As the Honda turned onto the Mount Wilson road, J.K. mentioned that the road was swarmed by drag racers on weekends. They passed two souped-up cars before tucking into a dirt parking spot. It was a remote road. Because of the drag racers and because there were few parking spots here, Rick hadn't included this detour in the official part of the trip. It was quiet, and as they stepped over to the edge of the canyon, they had an even wider south view. Rick played the saw-whet tape.

"It's a lovely call," Rick said. The wind was howling, but only in whispers."I heard something," J.K. said.And then Rick seemed to hear it too. "Did you hear it?" he asked Grimsby.Grimsby shook his head.

But a few seconds later, he heard it. In the distance, from what had to be the far-east end of the canyon, was heard the gentle, but unmistakable call, "Beep, beep, beep, beep." like a truck backing up.They were giddy with success. There was a saw-whet owl somewhere in this vast dark canyon, and it was calling out to them.* * *J.K. phoned the sewage headquarters and the automatic gate began to move.

"Open Sesame," Blake coaxed, knowing that J.K. had picked the next location because it was an almost sure spot for the Baird's.The caravan drove onto a concrete road that turned into a dirt path flanked by unnerving signs such as "SELF CONTAINED BREATHING AREA." Karen was starved and devoured her homemade turkey sandwich as she drove.The road led into a surreal landscape where sewage ponds surrounded the vehicles on all sides. Karen was overwhelmed by a pungent smell of chemicals attempting to mask a persistent rotting smell. Mosquitoes and tiny bugs, brown and green, flew into the jeep and descended on her bare legs.

She took a hand off the steering wheel to swat them, but the dirt road grew so narrow that this minor error on her part landed the jeep directly into a sewage pond.Paul Little began to shriek like a loony.Blake was hyperventilating, able only to croak, "Mom! Mom!"Rick swore and his face flashed red and white.Meanwhile the jeep settled in the shallow muck."Oh Lord help us!" Karen said, trying to keep her head on straight. A couple of years ago, a series of nightmares plagued her in which she was lost in a landscape of filthy pools of water. It was around that time that she pulled the kids out of public school. It was incredible to her that she was now living out her nightmare.