Lunch had been a pleasant break at the character soaked Pick and Shovel tavern/restaurant on
Wilkeson's main street. In the back of the cramped tavern, a couple of tight-lipped guys lazily shot pool. The stools at the long and sagging bar were occupied by a variety of nonconformist gents, and a pair of women, just as picturesque, loudly discussing each others business between guzzling beer and gobbling down an assortment of tavern foods. Though they were enjoying themselves, the "ambiance" screamed a dank gloominess, complete with a wide-planked and pock-marked floor. Mercifully, there was no country music wailing in the background. The lively conversation was the entertainment. And the mood for such a rundown place was upbeat. The bartender and cook were very friendly, so we ordered lunch and were pleasantly surprised at how fine the clam chowder and Reuben sandwich turned out to be. Delicious! We were impressed with the homemade chowder and the tenderness of the corned beef and sauerkraut. A very satisfying meal!
The sun played hide and seek through roiling black clouds as we bid farewell to Wilkeson. [
Click here for a larger picture of the arch and main street.] We stopped at the bridge over the Carbon River. I snapped a few shots, including the one at the top of the post, and hurried back to the car. In a few moments we were on the road again, speeding toward "civilization." We stopped once more for the afternoon special at a cute latte stand.
[The lattes were perfect!] Our trip was nearly finished. We'd be cruising into the driveway at home within the hour. Or so it seemed.
We hit rain about one minute after we'd picked up the lattes. Not the drizzly rain -- but a microburst that hit us hard like a blast of water in a car wash! It never let up! We slowed to a crawl and desperately searched for a place to get off the road until the storm passed, but there were no pull-outs or driveways along that stretch of highway, so we kept going. The wind kicked up fiercely all of a sudden and my sister's substantial sedan rocked gently from the buffeting. About ten minutes into this ordeal a series of pickup trucks, commercial trucks, and passenger cars approaching us from the opposite direction flashed their headlights at us. Sis checked her controls and our lights were operational and normal. We couldn't understand what our problem was with the other drivers, what we'd done wrong.
Until we came around a sharp turn -- and then we saw it. An eighty foot alder, with multiple trunks, long twisted branches and a full head of green/gold leaves lay cracked and crushed on our side of the road. Telephone, electric and cable lines had also come down across both lanes. We stopped, then slowly inched our way around the massive tree. It was so large, we could only pass it on the shoulder of the wrong side of the road. We hoped that anyone coming toward us in the opposite direction would allow us to pass. Otherwise we knew we might have been victims of a greater tragedy. Luckily, we slipped past the mess without incident. After we were once again safely on our side of the road, I phoned 911 to report it, though I am sure the truckers must have reported it earlier. The dispatchers I spoke to, however, had no idea a tree had fallen and now blocked the main highway into the Wilkeson area.
We reached Orting, with the rain still coming down hard, but the roads were more crowded with cars and everyone seemed to be heeding the message and strength of the storm by being just a bit more careful than usual. [Or perhaps they slowed to the speed limit because the Orting Police had set up one of their insidious speed traps?] As we climbed the hill out of Orting, the rain and wind had dwindled to a smattering of leaves floating past the window and when we reached the top of the hill about five miles from home, it had begun to clear. We pulled into the driveway at the ranch and the sun came out! Hubby said it had rained a little while we were gone.
Our adventure into the country had been a success, though not exactly what we expected. You might imagine two ladies on an outing to the country would visit antique stores and fancy tea-rooms tucked into charming bed and breakfasts or restored historic hotels. Well, that's not exactly what happened, as you know from reading the blog over the last week. We did accomplish what we sent out to do -- see some deer, take some photos, and have lunch -- but we also got some scary experiences thrown in, which added a slight edge of excitement to the day.
But of course, that's life, isn't it? I mean here we set out to have a good little outing and discovered that anything could happen. We achieved our modest goals and had some unexpected uneasiness thrown in -- but in the long run, it wasn't much, we made it home safely and shared a few memories. And frankly, we're eager to have another little adventure not too far from home.
May all your adventures all turn out well, too!
