my recovery. All my information was there, everything I would need, and whatever wasn’t on my drive I could get off of the internet.

 

Once I was set up in my room, I immediately called the insurance company for my RV and another for my camera equipment, which I had insured at replacement cost. Next I called my bank and credit card companies, who would send replacement cards within the next few days.

 

I then took a shower and put my smoky smelling clothes back on and headed into town to a JCPenney’s, which I heard was having a going-out-of-business sale. At least I’d finally caught a bit of a break! I stocked up on underwear, socks, shorts, golf shirts, t-shirts, and a belt. I then dropped by the local Walmart where I picked up a small suitcase, a computer bag, and an iPhone charger. If I hadn’t already had all this stuff less than twelve hours before, it would have felt like Christmas!

 

Back at the hotel, I washed several loads of my new clothes so I would have something to wear, and then went out to get a late “dinner” at the local DQ…a large Choco Brownie Extreme Blizzard. Don’t judge me, I deserved it!

It was almost nineteen hours since my smoke alarm went off. Exhausted, I went to bed and was amazed at how well I slept.

#

 

It was Memorial Day, so I washed some more clothes. There was not much else I could do because everything was closed for the holiday. The fire was the headline in the local newspaper, The Observer. The rural fire chief said in the article that the smoke detector, “may have saved his life.” Newsflash, it did!

 

Not wanting to waste any time, I decided to do a quick inventory. I had my car, cell phone, laptop, which I needed to find a power cord for, the information and prescriptions in my go bag, my safe deposit box with passport and cash and…that was it. Everything else was gone. Several of the more painful losses included the shot glasses that belonged to each of my grandfathers, a walking stick carved by Dad, the Georgia Tech season photo passes which sported images I had taken, all the national park brochures I had collected from my travels, my 1997 Arizona Basketball Championship floor section, seat cushions and t-shirts, my 1997 ALTA B2 Championship tennis bag tag, the bell my faithful dog Killer used to paw at when he wanted to go out the back door to play in the yard, and “Froggy,” a small stuffed frog I found in a second-hand store in Atlanta which reminded me of the much larger version I had as a kid. Of course, this list would become much longer in the days ahead as my insurance company would ask me for a comprehensive list of everything I lost before they would pay out the 10,000-dollar personal items portion of my policy.

 

After the laundry was done, I drove back out to the RV park to poke around in the ashes and was able to salvage a few small Christmas decorations that had been packed away in the back of the vehicle. Killer’s Christmas stocking, a Dr. Seuss “Rein Dog” ornament with one antler slightly melted, and a singed and smoke-damaged Grinch stuffed animal. I also found the pin from the fire extinguisher and put it on the key ring with the RV keys I still had in my pocket.

 

I stopped by the RV office to say hi and thanks for all the support. The lady at the desk gave me a box of donations they collected from staff and guests. I broke down and cried at the show of generosity; it was the first time I had felt any emotion at all. Back at the hotel I opened it up and there was a little over 400 dollars, including two 100-dollar bills.

#

 

Over the next five days, while I was waiting for all my credit cards to arrive, I spent time picking up all the odds and ends I needed, everything from a toothbrush to a power cord for my laptop. The Arizona Department of Transportation said I could drive with my passport and registration until they were able to send me a new license, but they were required to send it to my home address, so my parents would eventually have to forward it to me after it arrived. The Red Cross also vouched for me at the Walmart pharmacy so I could get my prescriptions replaced.

 

Painful as it was, I also made several calls to cancel RV park reservations including Baker, Nevada, where I was to visit Great Basin National Park, and Lee Vining, California, on the east side of Yosemite National Park; sadly, I wouldn’t be making it back to the granite valley this year.

 

Besides working with the insurance company and picking up the little stuff, my main objective had to be answering the question, “what do I do next?” I had to formulate a plan of attack, otherwise the default would be to head back to Tucson and write this year off as a loss. I had a lot of time to think, so it wasn’t long before I came up with an idea. I called my sister Sue to ask if she thought it would be okay to ask her brother-in-law Rene to let me stay a while with him in Denver. Rene and his wife Susan and their kids had stayed with me in Atlanta during the Olympics in 1996, and I had visited them a few years ago when passing through the city on one of my trips. We were well acquainted and my sister said it shouldn’t be a problem and I should give them a call.

 

The idea would be to get to Denver and comb through the many RV sales lots to hopefully find a “new” used RV which fit my needs so I could continue my trip. I knew I wouldn’t want to overstay my welcome at Rene’s, so I limited myself to spending a maximum thirty days there and if nothing happened, I would go back to Tucson. I called and laid out my plan to Rene and he said they had an apartment in the basement that his son lived in before he moved out; they would be happy to let me use it.

 

I received all my credit cards and used one to transfer the hotel charges off my sister’s card. I had stocked up with everything I needed, at least for the short term, and on my sixth day in La Grande, I took one more trip out to the Grande Hot Springs RV Resort to see the shell of my RV one last time. It was still there with orange traffic cones placed at the front and back. The insurance company would eventually arrange to have it hauled away. It was a sad goodbye and as I stood there, I was flooded with fear thinking about all I still had to get done to make it possible to complete my national parks goal this year. I returned to the hotel and packed up what little I had; tomorrow I would leave for Denver.

#

 

One week after the fire I was back on the road. It was bizarre driving away from La Grande with absolutely everything I owned packed in my car. Everything! The two-day trip gave me a lot of time to think, about the tasks I had ahead of me and about life in general. It could’ve all ended in an RV park in La Grande, Oregon, but it didn’t, so all I could do was move forward.

 

I arrived at Rene and Susan’s home in Aurora, a suburb of Denver, and they welcomed me with open arms, letting me know I could stay as long as I needed to, and I should make myself at home. Within the first few days of my arrival, they took me to the Greeley Blues Fest, which was a much-needed diversion and a nice relaxing time. I even bought a t-shirt as I continued the process of restocking my wardrobe.

#

 

I spent my days working to get things back on track. I cancelled more RV park stops but optimistically made it a point to keep all reservations more than a month out, including a stay in Sundance, Wyoming, to visit Devils Tower National Monument. If I wasn’t on my feet a few days before my planned arrival I would deal with it then.

 

Most importantly, I needed to deal with the insurance company and get my settlement so I could use the money for a replacement RV. This was generally a good experience although it was now clear that putting 15,000 dollars into additions and improvements on my old RV had been a bad idea since it was hard to prove the additions and I would get nothing for the labor costs. In the end I was granted 65,000 dollars for the RV and 10,000 dollars for personal items plus 15,000 dollars for my photographic equipment on a separate policy. I would use 5,000 dollars to buy the camera equipment I needed going forward, I had no need for everything I used when I was shooting sports, and I would put the remaining 10,000 dollars toward the purchase of a new RV.

#

 

I went from RV lot to RV lot in the greater Denver area only to find out there was nothing available that fit my needs. I left my requirements with every salesperson who would listen to me, often showing them a picture of my burning RV to impress my situation and my name into their minds; at this point I was not above trolling for sympathy. I had to venture sixty miles north of Denver to inject some life into my search. Lazydays RV told me they didn’t have anything available but they had just gotten a forty-footer in from Florida which was being worked on and would be up for sale when finished. The salesperson went to her manager and got permission to show it to me using the picture of my flaming RV for the sympathy factor and it worked; the RV from Florida was perfect and had all my requirements but the price was 95,000 dollars, quite a bit above my budget. She said she could hold it for me if I put 1,000 dollars down and I initially balked, but after thinking about it overnight I went back and wrote her the check. This RV was exactly what I wanted, was newer, cleaner, and nicer than my old RV, and it was clear my options were limited since I wasn’t seeing anything else on the market in the Denver area.

 

I signed the papers on my “new” 2008 Fleetwood Discovery exactly thirty days after the fire.