A Strange Experience

Was it déjà vu?

giant redcedar tree stump at Smokey Point rest stop in WA, author’s photo

I shared this picture in a recent story. My husband and I drove an hour north to get some tulip bulbs for our garden. We stopped en route at a rest stop for a bathroom break. I saw this enormous tree stump. I had to investigate.

I took the picture and then read about it on the sign. The tree was chopped down in 1891. The stump had a fire in it. It was kept and moved a few times. My husband told me that he remembers driving through it at its previous location on the highway. It was put at its current spot at this rest stop in 1971.

giant red cedar, photo taken by Darius Kinsey in 1920

After I read the history of this tree stump, I stood and looked at it for a few minutes. I heard a voice inside. It wanted me to take a selfie standing on the right side. My eyes were pulled over and down to that spot. I argued with myself. I don’t need a selfie with a tree stump.

Something kept pulling me towards that right side, where the bark is bleached by the sun in the photo above. I brushed it off. We continued on ahead. I should have taken that picture. I know better than to argue with that inner voice. It’s always right, even if I don’t know it at the time.