Taking the Long Way 'Round

Once upon a time, I thought my senior year was my last year at the College, doing College-type things. But, as we all know, that was not true. So my "last time" on a service trip to Hurley was not, in fact my last time. This past week I headed back to my favorite Virginia mountain town.

Seven of us headed out in Benny, the CCM minivan, for a journey full of side stops. We were meeting my brother in Blacksburg for lunch; we were picking up one more CCMer at her home, south of Hurely. One of the CCMers suggested we stop by a landmark on our way down; our iPod jack broke fairly early on, so we stopped in Charlottesville for another CCMer to grab his.

The trip was full of rain, good music, and fun conversation. Luckily, Benny had just gotten new windshield wipers, so we were armed and ready. Our first excitement on the trip came at Exit 180 off of I-81. We hopped on Rt. 11 southbound in order to catch a glimpse of a famous landmark. We drove by Natural Bridge and the drive-through Safari Zoo, until we found... FOAMHENGE! If you imagined what it might be like, you would probably be right. We stopped on Rt. 11 long enough to take a good hard look before a car came up behind us and we had to keep going.

By now the rain was coming down enthusiastically. During our stop in Blacksburg, we received news : it was snowing in Marion, the tiny town that was our next stop. It was snowing in Hurley too, but not sticking on the roads. The rain held for us until just outside of Marion -- then the precipitation and the roadside turned white. However, using the internet and the knowledge of locals, we mapped out a route on less treacherous roads.

Outside of Marion, we left I-81 and headed into the mountains. Nothing compares to the beauty of southwest Virginia, even in the grey murkiness of winter sludge. We wound our way through snow-spattered valleys with over-filled creeks for a bit, and then (to the sound of "Appalachian Spring") started up the mountain. The road grew narrow -- really, one car's width -- and we started to see snow on the road. One of the CCM men was behind the wheel, and he began to feel it. We slowed down, and I felt completely safe and comfortable.

Until we rounded a curve and found a snowplow.

It took up almost all the road, We took up almost all the road. With a two car caravan, we couldn't back down. It did not look about to back down.

At this point, I recalled how stage coaches used to solve this dilemma. Both drivers would disembark and disassemble the stagecoaches. They would pass each other piece by piece and reassemble. This method did not appear to be an option.

We sat, stopped, in a chilly game of chicken for a moment or two. Then the snowplow began to back up. Not back down the mountain - it was edging closer to the side of the mountain -- to allow us to pass -- along the drop-off edge of the road. When it had cleared enough space that I would not want to pass in my little red sedan, it stopped. And waited for us to pass.

Our group took a collective breath, and my rosary made its way from my wrist to my hand. After a few tense second... we made it past.

After that, the trip was a walk in the park. Eleven hours since our departure, we arrived at the Hurley Community Center, ready to be orientated and begin our week.