Dar Hill

My name is Ted Howard and my wife's name is Beth. We have three children; Carl aged 10, Mike age 8 and Beth age 5. It all started so very innocently with my wife and me enjoying our first vacation by ourselves in over ten years and evolved into something that seems like a fantastic dream than reality. Over the past ten years we have had three children and every vacation had included each of them as they came along. Now, with the children staying with my wife's parents for the summer, we were going on our first vacation alone. A few months before my vacation I bought a trailer, which would allow my wife and I to travel the country while enjoying the comfortable accommodations provided by our home away from home.

We decided to make our way to San Francisco and from there head north on highway101 taking whatever side trips caught our interest, until we reached the Crescent City at the northern end of the state. Earlier in the year, while putting away some things in our attic, I had found an old advertisement from the late 50's or early 60's about a scenic campground called Dunland, which was some twenty miles west of 101 and around 120 miles north of San Francisco. I was not sure where the advertisement came from, but had a hunch that my father must have picked it up sometime before his death in the early 70's. The brochure showed an idyllic campground set in the midst of mighty redwoods, and a nearby stream provided a swimming hole with a pebbly breach. I showed it to my wife and she immediately suggested that we stop there during our trip.

"Well, it looks good in those brochures, but they are kinda old," I told Beth. "There is no telling what the place looks like now."

"I bet the place looks even better now," Beth insisted. "They have probably made all kinds of improvements. Give the site's location it is a perfect place for camping. I just bet they have all the hookups for RVs and the like. Besides we are going off on an adventure and whatever the place is like now, it will make for some interesting memories to tell people."

So it was then we started out on our vacation making a quick tour of San Francisco before heading north stopping at various wineries and campgrounds along the way. Finally we reached the turnoff toward Dunland, which turned out to be on one of the most winding roads I had ever seen. After some forty-five minutes of intense driving, it was with relief that I saw the small sign on the left side of the road, which announced that we had reached our destination. I turned into the campground and headed down a small dirt road until a sign in front of a small beat-up trailer indicated that we should stop and check in before proceeding further. I went up to the door of the trailer and knocked. Almost immediately the door opened and a small rosy cheeked man opened the door "Hi, there," the man greeted me, "and welcome to Dunland. We are pretty well filled up this time of year but I bet I can find a good site for you to park your rig. My name is Clark Clark. I and my wife Gretchen Clark take care of this place."

"I'm Ted Howard and that's my wife Beth out in the truck," I responded. "That's quite a drive coming down the highway here. We saw an old advertisement about this place while planning our vacation and decided to stop by for awhile."

"That must have been an old ad you saw. We haven't advertised in years, but not much has changed down through the years. I'm sure you will have a good stay. We do have a sewage dump and we can hook you up to electricity; but, I'm afraid that the generator goes off at 11:00 o'clock. Still and all, you will find yourself surrounded by a great redwood forest and there if a great creek where you can swim if you are so inclined. All we ask is ten dollars a night or fifty dollars a week. There are fresh water hookups at each camp."

"We were planning on staying only a few days before moving on," I explained, "so put me down for three days."

"Good enough," Clark smiled, "but if you decide to stay longer come back and I'll give you the weekly rate. Just sign the register and plunk down your money and I'll direct you to the best camp we have open at this time. I've got a good one overlooking the creek. Just have to warn you about the chipmunks and blue jays, they are pests."

"That is just the natural surroundings we are looking for," I assured the man as I signed the register and gave him the money, "we want to see a bit of the wild."

"Well, you came to the right place. There are plenty of hiking trails and like I said a nice creek. If you need supplies, you will find Fort Hobbs about fifteen miles down the road. It is the biggest town in these parts and you'll be able to find almost anything you want there.

"Your camp will be number fifteen. You can't miss it, fourth camp on the right overlooking the creek. The sewage dump is in the pullout around back of this trailer. Just come back and let me know if there is anything else that you need. My wife and I are here most of the time."

"Thank you," I said impressed by the man's demeanor, "I'm sure we are going to enjoy our stay. I'll let you know if there is any change in our plans."

I went back and drove down the road until I came to camp fifteen. Beth and I quickly set about unhooking the trailer from the truck and attaching the water supply to our trailer. When we had everything in place we decided on taking a quick look around our surroundings. We walked down to the stream and found the pebbly beach, which looked unchanged from the advertisements we had looked at before starting on our vacation. Several couples and about half a dozen children were swimming and playing in the water. We then walked around the campground area. The camps had everything from tents to older model RVs set up in them, which appeared to have been there for a fairly long time. Having made the circuit of our new surroundings we returned to our trailer and set about fixing dinner.

After dinner I started a fire in the fire pit and we sat looking into the flames as the evening shadows grew. I took my wife's hand and asked her if she wanted to take another walk around the park before we went to bed; however, she said that she was tired out from the trip. I told her to go inside and I would make a quick once around the place before joining her. After giving Beth a kiss I turned and walked out into the growing darkness of the oncoming night.

It must have been half past nine when I started my walk and I noticed that all the children were no longer running around the camps. The night was warm and the air was filled with the fragrance of wood fires. As I walked along most of the people in the camps called out to me wishing me a good evening and I responded in kind. I passed camp after camp with each of the campers wishing me the best. The peoples' friendliness was remarkable and my heart was filled with a sense of belonging the like of which I had never felt before in all my life.

As I passed one camp where a tent stood, a man stepped away from the fire and came to greet me. He introduced himself as Fred Wilson and shook my hand with a firm and friendly grip. I told him my name and soon found myself going with him to his campsite to be introduced to his wife Carla. He offered me a seat by the fire and passed me a beer. Fred had a long full beard and long flowing hair, which cascaded over his shoulders. His wife was fairly attractive and wore a long dress.

"Welcome to Dunland," Fred said as I opened the can of brew, "Carla and I have been here for around five weeks. I lost my job due to this rotten economy and they foreclosed on our house. I'm afraid we find ourselves among the newly homeless."

"I'm sorry to hear of your misfortune. My wife and I have been lucky so far, but I know that if things get worse we could be in the same situation as you."

"I'm glad to hear that you're doing better than us," said Carla. "We're not too bad off. We still have some savings and the monthly rates here are very high. There are a lot of fun people around. If you stay for very long, I'm sure you will find that out for yourself."

"Well, if the people are all as friendly as you and Fred, I'm sure we will enjoy our stay," I answered. "Here we are surrounded by redwoods, a beautiful stream flowing by just a step or two from our camp, who could ask for more?"

We talked for a bit longer. They offered me another beer but I declined and asked them to visit our camp and assured them that when they did the beer would be on me. I stood up and shook both their hands before continuing my way through the campground.

As I passed the area of the beach and although darkness had set in, I could see a few people frolicking in the water. I noticed that all the children I had seen earlier were nowhere in sight. Although I could not be sure, due to the darkness, it appeared that the people down at the creek were naked and that several of them were engaged in sex. I quickly made my way toward my camp seeing fellow campers sitting around fires.

Arriving at our camp I entered the trailer to find my wife dressed in her nightgown, sitting at the table, reading a book. I sat down at the table and told her about meeting some new friends. She wanted to meet the couple and insisted that we invite them for supper in the not too distant future. After a short time we went to bed and following a brief love-making session fell sound asleep.

The next day dawned bright, clear and warm. Before preparing breakfast we decided on going down to the creek for a quick swim. It was midmorning; there were few people in sight, and no one occupying the beach. We put our towels down and raced into the water. The creek was fairly shallow near the beach but as we moved out toward the middle the bottom dropped off and we were swimming in deep water.

"I don't know about you," my wife said swimming toward the beach, "but I'm really hungry now."

"There is nothing like a quick dip before breakfast to work up an appetite," I replied as I followed her out of the water. "I think I could eat an elephant at the moment."

"Well, you will just have to settle for bacon, eggs and toast for now. If you want an elephant you will have to go out into those woods and find one. Just look at the size of those redwood trees! We're going to have to get some photos of you and I standing next to them, or the people back home aren't going to believe us when we tell them how big they are."

We returned to our trailer and had breakfast. Afterward we decided on a walk through the campground and stopped off at Fred and Carla's so that Beth could meet the couple. Carla met us as we approached the camp and welcomed us calling out to her husband to come out and greet us. Even before Fred arrived on the scene a few moments later Beth and Carla were laughing and talking like life long friends.

Fred offered us some breakfast and when we explained that we had just eaten he offered us some beer. I begged off saying that it was still too early in the day, but promised to stop by later with some brews of my own. In a short time Clara and Beth were deep into their own conversation, while Fred and I were laughing about the strangeness of human nature. While the girls were out of hearing I told Fred about the sexual activity I thought I saw on the beach.

"You might not have been imagining a thing," laughed Fred, "It might well have been some folks up to fun after the kids were all in bed. It has been known to happen around here now and then; sometimes more now than then, if you get my meaning. It is all harmless fun. Just some free spirits enjoying life. Don't let it bother you. Whenever something of that sort takes place you can be sure that only adults are witnesses or participants.

"A lot of sexual stuff happens here in Dunland but it is just harmless fun between consenting adults. Believe me when I tell you that everyone under the age of consent is put to bed and required to stay there after 11:00 o'clock."

"I'm afraid that I'm shocked that such things can happen so freely," I admitted. "Are such sexual displays so common here in the campground?"

"Don't let yourself be shocked, my friend," Fred assured me. "It is just fun. There never has been any jealousy or trouble due to any sort of sexual activity, which has taken place since we have been here."

"Wow, I find all that a bit overwhelming," I admitted. "Surely someone must have gotten out of line."

"Believe me when I tell you that everything that happens in Dunland stays in Dunland. I can assure you that no one has ever caused trouble because of any sort of sexual activity, which has taken place around here. This is the most trouble free campground you have ever seen. There is no crime. Anyone who attempts to do anything to harm another member of our community is soon shown the error of his/her ways. We are a community of love and happiness. Don't worry about the outer world's values or conventions. Here you are free to actually do what you want with the person you want without recrimination."

"Are you telling me this is a place without crime?" I asked. "That seems a bit incredible."

"There is only one commandment here and that is not to do any harm to anyone else," Fred replied. "That is not a bad commandment in my book. Look, some people get a bit wild, but whatever makes them feel good is a positive thing. It is only those things, which harm people that are evil."

"Fred, while the girls are out of our hearing, tell me this," I asked, "is Dunland the site of one big orgy?"

"Of course not," laughed Fred, "everyone respects the innocence of children. We also do nothing, which will harm a fellow Dunlander."

"You sound like someone with first hand knowledge," I replied. "Don't tell me that you have gotten up to some hanky-panky."

"One of the first unwritten rules, which you will run into here at Dunland, is that a person keeps a tight lip on any contacts that he or she may have. I can only say that Carla and I know about each other's activities and are better for it."

"That's way out of my wife's and my league. We're just your average faithful married couple."

"Well, good for you. Everyone deserves to live as they want to live, but you folks are away from home. No one around here tells any tales. Just relax and enjoy life. Who knows, you just might go away from here with some memories to keep you warm for a long time to come."

Fred laughed and quickly changed the subject. The man had a joyful personality, which made me like him even though I thought his lifestyle might be a little too wild for my wife and me. Before long the girls joined us and for the next hour we enjoyed talking about all manner of subjects. At last Beth and I told the couple that we had to be getting back to our camp. Before leaving we asked the two of them to dinner that night, which they eagerly accepted.

A short time later we jumped in our truck and made our way to Fort Hobbs where we stopped at one of the grocery stores and picked up supplies for the coming evening. We bought some steaks, corn on the cob, mushrooms, and some beer for our guests.

It was on the way home that Beth opened up to me and told me about what she and Clara had been talking about earlier in the day. Her overall opinion of the woman was good, but they had talked along similar line to the conversation I had with Fred. While the things, which Clara had told her made her uneasy she still enjoyed the woman's company and was looking forward to the coming evening.

"You don't think they will invite us to do some strange things?" Beth asked. "You know, like swinging or something?"

"No," I answered. "Fred stopped hinting about that sort of thing when he saw I wasn't interested in anything like that. If they do try and get us to do something like that we will shut them down flat. I'll make it clear that we can be friends without being that friendly."

"Well, I'll leave that part of it up to you. I don't want to get into anything that will spoil our vacation."

"Don't worry. I will handle it with my usual flare. This evening is just going to be a fine dinner in the redwoods without any problems. We won't bring up the subject of sex and if they do I'll make sure they understand we aren't interested."

"Good," responded Beth. "Then I'll just relax and enjoy our dinner."

Right on time Carla and Fred arrived bringing with them a goodly supply of beer. Our fears were laid to rest as the evening progressed and the conversation stayed clear of sexual subjects. We ate, drank, laughed and talked until the night turned pitch black. After dinner was finished and the dishes all done, we lit a fire and pulled our chairs next to the blaze. Somewhere along the line Carla produced a few joints.

"This is the best of the county's major crop. I've been saving it for a special occasion and I think this qualifies as special." Carla said. "I think you are going to enjoy it! Now that the darkness is around us, why don't we tell some spooky stories?"

"Oh, I love spooky stories," my wife spoke up, "I'd love to do that."

"Well," Fred said as he lit up one of the joints, "I guess the ladies have their minds made up and I don't think we should disappoint them. What do you say Ted? How are you at telling ghost stories and the like?"

"I'm not much of a story teller," I had to admit, "but if the gals want it, that's what we will do."

I began and gave a feeble account of the standard haunted house. It was heavy on blood and gore but lacking in almost everything else. Kindly, my audience had pity upon me and complimented my efforts. Carla went next with a tale of a bride who finds out that her husband is really a ghost. We all thought she did a wonderful job and gave her a round of vigorous applause. Beth followed telling us the story of a haunted pond where the ghosts of several murdered women would rise up late at night to find the one who killed them. We all praised her storytelling and asked for another one, but she refused saying that she had her turn and Fred should go next.

"Okay," Fred laughed pulling his chair closer to the fire, "I'm not one for fiction, so the story I'm about to tell you is the dead truth."

Beth and I gave each other knowing smiles, which indicated that we knew that Fred was about to spin one heck of a whopper. However, when we took a look at Carla, we saw that her face was set with an expression, which indicated that she believed her husband's word that his story was based in fact. Beth's smile grew even bigger as she realized that Carla was playing along to add to the impact of story.

"Now I know that you two don't know too much about the country around here, but my little tale takes place not too far from here. You might have noticed on your trip into town that the road went up a hill where the trees grew heavy and so thick that very little light came through."

"I remember the place," I had to admit, "the sensors in my truck turned on my headlights as I went up the hill and came on again on the return trip."

"You will find that will happen every time you go into town no matter what the time of day. That hill is aptly called 'Dark Hill,' and the phenomenon is not caused solely by the shade of the trees.

"That place has had a bad reputation going back hundreds of years. Way before the time the white man came to this land the Native Americans avoided the place and called it cursed. It is a place where the shadows lie heavy upon the land and those shadows are caused by more than the trees.

"When the road was cut through that part of the forest, several of the men working on the project walked off the job saying they saw strange things moving in the woods. Two men died on the project from unknown causes and everyone in the crew seemed changed after the road was finished. To this day road crews hate to make repairs upon that stretch of highway.