Rocky Mountain Rescue (Kristi Cameron Book 3) Page 3

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  CHAPTER THREE

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  Albert and His Squirrels

  By the time the group got back to the Bear Lake parking lot they were tired, thirsty and out of breath, but as soon as Steve mentioned another nearby hike they were ready to go. “This one is at Glacier Gorge,” he said. “It’s only about half a mile to a beautiful waterfall—Alberta Falls. If we wanted to hike another twelve miles or so we could go up the Gorge and see the glacier and more lakes and mountains and…”

  “Whoa, there, buddy boy!” Rachel cut in. “I’m all for seeing a beautiful waterfall, but another twelve miles! You have got to be kidding!”

  “Well, not really, but it’s too late in the day to go any further than Alberta Falls anyway.”

  “Then let’s go!”

  They jumped in the van for the short drive to the Glacier Gorge Junction trailhead. The parking lot there was small and packed with cars, but a van was backing out just as they pulled in. They headed up the trail at an easier pace than they had that morning. The afternoon sun filtered through the trees and they shed their jackets as they went along.

  “Dad, what are those?” Kristi suddenly exclaimed. Several squirrels were playing in the autumn leaves. They chased one another up and down trees and around their trunks, but they were unlike any squirrel Kristi had ever seen before. They were black and white, with long ears—almost like a rabbit’s. Their ears had tufts of fur on the ends which made them look even longer.

  “Those are Albert’s squirrels, Kristi,” Robin spoke up.

  “Albert? Albert who? Why did he let his squirrels loose in the park?” Skeeter asked. “And how do you know that, Robin?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe I read it somewhere. Anyway, that’s just their name, Skeeter.”

  “Well, maybe we should call Albert and tell him we found his squirrels!” Skeeter said with a twinkle in his eye. “I wonder if Albert is related to Alberta?” he added. “And how did Alberta fall?”

  “You two are so goofy!” Kristi laughed.

  “And so wrong!” Pete said. “They’re not Albert’s squirrels! They’re called Abert’s squirrels! Sometimes called tassel-eared squirrels. They’re named after a Colonel Abert, a naturalist and military officer back in the 1800’s who was mapping out the American West.”

  “There you go! Our walking, talking encyclopedia! Good job, Pete! We can all count on you to bring a little intelligence into the conversation!” Dan praised his best friend.

  “There’s the waterfall!” Anna called out just then. Fifty feet down the trail, Alberta Falls hit the stream below with a muffled roar. A crowd of tourists was gathered at the base taking pictures of the beautiful falls and of one another posing in front of the rush of water. The Cameron family and their friends gradually made their way to the prime picture-taking spot, and Steve asked a man standing nearby if he would mind taking their picture. The man agreed and soon they were arranged together on the rocks.

  Just as he was ready to snap the picture, Kristi caught a glimpse of someone familiar. A woman and little girl were following a young man back up the trail. They rounded the curve out of sight just as Kristi opened her mouth to call out.

  “Whoops! We’ll have to try again,” their photographer said. He looked at Kristi. “Young lady, you were looking the wrong way and you had your mouth wide open!”

  “But I saw…”

  “Say cheese!” the man ordered.

  “Cheese!” they all said obediently. He snapped the picture and handed the camera back to Steve. Kristi waited as patiently as she could while her parents chatted with the man and his wife for a minute. They finally thanked him once again and turned back to the teenagers.

  “Mom! Dad!” Kristi said in excitement. “I saw Patti again!”

  “Who?”

  “Patti-Cake! That little girl we saw at the airport yesterday! I just saw her and her parents a minute ago while we were taking the pictures.”

  “Oh, honey, you must be mistaken! They were going to the Children’s Hospital from the airport yesterday, weren’t they? What would they be doing here of all places?” her mom asked.

  “I don’t know, but I’m sure it was them. She even had her teddy bear.”

  “Lots of children carry their teddy bears around, Kristi. Maybe that’s why you thought it was the same little girl,” her dad said.

  Kristi didn’t say anything more, but she was still convinced that the little girl she had seen was Patti-Cake. She pressed forward eagerly as they left Alberta Falls, hoping they’d get back to the parking lot in time to run into the young family again.

  Patti and her parents were nowhere to be seen. The white minivan they had been driving the day before was not there, either. Kristi was disappointed. The special little girl had been on her mind off and on ever since she met her.

  The ride back to their campsite in Aspenglen did not take long. The day had been fun and invigorating, but now they were dragging. Skeeter began his usual whining for food, and this time the other guys were whining along with him. The girls were just relieved that there were no signs of a bear having invaded their camp.

  Rachel put everyone to work getting supper ready. The steaks they had bought frozen the day before had gradually thawed in the cooler and were ready to throw on the grill along with aluminum packets of sliced and seasoned potatoes. The girls put together a large salad and soon they were eating their simple but delicious dinner.

  It felt good to relax around the campfire that night after their strenuous day on the trails. They spoke of the beauty of God’s creation, and laughed again at Skeeter’s run-in with the chipmunks and gray jay.

  “I think I’d rather meet up with those chipmunks and that bird in a dark forest, though, than one of those Abert squirrels,” Robyn said. “I thought they were kind of creepy! They freaked me out!”

  Skeeter patted her on the shoulder. “Just stay close to me, Robyn! I’ll protect you!”

  “But who’s going to protect you, Skeeter?” Dan teased. “We saw how brave you were with the chipmunks!”

  “Oh, no! Here we go again!” Rachel groaned.

  “We can’t help it, Mom,” Skeeter said. “We’re just a bunch of city slickers out here in the wilderness! All these little critters make us nervous!”

  Steve laughed and said, “Well, then, let’s calm those ragged nerves and sing a few choruses around the campfire!” He started off with a praise chorus and the others joined in. The soft notes of their singing rose like the smoke from the fire and those camping nearby smiled at the sound. The fire had died down to a few glowing embers when they finally hugged goodnight and settled down for the night in their tents.

  For the second night in a row Kristi’s last thoughts before dropping off to sleep were of a mysterious little girl. It seemed so strange that their paths had crossed once again.

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  CHAPTER FOUR

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  Snowballs in September

  They were surprised to see a light dusting of snow on the ground when they woke up the next morning. It was chilly and they hurried through cleaning up in the unheated restrooms at the center of the campground. By the time they were ready Steve had the campfire roaring so they warmed up quickly as they ate their pancakes and sausage. Before breakfast was over, however, the sun had risen high enough to burn off the sprinkle of snow. It looked like it would be another beautiful day after all.

  “We’re going to take a drive up Trail Ridge Road today,” Steve informed them. “You saw how early they get snow in the Rocky Mountains. In just a few weeks Trail Ridge Road will be closed for the winter because it will be too difficult and dangerous with all the snow that will fall in the higher elevations. Now’s our chance to see the alpine tundra—that is, the land above the treeline. Trees can’t grow above a certain point, and on the tundra you will find only very short grass and plants—and rocks, of course.”

  “We’re going to stop at
the Alpine Visitor’s Center, which is almost 12,000 feet above sea level, so wear warm clothes. It’s going to be cold up there! At that altitude there are usually patches of snow all year round,” he continued. “Put some sunscreen on your faces, too, and don’t forget your sunglasses. The air up there is very thin, so the rays of the sun are strong and can do damage.”

  The road was long and winding as they made their way slowly but steadily up Trail Ridge. The views of mountains, forest and meadows were majestic. Gradually the trees disappeared, though, and the scenery became barren and almost desolate, and yet still grand in its scale. There was more snow on the ground in some places, but the road was clear and dry.

  At one point, they saw a marmot warming himself on a rock near the road. He lifted his head to look at the passing van, and then went back to his lazy snooze.

  Inside the Alpine Visitor’s Center there were displays of stuffed animals found in the Rocky Mountains. The cases were full of beavers and badgers, porcupines, otters, squirrels, chipmunks and ground squirrels, marmots and pikas, coyotes and foxes. Elk and mule deer, big horn sheep and mountain goats, bears and even a moose were displayed in all their splendor throughout the center. There were exhibits of birds, fish, reptiles and plants, as well, and a history of the park and its geology.

  “Now these are critters I can handle!” Skeeter said. He pretended to box with a large stuffed grizzly bear.

  “Oh sure—you’re awfully brave with that bear, but what about those chipmunks over there?” Robyn teased.

  Skeeter looked over his shoulder at the case that held the chipmunks, and shuddered in mock fear. “Little varmints!” he hissed. “Stay back!” He took a step backwards himself and bumped into the grizzly. He turned and found himself nose to nose with the bear. “Yikes!” he yelped in make-believe terror. “I’m outta here!” and he dashed from the wildlife display. Laughter from their group and the other visitors in the center followed him.

  The displays were all very interesting, but the teens had drifted into the gift shop long before their parents were finished wandering through the exhibits. Kristi and her girlfriends were looking at the T-shirts when Skeeter found them and said, “Dan and Pete and I are going outside. We’ll meet you there when you’re done shopping, okay? Although the way you girls like to shop, we may freeze to death first!”

  Kristi absentmindedly nodded her head and went back to looking at the wide variety of clothing the gift shop had to offer. By the time her mom had joined the girls, they had decided on hooded sweatshirts instead, as well as some warm gloves. Rachel picked out more sweatshirts and gloves for the guys and herself.

  The girls finally went outdoors and found Steve and the boys leaning on the rail at the overlook. The view of the windswept slopes was breathtaking. The clouds were below them. The wind pushed the thin wisps rapidly across the sky, and as they parted they could see the terrain below for miles. Trail Ridge Road looked like a ribbon as it wound its way up the mountains. Here and there they could see rivers snaking through valleys, and tiny lakes nestled in the landscape like jewels glinting in the sunlight.

  “This is awesome!” Kristi said, taking her father’s hand. He looked down at her and smiled, and gave her hand a little squeeze.

  “There are more than 110 mountain peaks in this park that are over 10,000 feet in elevation, and at least 60 of those are more than 12,000 feet,” Pete said. “Rocky Mountain National Park itself is huge with 415 square miles. There are about 150 lakes and more than 450 miles of streams.” He paused. “Uh, just thought you’d like to know.” He flushed a bit. “Sorry. There I go again.”

  “Hey, nothing to be sorry for!” Dan said. “I think it’s cool that you research all this stuff. And I’m really impressed that you remember it all!”

  “Hey, you guys!” Skeeter said in excitement. “Look at that patch of snow over there! I bet there’s enough for a good snowball fight!”

  “Careful!” Rachel called as Skeeter dashed off. “Skeeter, stop! You could get hurt!” Her young son stopped and looked back at his parents.

  Steve patted his wife’s hand. “Let the kids go, honey. I think it’s safe enough. And who can resist a snowball fight in September? Just stay off the tundra!” he called as the other teens turned to run after Skeeter. “It’s very fragile and when the grass or plants are destroyed it can take decades for them to grow back. Stay on that rocky area over there.”

  Moments later a royal battle was going on in the snow. Skeeter managed to pelt the other kids with snowballs before they reached him but then it was payback time! Dan and Pete got the younger boy down in the snow while Kristi stuffed handfuls of snow down his jacket.

  “Help!” he yelled. “Robyn, help! Anna!” The two girls took pity on him and began throwing snowballs fast and furiously at the other teens.

  Rachel and Steve were still standing at the railing on the overlook, laughing and enjoying the kids’ antics. “Come on, Steve!” Rachel nudged her husband. “That looks like too much fun! We have to get in on this! I mean, how often do we have snowball fights in California?”

  She took off running with Steve right behind her. The teens spotted them coming, though, and suddenly joined forces in showering the adults with snowballs. Rachel and Steve valiantly bent and packed snowballs as quickly as they could, but they were no match for the six teenagers. They were soon pleading for mercy and laughing helplessly as they gasped for breath.

  Rachel scrambled for shelter. She reached a pile of boulders at the edge of a steep slope and began to climb up their slippery surface. Suddenly her foot slid into a crevice between the rocks and she lost her balance. She let out a sharp cry of pain and tumbled from the rock heap, disappearing from view.

  “Mom!” Kristi screamed in horror. She dashed to the pile of boulders and around them to the top of the rugged incline. “Mom!” she yelled again.

  There was no sound from the slope below—and her mother was nowhere in sight.

  Steve reached the cliff’s edge just moments behind Kristi. “Rachel!” he called. Kristi had never seen such fear and desperation on her father’s face. It frightened her.

  “Rachel! Rachel, where are you?” he called again and again.

  “Mom! Mom!” Dan and Skeeter yelled as they ran to join their father and sister.

  Steve was trying to pick his way down the steep slope. He slipped and slid in a flurry of small rocks. “Go get help!” he called back to the frightened teenagers.

  Pete dashed to the Visitor’s Center. Within minutes he was back with two park rangers. The rangers ordered the teens to stay back and followed Steve’s trail down the mountainside.

  The minutes ticked by for what seemed an eternity. Finally they heard Steve call back, “Found her!” and then moments later, “She’s okay, kids!”

  Kristi began to breathe again. She realized she was crying when Robyn and Anna put their arms around her.

  It was several minutes later when one of the rangers climbed back up to where the teens were waiting. He paused long enough to speak to them. “Your mom’s going to be okay,” he reassured them. “She’s a little banged up, and her leg is broken, but she’ll recover. I’m going to get some more help and a stretcher and we’ll have her back up here where you can see for yourselves very soon. You all stay here,” he continued, “and don’t try to go down there. We don’t want to have to rescue anyone else!”

  The teenagers stood huddled forlornly in the wind as they waited for Rachel to be brought up on the stretcher. They clasped hands and prayed together. “Lord,” Dan led, “We don’t understand why Mom got hurt, but we know that You are in control. We trust You and are placing her in Your hands. Please, Lord, don’t let her injuries be serious. We ask You to heal her quickly, if it is Your will, and give her peace and comfort and freedom from pain. Thank You, Lord. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.”

  Just as they lifted their heads they heard the rescue team coming up the slope. Rachel was in the stretcher looking pale and still. Her face was cov
ered with bruises and scratches and a cut on her forehead was still oozing blood. Her jeans’ leg was cut all the way up to the knee and her shoe was off. Steve was following the team and his face was almost as pale and haggard as his wife’s.

  “Mommy!” The word escaped from Kristi’s lips in a sob.

  Rachel opened her eyes as the stretcher neared the teenagers. “I’m okay, kids,” she said bravely. She tried to smile through her pain. “Don’t worry, okay?

  “We love you, Mom! We’ll be praying for you!” the teens called after her as the rescue team proceeded to the Visitor’s Center. The teenagers trooped after them and watched as Rachel was loaded into an ambulance.

  Steve turned to the young people. “I have to go with your mother,” he began.

  “No!” Rachel called from the ambulance. “You can’t leave the kids alone here, Steve!” She winced in pain.

  Dan stepped up to the door of the rescue vehicle. “We’ll be okay, Mom. I promise. Dad is right. He needs to go with you. I can drive the van back to the campsite. You know I’m a very careful driver. And we’ll be okay at the campground until Dad finds out how you are and can get back to us. We’re all old enough to care of ourselves, Mom, and Pete and I will look out for the girls and Skeeter, I promise.”

  Steve put his arm around his son’s shoulder. “You’re going to have to trust the kids—and the Lord, honey,” he said gently. “I’m not leaving you.”

  One of the rangers stepped forward. “We’ll keep an eye on the kids, Mrs. Cameron. And we can keep in touch with your husband through our two-way radios and pass any messages along to the kids.”

  Rachel closed her eyes in defeat and said, “I guess I don’t have a choice. You kids, please, please be careful. Dad will be back for you as soon as he can.”

  “We will, Mom. Don’t worry. Just get well! We love you!” The rangers closed the door and Steve hurried to climb into the front of the vehicle. Kristi’s eyes filled with tears once more as she watched the ambulance carry her mother away.