Almost Trailside: A True Story (4 page)

M
ount St. Helens is an active strato-volcano located in the Cascade Mountain Range in the state of Washington. It is most notorious for its catastrophic eruption on May 18, 1980 at 8:32 a.m. The pyroclastic flow flattened vegetation and buildings for over 230 square miles. It was the largest debris avalanche in recorded history. The eruption released more than 1.5 million metric tons of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere and 24 megatons of thermal energy. Ash from the massive eruption drifted over Washington, into Idaho, Montana, and as far away as Edmonton, in Alberta, Canada. Fifty-seven people, 7,000 big game animals, and an estimated 12 million fish were killed; 250 homes, 47 bridges, 15 miles of railways, and 185 miles of highway were destroyed. In 1982, the President created the 110,000 acre National Volcanic Monument to preserve the volcano and to allow for research, recreation, and education
.

C
rater Lake is a caldera lake, created by the explosion and collapse of a volcano 7,700 years ago. It is famous for its deep blue color and water clarity. At 1,943 feet deep, the lake is the deepest in the United States and the seventh deepest in the world. It is six miles long and five miles wide. There are no rivers flowing into or out of the lake. Evaporation is compensated for by rain and snowfall. The Klamath Indians were successful in keeping the lake undiscovered by explorers until 1853. In 1902, Crater Lake became America’s sixth National Park. It is located in the south-central area of Oregon. Since 2002, one of the state’s regular issue license plate designs has featured Crater Lake
.

Crater Lake was farther from the freeway than we expected and a desolate place.

Mount St. Helens erupted about eight weeks earlier. It was the deadliest and most destructive volcanic event in the history of the United States. The area looked lunar, covered with a thick layer of gray ash. Forest trees were lying over on the mountainside like toothpicks. The Toutle River was a thick mud wash.

We were warned by the news media to carry extra air filters for our car and also face masks, which we did. The area was positively eerie. I was glad when we returned to the Interstate to continue our trip north.

Approaching Bremerton, about 5:30 p.m., we stopped at a telephone booth and called our friends to get directions to their house. Scott let Tommy know that they just finished lunch and not to worry about dinner. I thought Tommy might have misunderstood what Scott said about having lunch so late but we were excited to see them so it wasn’t anything to ponder at the time.

Before long, we entered our friend’s tree lined street of small vintage homes. There they were, an adorable family standing together on the sidewalk anxiously waiting for us. Scott held his little son and Julie held their little daughter. The children were very close in age. It was wonderful to see them again.

After we stopped in front of their home, jumped out and happily gave hugs all around, Scott directed Tommy to their driveway to park the station wagon and travel trailer on the side of their house. The little old white board house they were renting was charming with aged plank wood floors and a rustic red brick fireplace in the small inviting living room.

By 7:30 p.m. we were starving but there was no sign of any meal preparation. Tommy, Scott, and I were drinking beer. Julie was drinking Pepsi. We were laughing, reminiscing, and enjoying being together. All of the children played together on the living room floor with Buffy jumping around wagging her tail in between them.

After 8:00 p.m. Julie put the water on to boil for spaghetti and set the table. Before long, they put their two small children each in a high chair positioned one behind the other close to the dinner table where the rest of us were seated.

The spaghetti with meat sauce and fresh green salad they prepared was delicious or maybe it was just because we were so hungry.

Midway through dinner, I noticed that their toddlers were leaning over in the high chairs throwing food down onto the floor. Our little dog Buffy seemed to be smiling as she enjoyed eating every single morsel.

After dinner, I offered to wash the dishes. Julie took their toddlers to the bathroom to wash them up and get them into their pajamas while Scott cleared the dinner table. I noticed that any milk left in the children’s cups, he poured back into the milk carton. I noted not to drink their milk.

Scott got the dishes ready for me to wash. When I put my hands into the dishwater it was ice cold. When I remarked that the water was on the cold side Scott informed me that it didn’t matter. I asked him for a scouring pad. He said they didn’t use them. I scrubbed the dishes the best I could, but I had to wonder how really clean and sanitary the dishes were that we ate dinner on that night.

Scott disappeared into the bedroom. Then he reappeared and informed us that they were all going to bed and they would see us in the morning. We never did see or hear from Julie again that night.

Earlier Scott convinced Tommy that we should sleep in their front room. They had a hide-a-bed sofa facing the fireplace for us and the boys could sleep in one of their other bedrooms instead of sleeping outside in our little travel trailer. So that’s what we did.

The following day, Scott left early for work. Tommy and I got up and made ourselves a cup of tea. We gave the boys some milk and cereal. The milk was from the small refrigerator in our travel trailer, not from that milk carton in the house.

All morning there was no sign of Julie. The toddlers were up and wandering around in the house. Just before noon, Julie sleepily sauntered into the kitchen, went directly to the refrigerator and popped open a can of cold Pepsi. That was her breakfast. Then she gave her children each a bowl of cereal with the saved milk.

When Scott came home from work at about 1:00 p.m., we all piled into their van. They drove around town showing us the highlights including the health club where they go to take a shower. That’s when we learned that their shower in the house didn’t work.

The pretty little town of
Bremerton, Washington
on the waters edge is the home to
Puget Sound Naval Shipyard
. The enjoyable drive and tour revealed the nice town.

That night was the Fourth of July. Tommy and Scott sat outside by the barbecue drinking beer while the kids ran around with sparklers that we brought with us to celebrate the holiday.

B
remerton, Washington is the largest city in Kitsap County, comprising a total area of 32 square miles of which 28 square miles is land and 4 square miles is water. The population today is approximately 40,000. Bremerton is divided by the Port Washington Narrows, a strait spanned by two bridges connecting the two land masses that comprise the city. Bremerton is a fifty-five minute ferry ride away from downtown Seattle. The ferry carries both vehicles and walk-on passengers along the seventeen mile sailing to Seattle. Bremerton is home to Puget Sound Naval Shipyard and the Bremerton Annex of Naval Base Kitsap
.

P
uget Sound Naval Shipyard at Bremerton, Washington was established in 1891. It covers 179 acres on Puget Sound and is the Pacific Northwest’s largest naval shore facility. It is one of Washington states largest industrial installations, providing the Navy with maintenance, modernization, technical, and logistics support. In 1992 the shipyard was designated a National Historic Landmark. The most visible feature of the shipyard is its huge green hammerhead crane, built in 1933. The crane is 250 feet tall and 80 feet wide, with a lifting capacity of 250 tons. Currently Puget Sound Naval Shipyard is recycling nuclear-powered ships. This process places the U.S. Navy in the role of being the world’s only organization to design, build, operate, and recycle nuclear-powered ships. The shipyard contains a portion of the Navy’s reserve fleet, a large collection of inactive Navy vessels including four aircraft carriers. The ships are mothballed, meaning they can be restored if they are needed by the Navy in the future
.

We ate grilled hot dogs and hamburgers with baked beans and green salad for dinner, served on paper plates and plastic silverware from our travel trailer. I didn’t want to think about using their dishes and utensils.

After dinner, we played Yahtzee, a board game that we brought with us. Julie was like a wild woman screaming loudly with delight and throwing her arms up in victory every time she rolled the dice. I was glad when the board game was over and she retreated to the other room to get the kids ready for bed.

Scott helped us pick up the kid’s toys and clear the table. Then he announced that he and Julie and the kids were going to take a group bath and go to bed. I hurried the boys in to the bathroom to quickly wash up and then Tommy followed.

That night as we lay in the darkness on the hide-a-bed in the living room, we talked about the rather unusual two days we had spent with our friends. I told Tommy I was feeling uncomfortable and that I wanted to leave in the morning.

The next morning Scott was up early as usual. Tommy told him we were going to head out to continue our trip. Scott said he understood and that he and Julie really appreciated and enjoyed our visit.

Before we left, Scott showed Tommy the two small secret passage doors in the bathroom wall that opened up to the slotted brick designs in the fireplace in the living room. This allowed anyone in the bathroom to see and hear what was happening and being said in the living room. They could spy on their guests! I couldn’t believe it when Tommy told me. We never did see Julie that morning because we left before noon.

Next on our route was Tommy’s niece, Kristen and her family, in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Tommy kept up with road conditions on his CB radio. It seemed that everyone had a CB radio in those days, even through the smallest towns someone always “had their ears on”. The truckers were the greatest source of information.

On the way to Coeur d’Alene, on a long stretch of highway, CB chatter among the truckers picked up. They anxiously talked about a huge cloud and if they could out run it.

The skies were clear in front of us. We didn’t know what they were referring to until I glanced into my side view mirror. What I saw was frightening. A huge dark gray cloud-like mass stretching from the ground to what looked like several miles up, was descending on us from behind.

As we listened intently to the trucker’s almost frantic chatter on the CB radio, we learned that it was ash from the Mount St. Helens volcano eruption in the state of Washington two months earlier. Tons of ash blanketed the ground in three states and into Canada. Now when the wind picks up, the fine ash billows, creating a huge hazardous cloud. It was dangerous to breathe, bad for vehicle engines, and so dense that you couldn’t see through it to drive.

Before long it was obvious that the menacing ash cloud was going to overtake us. We drove the station wagon and little travel trailer to the side of the road and parked between the truckers. All we could do was wait it out. It was eerie as the sky darkened and the huge fast moving cloud encircled us with swirling gray ash.

After the thick cloud passed, the sky began to lighten and the air cleared. Fine ash blanketed the sides of
the road and surrounding terrain in what appeared to be a light snowfall. Truckers started their engines and one-by-one re-entered the ash covered highway. As each one drove away, streamers of chiffon gray ash plumed out behind them. We watched the exodus in amazement until we were the last vehicle parked on the highway.