When the rain let up after a few days, the railroad crew stuck with us at Marla Bore brought out a crane to use to try to spot people who were stuck in the flood and trying to get to higher ground. After the serious work was done, they offered to give us rides in the bucket.
The thing I don’t mention in the book (because my mom would see it there) is that the bucket had no bottom. It had completely rusted out. All that was left was a narrow ledge to which the bottom was once bolted. So we stood in the corners, with our feet pressed tightly into that 1/2-inch of metal with its empty bolt holes, wrapped our arms through the chains that held the bucket, and away we went (though just a couple of us at a time).
Because there was no bottom, we were pretty much stuck taking photos in whatever direction we were facing when the bucket was aloft, so I didn’t get the most dramatic image of the flood (the really impressive fields of water were in the opposite direction), but I got a nice overview of the motel at Marla and the surrounding watery wilderness. It was a fun and unexpected thrill, and a great way to scan the horizon.
The Crane
The View
Waltzing Australia 