What a relief, I thought as I packed up my things, to be able to drive directly home. Five-hour commutes certainly take a toll. I contemplated stopping at Sal’s, the taco truck that journeys to El Portal every other week, but the long line at the truck deterred me and I decided to just go home. After all, I had been sleeping in the office for five days. I loaded my air mattress into the trunk and drove down 140, thinking life could now return to normal. At the site of the slide, I waited in line until it was my turn to go through the one lane detour. I could see clouds of dust coming from the slide, but wasn’t overly worried as small pieces had been falling regularly. The flagman waved me through, and I thought he looked a bit nervous. Once I arrived on the other side, I passed our bookkeeper waiting to pass on her return to El Portal and I gave her a wave. Home, here I come!
Four hours later I received a call from our poor bookkeeper, telling me she had just arrived home. The rocks had fallen once again blocking the road. I had missed the slide by minutes.