The Dog Catcher Comes Through

January 7, 2002- Monday- Day 73
9:00am- We camped on a water treatment plant property last night and kinda in the open. I had a nice view of the neighborhood and people are starting to dig their way out. I have walked most of the day in the Freezing rain, okay now I know what it is. It is just your normal rain that has a different characteristic than Florida rain. Seems when the raindrops hit you they immediately turn to ice, all the way to the bare skin. Whoopeeee! We walked and we are in the middle of nowhere, I have to walk in the road, but there is no traffic anyway. The snow plows that cleared this road piled the snow all along the shoulder. We have passed a few cars still in the ditch and a few places where they have been pulled out. I'm guessing that the locals weren't expecting this monster storm either.
Me and Skil's are damn sure freezing to death, I have to get us out of here to shelter. We found another bridge and got under it and I got the bright idea to build a fire. For an hour I tried to get that soaked wood to light, not having much luck. We are getting big clouds of billowing smoke though. All of a sudden someone up on the bridge says come out from under there! Oh Shit! I stepped out in the open and looked up and I'm staring right at a big ole' cop. I felt like Jerry Reed.
What are you doing under there?
Trying to get warm officer.
Come up here!
Yes Sir
Bring all your stuff with you!
Yes Sir
Is that your dog?
Yes Sir
Got ID?
Yes Sir
You can't build a fire under the bridge!
Yes Sir, I know, been trying for an hour.
I heard about you.
Oh Oh.
He went to his car I suppose to run my ID and me and Skil's was standing in the snow, me not feeling the cold right now, wondering whats the verdict here? The animal control truck pulled up and I am thinking if I run into the woods, would they chase me through the snow covered hill-and-dale. Or just shoot me, I can't lose my dog! Here comes the cop and he said he really didn't want me to die in his county, so he called a guy to take us to Charlotte. We loaded Skil's in the cage and I climbed in and off we went. The dog-catcher took us all the way to Charlotte and dropped us off at a Winn-Dixie. I asked if he had a extra leash fo Skil's and he said yeah, and gave me a very expensive leather leash. I lost Skil's in Siler City, another thing I learned about snow. Don't lay nothing on the ground before it snows or you'll never ever find it again.
We looked int he woods by the Winn-Dixie and there seemed to be a lot of abandoned camps, so I'm thinking all these empty camps , the law must make a pass through here on a regular basis. We walked a mile down the road and found a Food lion next to a hill with a lot of trees on it, looked like home for a day or two. I'm feeling like the flu is coming on and Skil's has been shaking all day.
It is going to be a long cold wet night and I am hoping that I don't get sick. It is 24F in Charlotte as of this moment and its going to warm up tomorrow to 31F. I have to get Skil's to a more gentler climate. Its still raining and its very cold and I have nothing dry at all. I'm just glad that we are not back out in those woods we just left trying to stay warm. Sitting int he door of my tent, I have a nice view of the parking lot down below us. I'll have to get down there and see if The tent can be seen from there. I have to find a place to wash clothes tomorrow. This place seems safe enough to hang out for a couple days.
GOOD NEWS- Weatherman says no rain tomorrow. I found a liquor store across the street and got a pint of vodka to warm me up or at least kill the pain.