Blue Bus Guest Cleanup

We took a Sunday drive to visit our old blue bus that lives in the forest, high on the cliffs above the river.  Even though it's only a forty-five minute drive from our little farmhouse, I haven't had a weekend bus get-away for over a year.  For years the bus was our wild place of escape from our city jobs and suburban home.  A place to get away from it all.  Now that we live away from it all, all the time, the bus has been neglected.  But not forgotten.  

Just like we always used to do, I packed a picnic basket and filled the coffee thermos while Brandon assembled a box of tools.  While we loaded the trunk of our car with our supplies, we played keep-away with Wendigo, who tempted us with her toys.  Sorry, Wendi, you are too big to enjoy a ride in the car all the way to the bus.  Besides, someone has to stay home and keep on eye on those silly goats.  This was my first trip to the bus without Puck, and I couldn't shake the feeling that I was forgetting something important.  

The entrance gate was so overgrown with vines and bushes that we missed it the first time we drove by.  We were glad to see that it wasn't easy access, since we have had problems with people dumping their trash on our property in the past.  This time, there was only one new garbage pile near the road, but it was topped with a giant mattress and box springs.  Sigh.

The little clearing we made years ago, to park our truck, was thick with green plants.

I walked slowly behind Brandon as he blazed a trail through the vegetation.  It was like walking into a jungle.  Birds and insects were filling the forest with sound, and beams of sunlight filtered through the tall canopy so that we walked through beams of warm light and through patches of cool shade.  Leaves brushed against our legs and we had to duck our head under branches.  A toad hopped along in front of me.  

Right before the curve in the trail, when the bus becomes visible, I always get nervous that we will find a fallen tree on the bus, or to see that vandals have burned it or busted the windows.  There it is!  It was free of fallen trees or scorch marks.  Whew.  

We've had bus guests since we've been there.  They left a bit of mess to clean up, but at least they didn't ruin everything.  We did a quick survey of the bus and the surrounding area, then swept all the leaves from the back deck, set up the table, and had a picnic in the filtered sunlight while we admired our trees.  This property has some of the most beautiful trees.  Especially giant sugar maples.   We could hear the drumming of woodpeckers echoing from the cliffs across the river.    

The front door, which was getting soft anyway, was open and broken.  There were empty water and Gatorade bottles, some canned food, and lots of empty candy wrappers.  Also cigarette butts, a mans sweatshirt, and a few pillows.  Some of our things, like some nice old oil lamps, metal tins, and some old tools were missing.  Brandon said it was nice that our guests had enough energy to carry off our things, but didn't pack out their trash.  I thought it was funny that they took the time to hang those tree shaped air fresheners.  They must not care for the musty forest and diesel oil smell that lingers in the bus.  

We bagged up the garbage, cleaned a few birds nest out of the sink, picked up the shed snake skins from the floor, and removed a wasp nest.  We patched the front door back together, and have some plans for building a new one.  One of the back windows is leaking, and the wood floor underneath is rotting.  I want to replace the wood stove with one that works better.  I can see many more days at the bus in my future.