From The Heights. #19 Memories.

Good morning on this cool, cloudy Saturday! I must say, this has been one of the most cloudy years I have ever seen. But the sun is shining so beautifully in my window, just hitting the side of my bookcase causing the golden color of the pine wood to really glow which seemed to flood the whole room with a satisfying and comfortable look.

I love pine. It just has a real outdoor feel to it and it brings a warm atmosphere to any room. Actually, I like wood of all kinds, due to its natural look and feel. Oh, yes, it is cloudy this morning, but there was a small break in the clouds for a few minutes, that is why the sun was shining in here. It is gone now however.

An island on the lake in fall beauty.

Now to go way back. My friend Krissy wanted to join me on one of my “exploring” trips. She was brave, considering she knew the problems that sometimes found me while I was out exploring places. She was 18 at the time, I was 28. We picked a day in the summer and off we went one morning driving down some country roads looking for an abandoned place to explore.

We ended up driving down one road, then turned off on what was more like a trail than a road. But it was wide enough for my car, just barely. At one point there was a rather steep hill to go down. I looked at it. Easy to go down, but might be difficult to come back up. Krissy said we should try it, so off we went. It was good and solid so coming back will not be a problem.

A different island showing off its fall splendor.

We went around a curve and saw a couple of crumbling buildings before us, and the end of the road as well. We got out and looked around. We each had a good solid pole to carry, just in case we discovered an old well. There was a well, but it was well marked, so that was good. One building was the house, or what was left of it anyway. We walked carefully around the part that was still standing.

Not much in it, a couple broken wood chairs, a broken table, some cupboards, two old iron beds in one room that we did not go in due to the roof having collapsed in that section many years ago. There was a cellar with stairs that seemed to be solid enough. So I ventured down while Krissy stayed up top, just in case something happened to me.

The beauty of golden yellow.

Good thing I brought a flashlight with me. Half way down I heard a creaking sound, then a cracking sound, then… thump! The stairs and I landed on the dirt floor. I was not hurt, but it was going to be a little hard getting out now. But Krissy remembered that we saw an old ladder outside, so she went and brought it in, sticking it down into the cellar.

We had not been paying attention, but it had gotten cloudy and now it began to rain. Amazingly that ladder held me and out I came. That old roof was not doing much to stop the rain which was coming down quite heavily now. Which meant we were getting wet.

Looking north of town.

We ran for the car and were soaked by the time we got to it. Water was running down the hill which made it impossible to drive up, so we had to wait until it stopped raining, some 3 hours later. Since we were wet anyway, we decided to keep looking around that old place in the rain.

We did not find anything too interesting, but we did have fun anyway, and that is the most important part. It looks like it is going to rain today as well. There is supposed to be showers, I think. Oh well, it is still a nice day. I hope you enjoy the fall pics today. Have a great weekend everyone and God bless!

Steve and Muffin.

©2023 Steve McLeod.