Not a Normal Day

Durango, Colorado: After a restful night in Montrose, we hit the highway (after DT rode his bike along great paths). There are two routes to Durango. One follows the Million Dollar Highway (550), a two-pass two-laner with narrow lanes, deep drop-offs, and no guardrails… or take several country roads with two passes, but a much safer route. We chose Door #2.

We took a break at the Keystone Lookout, a spot where Butch Cassidy had arranged for a change of horses after Cassidy, and his “Wild Bunch” gang, robbed a bank in Telluride in 1889, of $20,750 (half a million today).

We stopped again at the second big pass of the day - Lizard Head Pass, elevation 10222 feet. This pass is named for a rocky feature above the road that seriously resembles a lizard:

So we continued on towards Durango. We had tried to visit Durango before, but there was a terrible wildfire nearby, and the state police waved all travelers away.

This is where my tale turns sad. Stopped at a roadside vista point, while I was preparing sandwiches, I heard a howl from My Driver outside the entry door. He had, somehow, slashed his left forearm open on the nasty bolt that latches our door/screen door closed. (Never mind he has entered this bus a zillion times.)

It was a deep gash and it was bleeding like crazy. I ran outside with a wad of paper towels, and we dressed the wound as best we could with our limited first-aid supplies. (NOTE TO SELF & ALL OF MY READERS: Check your first aid kit. We had generic Neosporin packets that had expired in 1998.)

Dave actually ate his sandwich, but we headed to our campsite in Durango straight away. After checking in, we then left immediately for the ER. The wait wasn’t too long, but every time a medical professional came into our room and looked at his wound, there was a bit of a shudder, a look of concern, and then a positive comment. Then the doctor came in. He lit up and declared he LOVES this type of wound! The doctor brought in two syringes with a mixture of painkiller and an coagulant, which were injected directly into the U-shaped wound. Then there was a wait while the pain meds went to work, then a nurse came in to clean the wound - with running water and a sponge!

Then the doctor came in with the sutures and proceeded to stitch DT’s forearm. Twelve stitches + steri-strips. Another nurse came in and wrapped the wound. Change the dressing in three days. In 12 days, I get to remove the stitches with my fancy needlepoint scissors. Dave is feeling fine this evening, but did not want a meal - we didn’t get back to our RV until 7p. Appetizer plate AGAIN for dinner.

Dave is feeling fine tonight. Sore. Bummed, of course, but it is what it is. Thankful for good doctors and medical staff, Medicare, and health insurance. We walked out of the ER tonight without opening a wallet.

Let’s see if My Driver can take a day of rest? Until my next update, I remain, your Durango correspondent.

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