Goodbye Caboose!

This is the last of this four part story.  

 

If you missed part three, just click here.

 

We slept.

 

It was an uneasy sleep.

 

At least mine was.

 

I kept having dreams about zombies chasing me.

 

I think it was from the wind making scary noises through the caboose.

Or perhaps it was from being incredibly thirsty.

 

I finally startled awake.

 

It was pitch black.

 

And dead silent in the caboose.

 

I reached out and touched the metal wall close beside the bed.

 

It was freezing cold.

 

I couldn't hear Mr. Jenny breathing...

What a dilemma.

 

If he was in a sound sleep (lucky guy!) I didn't want to wake him.

 

On the other hand, if he was dead (not so lucky guy!) it would be good to know before too much more time elasped.

 

In a tiny, little voice I said, "Steve?  Steve?   Are you awake?"

 

His voice boomed out of the darkness.   "Thank God you're awake.   THANK GOD!  Can we go now?"

 

Obviously, he wasn't dead. 

 

The poor guy was just waiting for ME to wake up!

 

"I'm glad you're not dead," I said, "Are you freezing and all crinkled up from the bed being so short?"

 

He didn't answer for a moment and then he replied, and quite testily I might add, "Technically we slept in the caboose.  Let's just go."

 

"Okay, what time is it?   And not to be a whiner here, I really have to pee."

 

He fumbled in the darkness and a tiny ray of light from his watch illuminated the refrigerated depths of the caboose's dark interior.

 

"It's 3 am.   I have to pee, too.   Let's go!!!!"

 

We jumped out of bed.

 

Okay.

 

That's not totally true.

 

We got up slowly out of our indvidual beds.

 

Mr. Jenny turned the powerful beam of our teensy/weensy flashlight on.

(slight exaggeration here!)

Since we had slept in our clothes, it didn't take long to throw our few items into the duffle bag.

I did it ultra-fast even though I was doing the "I have to pee badly!" dance.

"I don't think I can make it across the tracks!" I whined to Mr. Jenny.

"Just hurry," he said, 'I'm freezing."

 

I did hurry.

 

But.

 

There is no way I was going to be able to make it to the bunkhouse and the bathroom.

 

Ummmm...

 

Let me just say that it's hard enough peeing outside when you're a girl...

 

...but just add howling wind, freezing cold, lumpy gravel to that equation.

 

Yeah.

 

It doesn't add up to anything very fun.

 

But!

 

I did it!

 

Then...

 

We threw everything in the truck!

 

We were both shivering like crazy.

 

Mr. Jenny started the truck while I grabbed a blanket out of the backseat.

 

D'oh.

 

Why didn't I take that blanket into the caboose to start with?

 

D'oh.

 

It was cold.

 

We were stinky from not taking a shower.

 

Our joints and muscles were totally crinked up.

 

Yeah.

 

"Let's go!" we shouted.   "Goodbye caboose!"

 

And we were off!

 

It was 3 am.

 

3 am.

 

So, technically, we actually did sleep in the caboose.

 

Just not very long.

 

And not very well.

 

We found a gas station after a few miles driving!

 

It had a bathroom.

 

And coffee.

 

Hot, steamy, caffeinated, yummy coffee.

 

And then we drove.

 

And drove.

 

The top picture was taken 137 miles away from the caboose!

 

Goodbye!

 

Goodbye Caboose!

 

The bottom picture is when the sun finally came up around 5:45 am!

 

Goodbye Caboose!

 

Hello sunrise!

So.

 

Yeah.

 

We stayed in the caboose.

 

We didn't have too many regrets!

 

Would we do it again?

 

Ummm...

 

Probably not!

 

But it was an experience.

 

And please don't tell Mr. Jenny, but I have my eye on a hotel shaped like a teepee that we're going to stay in next.

 

It looks really cool.

 

AND...

 

It has an indoor bathroom!

 

And then, of course, there's the yurts that look interesting...

 

AND...

 

Well.

 

For now never mind.

 

Just let me repeat one last time...with great gusto and enthusiasm...

 

Goodbye!

 

Goodbye Caboose!