I Didn't Expect That
ENCORE: A City Girl Moves to Rural Kentucky - episode 1
I have a 20-25 minute drive when I wish to “go to town”. There are a number of different routes which can be taken, some of which add more miles, some of which add more smiles. One of those routes goes past Dirt Nasty Off-Road Park. For the last few months I’ve driven past the sign for this park, but I’ve never stopped. I know that may seem strange, but you have to realize this is the rural mountain area of eastern Kentucky; this is, in fact, Appalachia. It is filled with stunning mountainous landscapes, staggeringly beautiful rock-faced cliffs, and deep green valleys dotted with working farms and barns slowly being reclaimed by mother nature.
It is also filled with people who care about their neighbors, but for the most part would rather just be left alone to happily and quietly live their lives. Don't bother us. So, I think it's not very surprising that I don't always turn down roads when I cannot see where the other end of it might be. However, I had Shawn along today and that gave me the boost I needed to turn into the long, winding gravel driveway that led to the off-road park.
I slowly navigated down the drive, head on a swivel taking in what was around. We sat looking not only for a dirt track or obvious entrances to trails, but anyone who might be welcoming us with a shotgun. The place seemed deserted, and while we saw a large pavilion and plenty of parking area, we did not encounter a single human. As I was feeling the urge to continue the journey to town, and not experiencing enough bravery to exit the truck and explore on foot, I made a u-turn and left the property. Having a friend along only goes so far when you aren’t sure a place is “open” or if someone has just forgotten to close the gate.
After a productive afternoon of running errands and sampling the offerings at the brewery in town, we headed home. With Shawn along for the ride, I felt comfortable pulling over to the side of the road when a man with a broken down SUV flagged us down, waving his arms above his head. As we approached the car, we both agreed his broken axle was way beyond our scope of assistance. But, all Dave actually asked for was a charging cable that was compatible with his android phone. He had called his insurance company, who had called a tow truck company and he had 1% of his battery left as he waited for a call from the tow truck driver. While I didn't have that particular cable in the truck, there was a Dollar General right down the street. We told him to hang tight and we would go grab one for him.
We returned about 10 minutes later, and Dave was very grateful for the cable. He immediately plugged it into his truck and then told us the bad news he had just been given by another passerby. He had two dogs in the back of his SUV, and was told the tow company would not take his truck if he had the dogs. Well, as it turns out I love dogs. And as it turns out, Dave lives about half a mile from me, over down in the next holler.
So we got down to the task of transferring dogs from his SUV to my truck. We loaded up Lucky, a sweet and goofy golden mutt, to take back to Dave’s house. When his intact Doberman did not seem at all in the mood to get into the back of my truck, we made a deal that we would deliver the one dog to his house. When Dave’s tow truck was ready, we would come back and pick him and his Doberman up together. It just seemed like a better move for everyone, all around.
I headed back towards my house, and a half mile further on I turned up Turkey Ridge Road. We found his house quite easily and unloaded Lucky from the truck. However, the moment we closed the gate on the fence, Lucky ran directly for a corner, slithered under the fence, ran back to my truck and gracefully leapt into the backseat of my truck through the open door I was in the process of closing. It all happened so quickly, I had no time to react. I stood for a moment and stared at him while he looked down at me, panting, with what I swear was a self-satisfied grin.
Leaving him in the yard was out. There was no way he'd stay there. Since no one around here locks their doors, we went and opened the door to the house and coaxed Lucky inside. I figured Dave must know about the hole in the fence and would be fine with Lucky being inside. What could go wrong?
Mission accomplished - we hopped back into the truck and figured this adventure was pretty much coming to a close. However, as we headed out of the holler we were stopped by what at first appeared to be three dogs. They were jumping around the truck, barking and letting us know we were not welcome there. And as we sat in the truck - stopped, as I didn’t want to accidentally run anyone over - I realized this was directly in front of the very first house I went and looked at two years prior, when we first discovered this area.
Shawn and I chatted as we glanced around, deciding I had chosen a much better holler to settle in. Then I turned my attention back to the task at hand - how to get around the dogs defending this stretch of road. I looked closer at the three dogs and realized immediately how wrong I had been about analyzing the situation. We see what we expect to see, and I saw three dogs defending their territory. And then I looked again. One of those guard dogs wasn’t a dog, but a goat. Because…Kentucky.
I never know quite what to expect out here, and I am getting more comfortable with the not knowing. I suppose that if I expect to be a lifelong learner, I need to not be shocked by the discovery of things such as guard goats. Take it in stride and exit the holler, Louise.