I left Anaheim a little later than I’d liked to get on the road for Vegas, and I was OK with that.

I had a productive morning and decided to take my time, not worry about drivers going too slowly and get here when I got here. Check-in time wasn’t till 3p, so really, what’s the rush?

I stopped in Barstow briefly for gas and to check email. Continuing on my way, I decided to hangout in the “slow” lane for the majority of the drive, even though the average speed was over 80.

Primm was ahead of me in no time at all, then state line. Suddenly, traffic came to a near-screeching halt out of nowhere, however, and cars scattered onto the shoulder. For a good three miles, we moved inches at a time.

At the rise of a slight hill, I could see emergency crews far ahead. When I finally reached the incident, it looked like a semi and its flatbed truck had run off the road, wrecked and also launched a large, maybe seven-foot square air conditioning or similar unit into traffic, on the highway, or both. The damage to it was staggering.

Not unlike when I’ve come across accidents before, I found myself thinking about the morning, my schedule and wondered if I could’ve been caught up in it had I left “on time.” I’ll never know, and it’s just as well. More important to me is the timing that wasn’t lost on me.

Tonight I am thankful for a safe arrival, for not having been involved in any part of the accident and for taking it slow on a day off – the very kind of day that demands such a pace.