With school being out for the summer and nothing but time on his hands, Shilo spent his free time pacing around the house getting on Carrie's nerves. (Carrie is Shilo's beautiful wife). With money being tight during the summer, which always seemed to be the case, Shilo was like a vegetarian at a beef lovers convention. Always in the way, or felt so anyway!
Next door to Shilo lived his twin granddaughters, Dawn and Lynn, and his youngest granddaughter, Danielle. They lived with their parents Russell, who was a truck driver, and Denise, who worked part time and spent most of the rest bringing Danielle along. Danielle was only four months old and pretty as the rainbow God puts in the sky, but a hand full none the less!
It was on a clear and brisk spring like morning that Shilo teamed up with his twin granddaughters and began an adventure that none will soon forget! A back pack, a pocket knife, and three old tobacco sticks was all they felt they needed. Shilo had gone into the mountains numerous times since moving to Whip-Poor-Will Farm some twenty years ago. On several of those hikes he had taken Dawn and Lynn with him. Sliding off with just a quick shout to Denise that they would be back later, the journey began. Blinky and Precious jogged along (the dogs of the farm) along with Misty, the cat that was shared by both families.
Along the hike there were many stops and discoveries! Exploring a giant ant hill three feet above the ground, every year the hill would be poked and prodded and every year the ants would build it back, bigger than ever. Walking through Twin Falls, a special place that was named several years ago where the mountain waters run through the rocks and over the cliffs, was a must see stop. The many trees, hidden play houses, the camping spots that J.D., Shilo's son had made use of during his high school years (although lately the use of four wheel drives had replaced hikers), and the Snipe hunting spot where several had spent long hours in the dark late hours of a summer's night trying to catch the skillful and elusive Snipe. These were all locations visited time and time again by the trio, great memories. That day, Shilo and his granddaughters had a hunger for more, to dare to go into the mountains thick with vines and trees where they had not been before. The girls were getting older now (almost eight) and were excited and anxious to venture on! Shilo was always tickled by the girls, and they were certainly one of the most precious joys of his life. A quick check of his watch and the all systems go was given by a wild hoooooot hoot hoot. The special call the girls and Shilo had for one another had been around for years. The time was 11:00 a.m., and lots of time to venture on and still be back by dark! The climb was hard over the north side of the mountain. The terrain was steep and the footing was unsure. The trio used a side to side pattern to climb the mountain, helping one another along the way. When the top ws finally reached, a great sense of accomlishment was felt. Finding a good spot to sit, where the logs of the fallen trees formed a perfect triangle, the three sat down for a well deserved drink of cool water, and the splitting up of two bananas and one and a half Twix bars (Dawn had to have an energy boost part way up the mountain). It was a beautiful location, the crystal blue skies were barely visible through the tall oak and hickory trees. There were signs of wild life all around them, the rubbing of a buck, the droppings of rabbit and deer, feathers of various types of birds, and chipmonks galore! Following the break, all decided that they could go over the top and around the mountain long before it was time to be home, it was 2:45 p.m.. They took turns leading the way down the paths. The excitement was subsiding, and the girls legs soon began to lose the bounce they once had. The journey had out lived its fun, and following a quick meal it ws decided by all to head back home. There was barely any water left, so Shilo let the girls have what was left, along with several broken graham crackers. Lynn went one direction collecting berries as Dawn used her shirt to retrieve several nuts that were found on the leaf covered ground. Shilo used the knife to scrape the inner bark off several trees. Soon the meal was shared by all. The meal filled no one but complaints were not spoken. Lynn thought she heard the calling of her Mother letting Dawn and Lynn know it was time to come in. Whether it was Denise calling or a bird screeching, the sound was not repeated. It was time for the day to end, time to come off the mountain. Darkness soon came to the woods, and the trio quickened their pace to get out of the maze before dark. The time was 8:30 p.m.. Shilo soon realized that one path looked like another, and the silhouette of the trees upon the darkening sky seemed to repeat itself over and over. They were lost! Nothing had to be said to the girls, they could see it on their PapPap's face. Seeing him look like this frightened Dawn and Lynn, they always thought that Shilo knew everything and could do anything, their confidence was fading. Shilo, trying to comfort the girls, began singing a song and took the lead down the darkened path. The noise of Shilo falling through the unseen washed out cavern could be heard by the angels! The sound of breaking branches and moist soil giving way was ended only by the thud of Shilo's body as it reached the bottom of the cave-like cliff. Dawn and Lynn began sobbing and crying for their Pap. The silence of the woods was frightening to them, but the dark peace was broken by the sound of the roar of a mountain lion! The girls wanted their PapPap, or at least the company of their family pets, but they had long since headed back towards home. Another roar, this time closer.....and followed by a deep growling sound. Their minds were quick to respond to danger. Dawn, being slightly larger than Lynn, developed the plan. The girls had been taught to respond to difficult situations with a cool head. Lynn was quickly instructed by her sister to scream out and then to lie motionless....no matter what! Dawn then climbed the oak branch over top of Lynn. Dawn carried a stick....a big stick. As the cougar drew closer to Lynn, roaring and showing its teeth, Lynn followed Dawn's instructions to the letter. She was as still as the scuvy pillow on her bed, and oh how she wished she were there! As soon as the cougar was directly over top of Lynn, and right under Dawn, she came crashing down on the cougar. Dawn was screaming like a mad woman and bringing the stick down across the cougar's skull as she leaped from the tree! What happened next was unclear to the girls, there they lay, Lynn on the bottom with the cougar on top of her and Dawn on top of the cougar. Something suddenly grabbed the girls by the feet and began dragging them out of the cougar's reach. It was their PapPap, the girls scrambled to their feet and the trio went running down the mountain. They ran until they could run no more! As they fell to the ground exhausted, it was only then they realized they were in the rock bottom creek, the one that ran by their home. The dogs came running out to lick them and welcome them! Denise and Carrie scooped up the girls and lovingly carried them into the safety of their home. As for Shilo, he was satisfied to lay in the creek, smile, and think what a great story this would be.....but would anyone believe it?