Ch.43(cont.)
It wasn’t that Deb had to stay with us as I
could have easily made sure she had a room at one of the other lodges in the
area. But instead I needed to talk to her and let her know that Darla and I
were now a couple , that I wanted to see how this was going to work out between
Darla and I.
Sure we have fights over silly things like
flannel pajamas, and driving through fire storms but what woman wouldn’t fight
with me over those things. Deb had went
out of her way to refurbish the Jeep , and as I understand repainted , and
bought a new ragtop for it , and still managed to get it done and is now
bringing it to me here when I need it most. Surely Darla will understand that I
hope. I just have to be on my best behavior or this whole thing could get ugly
quick.
Anyhow it was close to five or so, that if she is a couple of hours away then maybe we
can all three take the Jeep and climb on up the mountain and meet Ann and Lee
for supper. This will give Deb a chance to be recognized for all the effort she
put in on working on both the Jeep and the Road Warrior and allowing us to make
our deadline here at Sequoia National Park.
Darla and I sat down on the sofa and I told
her of my plans to meet up with Lee and Ann if they would like to have dinner
with us since we will have a ride to the lodge now, and that I wanted Deb to
meet them and Darla thought it was a good idea and not cooking always sounds good
to her when you can eat out. She said she would call Ann and Lee and see if
this was doable and in seconds we all agreed if Deb made it in in time then we
would eat dinner at the Waksuchi Lodge.
I also contacted Deb to see what her status
was and she said she had just passed Lake Kaweah and should be here soon
according to her GPS device. Her Garmin
estimated an arrival time of an hour and forty five minutes. Enough time to drive to the top of
the mountain and meet Ann and Lee I thought.
As we were waiting Darla asked me what I thought
of Deb, a fair question I thought as she had probably noticed me sharing
attention to her when Darla and I were kind of fighting over the fire thing. I
told Darla that I really believe in our purpose as we have it now to try and
leave this world a little better by doing what we intend to do and that is
preserving farmland and we both have a vested interest in trying to make this
work between us. That I enjoy making love to her and desire no one else
presently including Deb and Leann as both are great women in their own right but I have to
put any thoughts out of my mind that either of them will ever be the one I
desire now or in the future. I would rather stay the course I have chosen and
see how things work out between Darla and I. I just need to be diplomatic in
telling both if given the chance. And I intend to do that with Deb. As far as Leann
goes I doubt that will ever be an issue.
Darla said she was uncomfortable with the
whole thing of Deb being here in the Road Warrior, and I mentioned that Deb and
I have never kissed or done anything with each other besides work and talk while
in Darla’s absence and that she had nothing to fear, as I intend to set Deb straight
about our new relationship. She seemed complacent in that and asked if we could smoke a joint
and I had to decline as we were going to be driving on up the mountain and
judging by the road so far, I needed to be on top of my game to make sure we
were all safe . Darla understood and instead grabbed a beer out of the fridge.
She said since she wasn’t driving then it should be ok. I agreed that would
work for her .
We went outside in the late evening air and
sat under the new awning of the Road Warrior
and admired the beautiful forest that surrounded us. Tall sequoias one hundred
and fifty to two hundred foot tall and four to ten foot in diameter were
abundant as well as smaller ones bending to the light wherever possible. As the
sun set, the orange glow settled on the trees that left us with breathtaking views of what I
thought was a mist starting to rise over the trees. Or was it? I smelled the
aroma of burning wood and it appeared to be smoke I was now seeing over the valley.
A no burning order was issued that only allowed propane stoves to be used for cooking
and this must be a forest fire. I thought to myself ‘Wow’ I hope it is not
another fire. I asked Darla if she had checked the latest fire reports and she
said she had not bothered as we had just got here a couple of hours ago.
“Doesn’t that smell like burning wood to
you?” I asked her.
“Yes it does, wonder where it is coming from?”
she said .
“How
about you go check the website an see if there is an alert and I will go walk
and see if I can tell where it is coming from?” I asked of her .
Darla says to me as she looked into my eyes worried.
“Hurry back. Ok?”
“I will as soon as I can figure out what is
going on.” I said
I
walked in the direction of where the smoke was coming from and sure enough I
could see emergency personnel and fire trucks pouring in to the camp ground. Men
with fire equipment and chain saws were unloading and heading off into the
dense forest. And also into danger as that was where the smoke was coming from.
I asked one of the fire fighters if we were in danger and needed to leave. He
said no that the fire had advanced itself past the campground and was heading
towards the top of the mountain. They were part of a team to start back fires
towards the moving fires to thwart the advance towards the camp ground. The
main problem was that it was heading towards the 6000 foot level where the General
Sherman tree was. In fact 80 per cent of the old growth virgin timber was there
and although no fires have been reported in our lifetime it is quite possible
that a forest fire had once ravaged this same area before in the trees 3500
year history , as a similar fallen tree s rings were examined and had shed light on the forests past history
showing that a fire had consumed this area before as evidenced by the trees
rings. At least a 1000 years ago and it was undoubtedly caused by lightning. The sequoias survived but received burn scars
up to 25 feet tall . this could be seen in the rings.
I thanked him , as he excused himself saying he need to get moving
but advised me to listen to alerts as they come in regarding the current fire
situation. I told him we will and as I watched him walking away with all his
gear and a chainsaw I was impressed by all we can do today. As I walked back I
began to hear helicopters as they swept low over the trees dumping fire retardant
and water as directed by those on the ground.
Darla was scared when I returned to the
Road Warrior after listening to the reports of the forest fires advance and
warnings to all on the mountains to be vigilant in listening to reports and to
be prepared to evacuate at a moment’s notice. They did say that the immediate
threat to our camp was over but we still needed to watch to be safe. I told her
everything will be all right as the Road Warrior was fire tested and she said.
“Don’t remind me Guy, that is what I am
scared of .”
It seemed as if in not time we heard Deb
pull up outside with the Jeep and both Darla
and I went out to greet her. She told how harrowing it was to see all the fire
trucks passing her at the pull overs as one after another raced up the winding
road past her with lights a flashing and sirens going. She didn’t know what was
up and she also mentioned that Highway 198 was closed temporarily to the top of
the mountain till the threat was over. That everyone was being forced to turn
around at the camps entrance and that they were not going to allow her to even
come into the camp but that she knew we were here and expected her. After
telling them that, they agreed to let her come on in.
“What’s up with you Guy, always so dramatic?
Not one forest fire but two on your first trip to California. I just get hit by
mudslides and the occasional earthquake that makes me pee my pants. No you guys
get fire and brimstone. Didn’t your momma ever tell you to quit that or else
you would go to Hell. well you made it pretty close to there . California is only a step away at times.” She
laughed as I did .
Darla didn’t find it to humorous, maybe it
was the flannel thing or whatever as she gave Deb a quizzed look.
“Well we better stay her for the night and Darla
call Lee and Ann and tell them what is going on and that they may be in the
path of the fire.” I said. And then I continued, I guess we can go ahead and have
a joint after I look at my Jeep. I went back outside and noticed the smoke smells
seemed more intense. The Jeep looked great with a fresh coat of paint and a new
top and new tires as the others also were burned some. It would be a shame to
lose both the Road Warrior and the jeep a second time. Deb joined me after
grabbing a beer and I told her she had done a remarkable job and that she
should be commended. She said maybe something to eat would be nice. I told her
of our intentions to meet up with Ann and Lee was postponed but hat Darla and I
would soon fix something for her. Then we will just have to wait for the fire
to subside or whatever before going on up the mountain tomorrow.
We all sat around the inside kitchen table
after supper an enjoyed a joint and listened
to Deb telling tales of her Dad’s
filling station and how he had met up with several actors as they travelled the
area shooting movies. John Wayne and Lucille ball and Desi Arnez were some of
the many actors to head up Highway 101 and stop at his gas station. They would
fool around with him and have their photos taken with him and her when she was
a little girl. She says when they lost
their ability to pump gas and had to
rely on just what repairs they made, things were a lot slower and with less people stopping. At times she had thought
of closing up altogether, but then again she wouldn’t have met us and she would
not have that carving. Deb said she moved it out front, and business has picked
up since then, as people stop to admire it and take pictures. She was sure glad
we stopped there that day. She also mentioned she even met a photographer
friend who stopped to take pictures of her place and the two seemed to hit it
off. She was going to bring him but wasn’t sure when she would be back, so left
him behind.
“And he smokes dope.” Deb said gladly.
This was a relief for Darla and me relieving
the tension that existed when two women are interested in the same man. Now we
could both sleep easier, knowing Deb had someone else in mind. We checked the
fire report on the park website and the threat of fire around our campground
was reduced as the fire advanced further up the mountain. We decided to hit the
hay as we call it back home and I helped Deb with the sofa bed before coming to
bed with Darla who insisted on having a quickie despite Deb being right outside
the door. I had no choice but to oblige. A man’s job is never done. I slept well.
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