Today, round two of the heinous sickness rests in the body of my eldest. Again, we were up all night. Again, with the gentle forehead kisses, exhausted bed and pj changes. It is most likely the same funk Ruby had so I am very hopeful for tomorrow. Ruby was mostly her spirited self after 36 deflated hours.
The weather seems to be of our barometer our health. The days have been gray and chilly when we are relegated to horizontal, indoor surfaces. The days have been brilliant and sun-warmed when we are active.
The morning Ruby’s rosy cheeks returned, we decided to get lost. She remained weak, most comfortable in my arms so our adventure needed to be a mellow one. We piled in the car, unsure of where we were headed when I remembered Garnet Ghost Town. We’ve driven past the little directional sign on highway 200 many times but had never taken that right turn and traveled 11 miles to the abandoned mining town.
The day was bright, the highway welcoming. We took off.
We drove under cottony clouds, over yellow striped asphalt, through larch ablaze. The change of scene propelled our conversation and humor. Hands at ten-and-two, I had a smile-inducing image in my rearview mirror: two chatty kids, one excited dog, the illness as a blurry roadkill.
Those 11 miles travel up up up a winding dirt road. The moment we began the ascent, we entered another universe. We only passed two cars and one biker as we slowly travelled, the forest thick and tall, an effervescent tunnel directing our way. We parked and walked over a ridge and into a quaint valley that 100 years ago held 1000 people searching for gold.
In this week’s mamalode column, I wrote about a day I had when I felt like I failed at everything. One where I had broken promises to my kids and didn’t fulfill work obligations. One where Margot delivered some powerful insight. I posted a link to the essay to facebook this morning and a friend wrote this, which I love:
Click to read mama digs: perfectly boring.
10 Comments
Garnet is great! My favorite part is the cemetery; fascinating to look at the tombstones and do the math to figure out how old someone was when they died.
ooh la la! Lipstick in a ghost town!
I just moved away from Lincoln and we drove by that turnoff frequently on our way to MSLA but never stopped with the family to check it out. Glad I went once while in college.
That was a journey worth taking; nothing like fresh air with new surroundings to heal.
Sorry about another day of illness.
They are rough times but when they are done they almost seem surreal.
Yes, kids are so wise…we need to listen to them more 🙂
SOrry to hear Margot is now down with the spew-sickness 🙁
Hope she’s better asap!
Love her insight and wisdom, in this week’s Mamalode. She’s amazing that little bug of yours!
x
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You IG picture from last week at the Ghost town brought soooo many childhood memories back for me. Our family trekking up a single-lane mountain road to Bourne, Oregon, avoiding near misses with logging trucks that were barreling down, full of stripped trees; all to visit the old mine and gold town that our family once owed. I remember wandering around the single lane town. A true ghost town. And my brother and I would come up with endless stories of what could have been. Thanks for putting a smile on my face. The memories burn strong in my heart and head.
P.S. Hope that Bug is feeling better.
Oh dear….here I go crying again (in my mind, anyway….my eyes well and my throat tightens, to be exact). I could say this about a lot of your Mamalode articles, but truly, truly I think THIS ONE is my favorite. Gosh!
That ghost town looks.awesome. Right up my alley…may need to travel just to see it. 😉
Glad both of your girls are feeling better — our youngest currently has her first fever of the season, after her longest stretch of health. So, not complaining, but it’s so hard to see our babies like that. Also, we aren’t dealing with puking (famous last words, I know), so feeling grateful for that.
Anyway, here’s to returned health, and to you and your hubby not catching it!
~Lisa
What a fun day trip! It is just so special that you can spend these kind of days with your little gals…these are wonderful memories being made…love you!
How cool, love the Ghost Town trip. We live in a little town in Alaska that also swelled with the gold rush. The old cabins and pictures around town are fun to look at and imagine it happening where you stand. A lot of history… Beautiful post as usual. Thanx
Hi there, just wanted to mention, I enjoyed this article. It was helpful. Keep on posting!