I am bored being cooped up in-house. The rain
and the coronavirus keeping me indoors is making me antsy; so, I decided to
buck the weatherman, and the government suggestion to ‘stay indoors’, and try
to get to Eden Valley this afternoon.
I logged into FB, and asked if the slide
area was stable enough yet to drive that way (saturated soil had brought a
huge chuck of land mass and trees down across the highway the end of January)
– and had the waters in the valley abated yet (it has recently been heavily flooded);
I was answered immediately, telling me that the road was one-lane travel now,
and that yes, the waters have cleared the roadways in the Valley. Some kind
fella even sent me a pic showing the roadway I needed to get to Eden Valley:
Altoona & Barr Rd. Intersection
Rinsing my ‘I Believe in Bigfoot’ coffee mug
and thinking about the daytrip drive, I noticed the digital clocks did not
match up with my phone. WTH?
Clocks are an hour behind in time.
Why were they an hour behind? Daylight Saving
Time. I hate daylight savings time changes – it didn’t make sense in the
1970’s when it was implemented … and it doesn’t make sense now. It’s a frustrating
scientific con the government makes use of. All it does is make people
cranky.
But, I changed the clocks anyway.
Corrected time; took me a few minutes to figure out how to set the clocks. I slowed my breathing down so I didn’t get too frustrated – and let my mind go back in time, to Bob patiently explaining it to me.
Crankily ;-)
That ridiculous task done, I washed my hair,
changed my clothes, grabbed the trailing silk ivy; and off I went. About 3
minutes from my driveway, I noticed the car clock – also behind in time; so I turned
off Ocean Beach Highway into the first pullout I saw and got the Car Manual out
…
Eden Valley is my link to love on Earth – Bob
is love to me; Bob represents ALL of love, to me. Even though Bob is really no
longer on earth in the flesh; the remains of Bob is there. The memories of Bob
is there: Eden Valley was where he was conceived and spent his youth – I spent
my years, between 12 and 14, walking the highway and byways between Skamokawa
(where I lived at the time) and Naselle; Graysriver and Pillar Rock was usually
my destinations, with the side roads and loop roads figured in if I had
extra time to kill before heading back home. I spent a LOT of time in the
Graysriver-Eden Valley areas before I ever met Bob.
Instead of walking, I drove that way today –
stopping at Gragg’s, entering Cathlamet, to grab a few chicken tenders and 2
Vanilla Cokes for the road.
The drive was pretty uneventful.
Until I reached the slide area. And even
then, it was relatively uneventful:
Pretty uneventful. And traffic was light too.
Turning off Altoona-Pillar Rock road and onto
Eden Valley Road, I was happy to see the Valley as dry as it was …
The water of Grays Bay kisses the edges of roadway here.
The first thing that catches my eye when I
turn into the cemetery parking lot area, is daffodils – the sight makes my
heart smile. Opening the gate and walking to our plot block, my spirit is
cheered to see so much cheery life showing itself in this place where physical
death is so pronounced. Even though I know Bob’s spirit is not really here –
the remains of his earthen vessel that housed his spirit for 69 years; the ashed
remains of that body I loved so well, is here.
Love lies here.
And I am gladdened to see that life
thrives here, easing and soothing shattered dreams and wrenching heartache
for all the remaining family members who, like me, have laid the remains of their
loved ones to rest here:
Some of the crocuses I planted in our plot block, last Fall are blooming!
I switched Bob’s placement markers out; and
removed the solar lamp stake, poking the lamp into the ivy vase foam to secure
it against being blown away in the high winds. Bob hated total darkness – he liked
being where there were streetlights and such: so, I always make sure there is a
solar lamp here. It is a small way to honor my husband’s memory …
The grass was damp, but the ground was not soaked. I needed to know that …
Leaving the cemetery grounds, headed towards
the car, I happened to look down and saw that I nearly stepped on elk tracks.
Seeing these tracks made my heart sing – and brought
on another memory too. Bob always like watching elk (for years he hunted elk; and always bagged an elk) … and he could mimic a
bull elk’s whistle exactly: without a whistling aide. He would put his
right hand 2 forefingers in his mouth, and cup his left hand over those 2
fingers; and whistle loudly. It was very piercing; and very convincing. One
time, a bull elk thought Bob WAS another bull elk challenging him for his harem,
and actually charged Bob! The only thing that kept Bob from being
shishkabobbed by the sharp antler prongs of an angry bull elk, was a wide and
deep drainage ditch separating the elk and man: we laughed about the ‘frustrated
elk incident’ for decades:
I don’t know how I missed stepping on them earlier – they are practically alongside the car’s door.
I like to take the Barr Loop Road back to
Ocean Beach Highway when I leave Eden Valley – it’s a nice, short, country
drive. Turning onto it, I noticed there is still snow lingering on the
surrounding hilltops …
I noticed on my way through Graysriver
earlier, that Duffy’s Restaurant looked busy; so, I backtracked to Ocean Beach
Highway and pulled into an open parking spot. Duffy’s food is excellent … and
they are not always open for business. So, when they are, I eat there. I like
the bohemian ambiance, as well as the wonderful food.
It may look like a rundown dive, but the food
can’t be beat. And the interior is comfortable – in a shabby, homey way ;-)
I love everything about Duffys. The first
time we ate here, we were out for a drive and I said, “Let’s try Duffy’s Babe.
I like what their billboards are advertising: I’m hungering for some good fried
oysters”. Bob pulled in, we walked in – Bob rolled his eyes and gave me
that, ‘You and your hippy-dippy ideas …’. But the food convinced him Duffy’s
was the place to nip into when we were down this way.
Score 1 for the girl with stars in her eyes
and daisies in her hair:
When my order was brought out on the deck, the
waitress, Debbie, was talkative. While I was eating, and we were chatting, I mentioned
that Bob and I had eaten here many times – and usually on the deck, where I
was sitting as we talked. She asked if I was just passing through – and I
said that I had just come from the cemetery in Eden Valley, where my husband’s
cremains rest now. And she said, ‘oohed! I just got goose-bumps! I can feel
Bob here, right now.’ I laughed because it was so hammy; and because she
was trying to cheer me up (she thought I may be sad after coming from the
cemetery). I said that I believe Bob’s spirit is always present, and that I
believe Bob can see and hear me – though I can’t see of hear him. She said she
believed that too.
She asked me if I was a religious person, and
I told her, “No; not religious. But I am a Christian – Bob was too.” And I
shared Bob’s 1981 salvation testimony with her :-D
Oyster Burger. Yum!
Lunch with a view.
I ate half (I had eaten chicken tenders all the way to Graysriver); I brought the rest back home, and finished it off here.
Remembering the Graysriver Inn and Bob’s 2nd Cousin, Wally Smalley
As I was paying my tab – and it was spendy;
Duffy’s food is not cheap – this building caught my peripheral vision’s
attention. I don’t remember seeing it before, on previous daytrips through
Graysriver. But then, my brain had been shrouded in a Widow’s Fog for all
of 2019. I have absolutely no recollection of it; but to me, today, it is a ‘new
thing’ …
Wahkiakum Fire & Rescue Building.
Stashing my Duffy’s leftover’s into the car,
and heading back towards home, I pass the old KM slide area on the downside of the
top of the KM … and came across a surprise as I exit the KM area:
1980’s KM slide area.
I’ve never seen anything like this here before …
And I have to laugh out loud after I say, ‘the
Wirkkala Road’, because that is not the actual name of said road. A Wirkkala
family did live in the first house on this road, but the actual name of the road
is Bjornsgard Road …
People getting direction from me,
are going to have to know the lay of the land, because
I refer to locations as places I know in my own peculiar way according to
where families live/lived – events/activities that happened in certain
locations – so, if they don’t know the lay of the land, they’ll probably get
lost or thoroughly confused following my directions. LOL
A bit further down Ocean Beach Highway, driving
past the Alger Creek Station (a home-based antique shop), a memory came
to mind of a drive Bob & I, and Stacey, took up Alger Creek Road – a gravel
logging road directly across from the ‘Station’. Stacey was about 16 because
the drive up the logging road was Bob’s idea of teaching her to drive in “a
safe location” where she couldn’t hurt the pickup, and if she ran off the road,
no real damage would be done.
Bob had worked out there the first 2 years of
our married life, and had brought home to me fossilized sea snail shells he’d
found around the landing site: he knew I liked that kind of archeological stuff;
but, that particular day we took Stacey out that road, and saw a cougar!
It was the most awe-inspiring creature I have ever seen: tawny gold, about
6 feet long – it was as long as the pickup was wide – gold eyes (it looked
right at us as it slinked across the front of the pickup) – black muzzle
and long black whiskers – very muscular. It was magnificent! I will never
forget that moment it allowed us a glimpse of it before it disappeared into the
side brush like a forest ghost. And I will never forget the man who
loved me enough to make sure I got my “fix” in the countryside, in the woods,
and in the mountains. Bob went out of his way to make sure I was a happy woman.
And I appreciate that. I miss that. I miss Bob; I miss my man, who
got a kick out of pleasing his wife.
Just outside of Cathlamet, on the far outskirts;
the Osprey nest atop the bridge that spans a finger of the Elochoman River,
keeps growing in height and circumference:
Driving back home through Cathlamet, I
noticed a Dollar General Store along the highway – don’t know how I missed
it passing through earlier. Maybe because the building is yellow and it
blends in with the dead, dull, yellowed grass surrounding it. Wow – a
chain franchise building in Cathlamet; Cathlamet must be growing enough to
generate actual revenue – revenue enough to convince a corporation to risk opening
a business chain. Hmmm.
Nearing Longview, the waterfall at Stella is
raging with overflow from all the rain we’ve had lately. Every time during the
44 years of our married life (and every month of my widowed life), we (me
now), pass this waterfall; all I can think of is Bob’s cousin Marnie Blix,
was widowed in her 20’s when her husband died there, the night his vehicle went
through the guardrail one drunken night. Widowed in her 20’s – so suddenly,
so horribly: that thought still – after all this time – makes
me sad.
Even when I think the waterfall is pretty ...
When I arrived back home and parked the car;
the day was still young, and the weather was feeling very ‘Springy’. So, with
the break in the weather, I decided to set my rain barrels in place and clean
up the flowerbeds and veggie beds.
I checked the wheelbarrow tire and saw it
needed filled with air. What I really need is a new wheelbarrow … but I don’t think
I can get one in the Highlander’s backend – I’ll have to break out my measuring
tape ;-)
I got the tire pump out of the shed, and
while lifting the air hose to slip the end over the tire valve … felt it tear
at the base; it is that old – it just fell apart. I didn’t get upset; I just
closed my eyes and sighed a ‘help me, Jesus’ sigh. I did not want to get
back in the car; for any reason. I looked at the tear – I looked at the wilting
tire – I thought, ‘what would Bob do in a pinch to get through the moment?’ Two
things Bob always had on hand: duct tape, and black electrical tape: those two
things could fix a.n.y.t.h.i.n.g. I knew there was no duct tape – I had used that
up last Summer, on the wheel barrow handle bars (I put it on as a safe-guard
against slivers). But maybe there was some electrical tape somewhere. I
checked the house first, because Bob usually had a roll in his dresser-top-valet.
No go – nada. Back outside, to the shed – I rummaged through the upright
toolbox: eureka!
Old and worn tire pump waiting to be patched up and put back to work …
Patched tire pump. Needs replaced asap ...
The temporary patch-job worked; the tire was
filled, the rain barrel stands were hauled, set in place, and leveled; and the
barrels were hauled and set in place :-D
And new neighbors at the back of my house
introduced themselves; and we talked for about an hour. They are older than me
by about 15-20 years. Very friendly. And share a love of gardening. It is
good to have back fence friends ;-)
Barrels in place, and new friends made; I got
busy cleaning up the flowerbeds and veggie beds. All the veggie beds have been
weeded – they just need to have the soil loosened with my claw tool. Potted
over-winter perennials have been spruced up and set in designated spots by the
veggie beds, and the perennial plants have had the dead debris removed to make
room for the new growth:
Left front flowerbed.
Hens-n-Chicks & Tete a Tete Daffodils. The Hens-n-Chick sedum are edible.
Right front flowerbed.
Apple trees are setting buds. I’m happy to see these ;-)
I hope last year’s hard pruning cured the problem. I really don’t want to lose these trees Bob bought me for Mother’s Day 12 years ago :-(
Cleaned up the Strawberry Jar.
Around 5:30 PM, I call it a day.
Walking around the back of my house to the
side door, I look at the home my husband provided me with – surrounded by the
things he built for me, and I smile; thinking, “love lies here.”
Relaxing inside – eating the remains of my
Duffy’s meal, and watching twilight begin to settle, I reflect on my fun
Sunday~Funday; and agree with the pinkish sunset tinging the horizon: it is
time to do what the sun is doing … give this day a rest :-D
Goodnight Sun – Hello Moon.
