Today is a unique day that doesn’t happen often. No, I
don’t mean leap year. After nearly five years of asking my wife to write a
guest post, she has finally agreed! Yay! Take it away, Brenda.
The Road To Somewhere
Recently my husband wrote a blog about taking a drive, but
here is the rest of the story.
I was to attend a meeting for my job. The location of the
meeting was Young Life Ranch located in Central Oregon. Due to prior
commitments, I was unable to travel to the destination with my co-workers on
Monday. I was a little apprehensive about traveling to the middle of nowhere,
but I figured if I asked my husband he would be willing to take a Sunday drive
and I could become familiar with where I will be traveling alone in the days to
come. Unfortunately, he was not willing.
His unwillingness was not a problem. My friend and co-worker
had given me a book with the phone number to the ranch and had written out
specific directions; and my deferred departure would benefit the group, as I
would be responsible for purchasing and delivering lunch for Tuesday.
Late Monday evening before my departure, I was browsing
through Facebook and received a few messages from my boss. The first message
said the road was very muddy and I should probably drive a company car instead
of my own. I had already decided to use the company car as I thought it would
have a radio. Later, I would realize it did not. The second message said there
was no cell phone service.
Tuesday morning came. The lunchmeat was purchased. I made my
way to my place of work and transferred the lunchmeat and my personal items to
the company car. I started the car and noticed the low tire indicator was
illuminated. My first stop was the tire shop. After all tires were aired to the
recommended psi, I hit the road.
After driving a little over two hours, I reached the small
town of Shaniko, Oregon. I pulled out the directions and followed them exactly.
Except I misread a preposition. I read the word “to” instead of “through.” I
was supposed to go through the town of Antelope; instead, I started
tracking miles when the sign indicated to Antelope. This is where things
began to go south.
The sign on Highway 218 says Antelope/Fossil. My directions said
go 3.7 miles and turn right. Go 4 miles, and then turn left. So, I drove 3.7
miles and saw a muddy road to the right. I thought this couldn’t be the correct
road. There was no road sign. So, I went past the road. I reached mile marker
six and thought, “I have missed my turn.” I waved down a car headed in the
opposite direction and asked them where Young Life was. They were new to the
area and did not know. But they informed me there was another turn-off a ways
down the road. Since I thought I was already past my turn, I turned around and
headed back to the muddy road.
There were fresh tire tracks in the mud, so I assumed others
had recently traveled this road. The road was horrible. I was unfamiliar with
the vehicle and could not find how to engage the four-wheel drive but
basically, I was four wheeling. I am not a fan! One puddle completely covered
my car in mud. The windshield wipers smeared mud, making it hard to see. After
four miles, I saw what appeared to be a marker ahead to the left. However, the
road between the marker and me was in worse condition than what I had already
driven. I realized there was no way I was going to make it any further down
this road. I needed to turn around. My conundrum was how to turn around.
If I went off either side of this narrow ranch road, I would be stuck. I backed
down the road, but realized I could not see and did not have control of the
vehicle. I succeeded in getting the vehicle facing the right way, but then I
was stuck—in the middle of nowhere.
I did not know where I was going, but I did know where I
was. Remembering the message my boss sent to me regarding no cell phone
service, I didn’t even look at my phone. I just threw it, my purse, and
notebook in my backpack and grabbed the lunchmeat. I knew I was four miles out
this muddy road and 3.7 miles out of Shaniko on Hwy 218. I could walk back to
Shaniko, make a call and someone could come to get me and lunch would still be
delivered.
I began my trek in the mud. As I walked I was thankful that
it was not raining, it was not too cold, I was wearing boots and not shoes, I
was not hurt, etc. Then I saw what appeared to be dog-doo. I realized at my
location this excrement was more likely from coyotes than dogs. Oh, the places
one’s mind can wander.
After walking awhile, I finally decided to stop and check my
phone to see if perhaps I did have service. Amazing! I had five bars of
service. I made a phone call to the ranch and asked for my friend. They did not
recognize the name. Eventually, they understood which group I was with. I told
them I was out of Shaniko stuck on a muddy road. They assured me it happened
all the time, and they would send someone to rescue me.
After 10 minutes, someone called me back. During the course
of the conversation, they realized I was not where they sent people to look for
me. I was on a totally different road, at least 40 minutes drive time from
them. But, someone was on their way.
I walked around a corner of Hwy 218 and saw the sagebrush
mountainside and the long road ahead of me. I was carrying six pounds of
lunchmeat and could smell it. My mind wandered to cougars. I was walking
unarmed in their natural habitat and carrying meat!
Fifty minutes passed and still I had seen no one in my
“nature walk.” Finally, a car drove by. Once the driver assessed I was not a
threat, he backed up to where I was. He offered me a ride. It was a kind
gesture, but I was taught not to take ride from strangers. And my mind was
thinking if Search and Rescue had to come looking for me, at least if I stayed
on the road they will have a reference point. If I got in a car, they would
have no way to track me. I declined, but asked if he could tell me how far I
was from Antelope. I was about three miles. As I neared this town carrying
meat, my mind began to imagine guard dogs at residences in this community. This
did not look promising.
After about ten minutes, another vehicle slowed down as it
came toward me. I could see there were two men occupying the vehicle. I was
apprehensive as it pulled to the side. The occupants were from Young Life Ranch
and they had arrived to help me. Side note... the customer service of the Young
Life staff is phenomenal!
My task was to deliver the lunchmeat for lunch that day. I
wanted to make that happen. They assured me that lunch was covered and they
were going to take me back to my vehicle to see if they could help pull it out.
So, we returned to the muddy road.
These two individuals were two young men. One was
twenty-three and the other was in his late twenties. They wanted to drive down
the muddy road; I did not want another vehicle stuck in the mud. Eventually, we
decided to walk the four miles down the muddy road to where the vehicle was
located to see if we could get it out. They appeared to be delighted with the adventure
of traipsing through the mud. One even found a wild boar’s skull. We finally
reached the Durango and they tried various ways to remove the vehicle from the
predicament of being high entered. We were unsuccessful. You guessed it. We had
to walk the four miles back to Hwy 218 where we had parked their truck.
The young men were confident they could pull my rig out with
their four-wheel drive. It was decided once they got it pulled out they would
drive it back to the ranch and should be there around 3:00 pm. Things do not go
as planned.
My boss came to give me a ride while they tried what they
could. Around 3:00 pm, I inquired as to whether or not the vehicle had arrived
at the ranch. I learned the young men were not successful in their endeavor and
a tow truck was called. The vehicle was towed to Maupin, Oregon, which is not
near Antelope.
Hmmm... my suitcase was in the vehicle. The only clothes I
had were the ones I had worn all day. I made a comment to my friend that I
would just wash my clothes out in the sink and let them dry overnight. She let
me know we had access to a laundry facility and she had an extra pair of
pajamas that I could borrow. Great, but I am not comfortable walking in front
of a dozen or more people in pajamas. She understood and graciously offered to
wash my clothes and return them before morning.
Early the next morning, 4:30 to be exact, I was wide awake. I
noticed my backpack sitting right inside the door. Might as well get ready for
the day. Took the clothes out and noticed the underwear were missing! I guess I
was going commando for the day. This was going to be one long, uncomfortable
day for me. My prior supervisor would have said, “pull up your big girl
panties, and move on.” Unfortunately for me, they were missing!
I made my way downstairs and waited for my friend as I didn’t
know where the laundry facility was. When she came out of her room, I thanked
her for her kindness in doing my laundry, but asked if she realized the bare
essentials were missing. We made our way to the laundry room to locate the
missing drawers in the washing machine—still wet.
At the end of the meeting, one of my co-workers kindly gave
me a ride back to Maupin to pick up the company car. My bosses stopped at the
tow company to thank them and to view first hand how filthy the car was. One
told me to take it to the car wash in the morning. When I got back to town that
evening the car wash was still open, but I was told I could not go through it,
as the rig was too muddy. But, if I sprayed the vehicle down thoroughly I could
receive a $2.00 discount, which I did. And after that adventure, I am
completely washed-out.
Bruce
A. Borders is the author of more than a dozen books, including: Inside Room 913, Over My Dead Body, The Journey,
Miscarriage Of Justice, and The Wynn Garrett
Series. Available in ebook and paperback on iTunes, Amazon, Barnes &
Noble, Kobo, and Smashwords. Amazon
Profile - www.amazon.com/Bruce-A.-Borders/e/B006SOLWQS.
Bruce
A. Borders is a proud member of Rave Reviews Book Club.
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