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| Blogs > stardust81937 > TALES OF ZIPPERLESS FUCKS |
Buried!
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Buried! Buried "David, we are....God! This is heavy! ,,,both too old to be playing in a sandbox!" Marisol was attempting to lift a piece of 1/2 inch plywood mostly buried in deep, almost pure white, powder sand. "I know, I know, sweet. I thought we could barrel through this drifted sand over this little hill," "Well, we DID almost make it," Marisol said as she dragged the piece of broken plywood over to our little Colt, mired in blow sand up to its skid plate. It was about 2 PM, almost the hottest part of the day.... We were lucky, it was much cooler than normal. The little old Colt didn't have a thermometer in it, so I guessed the temperature was about 95. But the sun was glaring down on us and reflecting off the white sand. Both Marisol and myself were already sweating. We'd already had a long day before my stupidity of going down a strange dirt trail without walking it first, got our light little Colt almost submerged in loose sand Earlier in the day, we'd covered about 75 miles in Marisol's Ford truck, buzzing around Yucca Valley, picking up items we needed to complete the small, easy to pull, water trailer we'd been leisurely building for a couple of months. Because the old water station was closing at the end of June, we were now in a big hurry to complete the trailer and add it's 200 gallon capacity to our 325 gallons the old International could safely haul. We'd gotten back from our shopping in Yucca Vallery to our home at noon, had a fast light, meal of Walmart Trail Mix, and red seedless grapes, and then took our old, very light Colt on the trip to find the NEW water station we'd have to travel to when the old one was closed. I decided on taking the little Colt for the drive to the new water station, because it did very well on sand trails. It could navigate most of them without getting stuck.... We found the new station and it was not too far away only--according to the trip meter--12.4 miles each way.. The big problem was, the route to the new station was on busy streets. One main thoroughfare, Adobe Road, is amost a freeway with Marines and contractors heading to the main gate of the 29 Palms Marine Corps base and sometimes traveling way over the 55 mph speed limit. Hauling almost 3000 pounds of water through stop and go traffic in an old truck is not a lot of fun. I was looking for a dirt trail route, that would by-pass the heavy traffic, when I blasted the Colt up a sand trail and lodged it axel deep in soft sand.. Very, very stupid of me! Fortunately we were stuck only about a mile off a main road, and it wasn't as hot as it usually gets the first part of June, and.... it was still daylight when I was in a hurry and being reckless. Marisol sat down on the beautiful white sand beside where I was digging a hole in front of the driver's side rear wheel, in order to place a jack to lift the little car and slide the piece of plywood under the tire. "It looks pretty bad, David," Marisol said. "I think I'd better call Bailey's to come and pull us out..." I put the jack, a damned screw jack I thought I'd thrown away and replaced with a small hydrualic one, down in the hole I'd dug, crawled back up, and got out the fresh water we always carried in all our vehicles, opened the gallon jug, and gave the jug to Marisol. She drank a large amount and I did too. Marisol was dressed in light bluejeans and a white short-sleeved sweatshirt. I wanted to take a picture of her, but as always she said "NO way!" After we'd lifted both rear wheels from the sand, and had the rear wheels sitting on plywood, and bits and pieces of old planks found near where we'd gotten stuck, I was satisfied when we got pulled out, the muffler of the little car wouldn't be torn off. By the time the tow truck arrived, and pulled us out, it was almost seven, and the dogs were very happy to see us when we finally made it home. I was darned reckless. People die out here on the desert from getting stuck in the sand and becoming dehydrated while trying to dig themselves out. We didn't find a route that would take our truck around the heavy traffic. But I did take some pictures of the new station, and the notice telling of the closeing of the old water station... Friday afternoon, June 3rd, 2011--Stardust   |
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Thank you sweet and distinguished lady! Cell phones, even in this remote desert area, work in most places, and certainly save a lot of grief compared to the days when one had to walk out and try to find a landline phone to call for help! xxxxdavid
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You are so intuitive, Rick. I DID tear the muffler loose. I jacked the car up early this morning to check on it, and the clamps holding the exhaust pipe on are bent and loose. I can fix it. Probably will tomorrow... On no! Tomorrow is the day we go for water while the old water station is still open, and by the time we get back it'll be too late and too hot.. Well, Monday then... I do all the work on that little car myself, unless it's something involving a lot of engine work. So far only little things have ever gone wrong with it..Like: water pump, stop light switch. Burned out tail lights, etc. xxxxdavid
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well my friend...another excellent piece of prose. Yes, I was stuck with you and was trying to figure out how I could help M maneuver the plywood to just the right spot. lol You mentioned in a response that it was a money issue. How many people use that watering station? How much "extra" (time and money) will you spend driving to the other one? How much do they need to break even? Maybe there is a middle ground...enough people paying a little extra to keep it open. Good luck in any case my friend...and be careful. Bob Of course we're careful with our money, and don't like to throw it away, but in the worse case scenario we could have a well drilled. It would cost around $10,000.00 and we could afford that, but the regulations in this area on wells are what keeps us from wanting to do it. Permits, a water meter read anytime they want to by state authorities, PERMITS, strange people in our little paradise, having the water tested all the time for purity, etc...If necessary we'll just buy another newer, safer truck so we can make the more difficult and longer trip to the new station safely.... Although I've been driving that old International for over 35 years and hate to junk it.. I wrote a long email to the owner of the local radio station, and he returned an answer to me that he'd called the Director of the Water District on our behalf, and asked if it was possible for the water company to extend the cutoff time on "our" station until the end of the hottest weather.. I also got the email address of the water company and wrote the Director an email asking the same thing. Could the water company extend the time before shutting that water station down? One gets more flies with honey than with vinegar, and I was courteous in all the talking and writing, as was Marisol. Of course, she's always polite. xxxxThanks for the great suggestions... david
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well my friend...another excellent piece of prose. Yes, I was stuck with you and was trying to figure out how I could help M maneuver the plywood to just the right spot. lol You mentioned in a response that it was a money issue. How many people use that watering station? How much "extra" (time and money) will you spend driving to the other one? How much do they need to break even? Maybe there is a middle ground...enough people paying a little extra to keep it open. Good luck in any case my friend...and be careful. Bob Peace is my sister. wgf And please...the name is Bob...not clit.  watch [blog clitlick4you]
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Earlier in this same day we got stuck, we went to the water office and spoke with them. It's all about money. Not enough people are using the station we use to cover the cost of keeping it open. M. and I are both resigned to the fact we'll just have to go to the one farther away through the traffic. Probably if we go very early Sunday mornings, the traffic will be light. Years ago when I found M. was adamant about having her picture taken I thought to myself perhaps she was wanted by the cops somewhere. It had to do with her father's death the day after she took his picture.... He dropped dead of a heart attack. I don't think she's wanted anyplace LOL. I just figure it's one of the little things about her I find adorable, and don't try to talk her out of the belief that pictures steal our souls. She THINKS I"m indestructible, and doesn't mind taking pictures of me.. I always kid her when she snaps one of me and tell her she wants me to die early so she'll have this house--which she loves, loves, loves--to herself. xxxxdavid
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yes glad to hear you got home safely I've been stuck so many times in years past, I've lost the count.. Cell phones are real lifesavers today. xxxxdavid
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yes glad to hear you got home safely silky... 
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Thank you Smarty. Marisol has been caught by the sand a few times too. I should know better but these off road trails still catch me every few months. Cell phones are a real lifesaver out here. They've saved many lives of people lost or stranded in this big desert. I'm really lucky Marisol puts up with me. xxxxdavid
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