Drip Drip Drop Little July Showers

I'm having a hard time coming up with a title for this blog.

Rain, rain, go away.

Country Roads, let me go home.

Why I'm calling in to work tomorrow.

Slip and Slide.

FLOOD!

Any of the above are appropriate.  I will start at the beginning.  Wait.  Let's go back two days.  All I have to say is that I sat in this chair at our bonfire.  The creek was a good 15 feet away, and flowing at about one foot deep, two feet wide.  It was nowhere near the height or breadth of it's banks, which at capacity are about four feet deep and six feet (give or take) wide.

Foot soak anyone?

Once upon a time, or today at five fifteen in the evening, I sat in my car contemplating driving home in the pouring rain.  Should I give it a go?  Should I head over to Kate's until it subsides?  Eh? Go for it, you can always turn around.

I wasn't three blocks from work, driving on Hill Avenue when I hit my first huge flood puddle.  The road is half paved, so water was pooling everywhere, and  It was raining so hard I could barely see.  Maybe I should turn around.......  Nope.  I'm going home.  There were several other deep spots along the route in town, and at the edge of town in south end my lane of traffic had to drive in the turning lane in the middle of the road.  (Maybe you should turn around?  Nope.  I'm going home.)  I should at some point tell you that my lil black car is about the lowest rider that they make.  It wouldn't take much water to stall me.

The highway portion of my drive was fabulous.  No water on the roads at all, even down by the old Nemaji river, which is famous for flooding over.  I tried not to get cocky, after all you can pretty much count on trouble with highway B.  Here a creek, there a creek, everywhere a....... you get it.  I almost made it.  Almost.

About half a mile (HALF A FREAKING MILE) from home, I come around the corner after Meierotto (yes, Marty Meierotto from Mountain Men grew up just miles from my house) Road and that is the end of the line.  There is a vehicle turning around in front of me, and the road is washed out.  Or at least the edges are gone, and there's a creek runnin' through the rest.  S.H.I.T.

So I turn around, and try to call "The Man", who OF COURSE doesn't answer his phone.  I left some babbling message, and then got to the business of driving, because that lane of the highway is also under construction, and flooding before my eyes.  

I made it out to the highway without incident, and  I whipped out my phone, called 911 and reported the damage.  My call went through to Duluth, they transferred to Superior, the call was bad....... lots of back and forth, but I finally made it clear what and where, and the highway department was called out. Now, to get home.  There's only one other way, and if the creeks are going over................  time to get moving.

So I headed up to "the junkyard people road".   Not the name of course, but that's my landmark.  That road wasn't too bad.  It's gravel, but no traffic, and I only had to drive around one downed tree.  Then I turned onto the Polish road.  I know it's going to come out right in front of the field that's directly in front of our house.  Home.  Let's go!  It's gravel, it's a lot of up and down.  It's.........washing away.......... son of a...... just drive.  It's going to be alright.  Keep an eye for big holes, these little cracks are ok...........you're almost home.  Almost there.  What is that?  Oh crap.  Maybe I should turn around.  Nope, I'm going home.  Drive on the left, the deep part is on the right.  Just GO!  Not again.  Just GO!  Turn left out onto highway B, about midway between the washed out road and home.  Left turn, drive, left turn, home.  WHEW

I was almost in tears when I came in the front door, and that seemed to get The Man's attention, because it is not normal.  I blurted out my adventure, ending with "I don't know how the hell we're getting out of here tomorrow, everything is washing out."  He went and retrieved his phone from his truck, (That MAN....) and I started finding dry comfy clothes.  (No, I didn't pee my pants.  It's was raining hard.  lol)

We assembled back in the kitchen, and started to discuss dinner when I looked out the window.  "Oh my God!  The creek!"  He had told me this was possible, but in my mind I could never quite imagine it.  Plus, he tells very tall tales, most of the time.  We grabbed our shoes, and the camera, and headed out to see if we could save anything from the bonfire area.

Even full you shouldn't see the creek from this vantage point.

I came home from work in my good Crocs, that have tread.  I wasn't thinking and I popped on the Crocs I have by the back door.  I took one step onto the wet stairs and went flying down all four of them.  Classic. Painful.  Nothing broken, bruised arm, bruised butt, and pride.  Although my right ankle is pretty sore.

The creek is a raging river on the other side of the property.  On this side it is just quietly seeping, creeping closer to the bottom of the big garden.  Please no!  Ugh.  All that work.  Thank Goodness the house sits high on a hill.  I can't think of any scenario where it would be possible for it to reach here.

Look.  It's the Brown Eyed Man.  Really! 

We saved the chairs, and the big pitch fork.  My lil one might be gone.  Hard to say what will be left of the wood pile we've been building from the downed trees.  Perhaps the big tree that fell across the creek was swept away, and we wont have to deal with it.  I sure couldn't see any sign of it. Time will tell.

We walked around the property, and down to get the mail, since we were both soaked anyway.  Flashing lights were coming from the right, where the highway department was working on whatever happened where that creek is.  The Brown Eyed Man walked down to the left to check out our creek at the culvert.  It was smashing up against it, about four feet from the top.  Our driveway is also flooding on the end (as is the neighbors whole yard) from the ditch overflowing.  

As I am writing this almost three hours later, the water has receded on this side of the creek already.  It's still raging on the other side.  Did it create a new path, or did it over flow the road?  We are afraid to look..............  at least that isn't the way to town.  If there is a way to town tomorrow?  It's still coming down, and looks to be that way for most of the night.

♫ Row, row, row, your boat gently down the creek.  I wish I had my red Wellies, but alas, they sprang a leak. ♫