Charlton Mill Road Covered Bridge

With a secret just turning nine years old, Cache Owner boydfamily requires a rural reconnaissance.

Chuckling clouds tickle trees huddled in negative space, waiting for winter’s warm, white wardrobe.

In tattered defeat, a scuttled retreat is mobilized. Softness of blue, white and gray wrap the soul in lullaby.

Our coordinates bring us to a country road. As hand-hewn wooden planks crossed creeks, they succumbed to floods and ice, giving birth to a monument simple, cherished, and elegant – the covered bridge. Charlton Road bridge was built in 1883 and lasted 130 years. In 2011, the county decided it was worth replacing.

Cache notes follow the progress of the bridge as it is replaced. In 2014, a logger discovers the engineer doing some final touch-ups, on something beautiful he has made. The excitement of watching a covered bridge being built circles from 1883, through two changes of centuries, and one change of millenium, and six rounds of grand-babies, to water still cycling through Massie’s Creek, to a galaxy of geocachers.

Not all covered bridges go somewhere. This one does, but be warned, it is a one-lane journey. You can walk or ride. If you are walking, you may hear the noise of a vehicle coming from the other direction. Then you can run. The echo of gunfire from hunting parties begs a question of whether you will be roadkill or deer meat.

True to the cacher’s code of placidity, equanimity, and serenity, heartbeat returns to normal and a find is calmly logged. Fingers of sunlight touch the red, wooden wall with a goodnight kiss. Shoes rest on dirt, lungs relax into breathing trees, familiar chill of winter enfolds.

Looking forward to another 130 years.