A Close Call

Louis Hart
Nov 3 · 2 min read
Image by skeeze from Pixabay

I was on my way back from a stay in Red River, New Mexico. After spending the night near Amarillo I headed over to check out Palo Duro Canyon, a place I had heard glowing reports about. I figured if I liked it I would find a spot to park the camper, and stay there overnight.

Upon arrival, as I drove through the canyon, I suddenly had a feeling of unease. The area was truly beautiful yet it seemed to be enveloped in a sort of gray pall. Although the sky was clear I simply couldn’t shake the gloom and it seemed to be worsening by the minute. Finally, I could stay no longer. I had to get away from there. I turned the truck around and left with an urgency I didn’t understand.

Once I was away from the canyon my feelings lightened so much I felt almost dizzy, yet I kept wondering what was it that had driven me so relentlessly to flee such a beautiful place.

I continued driving without any real sense of where I was going. Finally, as the daylight faded and night came on I realized I was near Possum Kingdom Lake. I was really tired from all of the driving so I turned onto a road that went along the shoreline. There were several good camping spots but they were all taken. As I backtracked toward the highway I glimpsed a wide dirt area that was empty. I pulled into it and drove to the far side where there were some trees. As I got out and walked around to get into the camper I could hear the water of the lake lapping against the rocks below. I also noticed it seemed to have gotten incredibly dark. I looked up at the sky but could see no stars. I shrugged and climbed into the camper. Within minutes I was sound asleep.

The next morning dawned dreary and gray. I remembered I had been jolted awake during the night by a terrible storm, complete with vicious lightning, thunder, torrential rain, and gusty winds.

When I climbed out of the camper I quickly found out why nobody else was parked there. The whole place was a sea of mud. I started the truck and after only a few dicey moments I was able to get back on the road.

Not long after I arrived back home a friend phoned to ask me if I had heard the news. Several hours after I had left Palo Duro Canyon there had come such torrential rains that it had flooded. Officials had been forced to evacuate campers from the canyon and there were some people still stranded by the high water.

Whew. Was that ever a close call.

Weeds & Wildflowers

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Louis Hart

Written by

I’ve been a writer and photographer for more years than I want to try and count. My preferred genre is whatever comes forth when I sit down to write.

Weeds & Wildflowers

Stories of Dennett (Wildflower) & Ben (Weed) & Our Guests

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