.JPG)
I say a silent prayer I never have to use it!
Checking into the Best Western Lone Pine was a stark wake up call. We are not in the OC anymore! I am no longer Susan, but must go by my mountain name, "Big Red" ~. Gulp!!
Our plan was to leave the motel at 11:30pm for the drive up to Whitney Portal (13 miles away) and be on the mountain at midnight. Yes, midnight. Or as my BIL said, "No one ever said they started too early. People just regret starting too late." These words would haunt me later.
About 7:00pm that night before our trek, thunder and lightening began all around us. No clouds in the sky, no moon. Rain drops the size of golf balls began to fall. It rained for 1.5 hours only to have the electricity go out. The air conditioning stopped. Let me tell you how quickly a Best Western begins to smell musty with no air! What is that chemical they use? Do they think it is hiding anything?!?! I began to become a ball of sweat. It was pitch back in the room and I couldn't even see my hand in front of my face. My friend, Kim, was trying to get some sleep, while I sat in the other bed unable to shut my eyes or my brain. Thank God for technology as I began to text my daughter. She continued to beg me not to go. She said it was too treacherous and dangerous. I told her, with as much false bravado that I could muster, "We'll be fine." She asked that I text as we left the musty motel. When I did, here is her text to me.
Little did I know as we drove off in the darkness, how happy I would be to arrive back at that musty motel.
To be continued....da da da da....
ReplyDeleteI can't wait