A Hot Drive Home
Heat, ma'am! It was so dreadful here that I found there was nothing left for it but to take off my flesh and sit in my bones.
-- Sydney Smith
Sunday, July 30, 2000
Wow! A rare day -- I didn't write on this day in any previous year of this journal!
Jack wanted to get another raft trip in, before we left for home today. The crew consisted of Jack, the neighbor, and me. We put in at Jack's parents' place again, and took out at Pitt, some miles past the downstream town of Klickitat where we were yesterday. A nice float, and it was early enough not to be too hot. Jack did take us too close to some serious tree branches, though. The neighbor and I could duck down into the raft, but Jack was stuck in his row frame at the back. No serious harm done, but a D-ring ripped out and will need to be reattached to the raft.
Jack had spoken sternly to H---- about having all her stuff packed when we got back. I think she did accomplish this. It was really getting hot when we returned to the house, which contributed to frayed tempers. I was sitting in the basement at the computer. Suddenly Jack was shouting and his daughter was crying. My heart sank. If this didn't get resolved or calmed down, it would be a long drive back!
I didn't try to discuss with Jack what happened, but I think he might have had some qualms about it -- he kept justifying himself to his parents, but it sounded to me like he was trying to convince himself that he'd handled it correctly.
By the time the car was packed and the raft was buttoned down on its trailer, things seemed almost back to normal.
* * * * * * * *
It was fiendishly hot by the time we actually left. I'd have cheerfully given up the last raft trip, if it would have meant us leaving in the cooler part of the day. Ah, well... As we drove up the canyon and up the zig-zag road to Goldendale, Jack teased me about my black jeans. They were extra warm when the sun shone down into the car, but that's what I had to wear. We stopped at the grocery store for snacks and beverages. I was pleased by Jack's selection of a large bottle of club soda -- I like club soda or sparkling water (and he picked it with me in mind), but this bottle wasn't chilled, and would only be getting warmer in the car.
Jack had a heat crisis on the way into Toppenish. He was feeling very tired, so I suggested he buy a can of Jones Soda company's Whoopass. It's an energy drink. Also, we got coke slurpees for each of us, and cigars (for Jack, only). The can of Whoopass tasted rather nasty (we all sampled it) but I guess it did the job.
We made it across the nothingness between Yakima and Ellensburg, refilling our slurpee cups with the warm club soda (so it did come in handy). We really didn't want to get dehydrated.
* * * * * * * *
At Ellensburg, we had an early dinner at a "Mexican" restaurant. Jack spilled his iced tea in my direction, and apologized profusely. No harm was done, so no big deal. The restaraunt lost points for service, though, when the staff made no attempt to help us clean it up! I thought they should have swept down and taken over, made it all dry again. humph!
I asked Jack how he had dealt with the heat when he'd lived with his folks on the Klickitat, after he got out of the Air Force. "Not well!" But he'd spent a lot of time soaking in the river, as we did last night. When he'd been stationed in Turkey, he'd really suffered!
As we drove the gradual slope up to Snoqualmie Pass, the weather was more and more comfortable. On the Seattle side, it was great! Jack and H--- dropped me off, and continued their trip north to Bellingham.
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