Oops

Somewhere between Khabarovsk and Chita we rolled the car.  Everyone is okay besides some minor scrapes.  We are all pretty sure that the car rolled three times.  It ended up about fifty feet off the road.  We probably started rolling at about 30 or 40mph.  We sold the car to the tow truck driver for about half of what we paid for it in Japan ($850 or so).  The three of us and our Russian passenger, Max, said rest in peace to our car and a fair amount of our gear and caught a ride in the back seat of a police car to the nearest town. After filling out statements with the police we caught a train at 2am for Chita.  Twenty-four quiet hours later we climbed off the train and saw our good friend Misha waiting for us in the crowd.  It was a very comforting sight.  We're now staying at his house with his parents, sister, and dog.  The friends who we met in Vladivostok (Misha very much included) have been extremely accommodating.

The trip is not over.  We are looking for a Lada 4x4 Niva to buy.  They are the cheapest 4x4 in Russia and they're not cheap.  We are trying to do everything as quickly as possible to make it to Mongolia in time to meet a man on a motorcycle.  Keeping busy is helpful.  The train ride was not fun.  I think that I can safely speak for all of us in saying that each of us spends most of our downtime recounting what happened, what could have been done differently, where we go from here.  In the end, it doesn't matter.  "What happened, happened, and couldn't have happened any other way."  How do I know that?  "Because we are still alive." - Morpheus.  For a few hours after the accident we were all talking about flying home.  That's not an option. We owe it to ourselves and everyone who has supported us to continue.  Enjoy the pictures...

- Jack