If you are just finding this, read part one of our road trip misadventure here. In a nutshell, on a recent trip to Door County, our family hit one crazy detour after another. We finally found ourselves in the middle of the night staring open mouthed at a tree blocking our path, just feet from our destination.
My husband and I both tend to stay fairly calm in unusual situations. Despite our initial numbed disbelief at the sight of the tree (after 7 hours of driving), my husband jumps into action. He tries to see if he can move the tree out of the way just enough to get our car through. It was a birch tree, so while big, it doesn't have a massive trunk. When he can't drag it in one piece, he starts breaking off limbs. This might work!
Branch after branch comes off as he works by the light of our headlights. I watch him do the heavy lifting in the warm car (I am not dumb) and pray that our daughter stays asleep. I am mentally calculating how to bundle her up (without waking her) and schlep her over the tree into the unknown darkness. Meanwhile, he keeps at it. At one point, I get out to help, with no luck. The trunk will not budge.
Off he goes with a dinky flashlight to find the entrance to the driveway while I stay in the car. Sure enough, the entrance is within sight. He waves and then he's down the driveway to see how far it goes. And to see if it is safe for us to go that way on foot.
This all sounds like a great plan, until he is gone for what seems a long time. I start to worry. Who knows what is down that path? What if he stumbles on another tree? Or worse, a downed power line? I try not to think of even worse things, the kind of things that creep in at 3:00 am on a dark country road. With no phone. Did I mention it's pitch black? I'm giving him five more minutes and then I'm going to...what? What can I do, with my daughter in the back seat? He's laying in a ditch from a downed power line and I am going to bring Emily along to help? Or leave her in the car?? He better get back here quick before I lose it. Calm under pressure, that's me.
Just in time I see a light shining from the direction of the cabin. Here he comes in his parent's car! I feel like the calvary has just shown up. Relief. What a good idea! I can put Emily in their car and we can get ours in the morning. Then I see him get out of the car -- with a handsaw! He's going to show the tree who's boss.
10 minutes later, I drive our car past the tree into the sanctuary of the cabin. At last. His parents are there to help us into the house, where we discover -- there's no electricity! No heat, water, or phone service. (It was out for two days due to a huge windstorm that hit Door County.) Still, there's a warm bed and sleep. Ahhh.
The name of the cabin? "The Refuge."
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