We Signed Up for Quite an Adventure

Mile 790. Antlers RV Park & Campground, Lakehead (Shasta Lake).

Nearly 800 miles and we’re still in California. This is the problem living in the southern end of a long narrow state, it takes forever to cross its northern border. I’ve traveled this route many times over the last 30 years and never have I seen the lake so full. The wide bathtub ring that usually adorns the lake is gone. There are no more beaches. Most day use areas are under water. Posted signs indicating no overnight camping no longer make sense because there is no ground on which to camp unless you’re in a designated campground. After such a long drought it’s a nice problem to have. And the lake is absolutely stunning. 

We rode in on fumes late yesterday afternoon. Not the truck and trailer, us. That feeling where every little thing sets you off and you just want to crawl into a hole. Well, maybe just me. Mark seemed fine. I started a collection of bird feathers at my brother’s house the night before. We parked our trailer on the “Turkey Runway” in front of his house.  Apparently wild turkeys need a running start to fly to the tops of trees and my brother’s driveway is one of many runways in the neighborhood. I found both hawk and turkey feathers on the runway and tied them together with a pink string from a box of sweets given to us as a going away gift. The feathers sat on the dashboard where I could admire them and imagine the ones I’d add to the collection over the course of the trip. My sister-in-law warned Mark a wreath was in the making.

“Take a photo of the lake”, Mark said as we drove alongside it on Interstate 5. Not thinking, I opened the window and out flew the feathers. Such a minor thing, especially compared to the woman who put her wedding ring in her lap to put lotion on and then got out of the car to take a photo of a bridge on The Alaska Highway (true story!). Yet tears pooled behind my sunglasses, a sure sign that I had crossed over into that too tired category. 

Mark has us here three nights. The timing is perfect. A break is needed after the frenetic pace of the last few weeks. We need to discharge in order to recharge. A friend of my cousin’s recommended we join a Facebook group called RVing to Alaska. Its members are either traveling on or on their way to, the Alaska Highway. I read posts to Mark while he’s driving and so far we’ve learned tips for keeping dust out of the trailer when we cross the Top of the World Highway; that we may get a cracked windshield from loose rocks and that if we do to hold off on repairs because more cracks may be in the making; that a section of the highway near Tok, AK is so bad we should wire our cabinets shut and drive super slow; and that it’s snowing in Banff….in June. But in addition to that, members have shared campground and sightseeing recommendations, gorgeous photos, and bear counts. Yep, we signed up for quite an adventure. One which may require all our wits, ergo the break in our travels.

This trip is also about meeting new people. Our neighbor here at Antlers, whom we met last night, is a high school friend of Mark’s brother. Not just an acquaintance, but someone his brother played football and hung out with during high school. What are the chances.