The Freedom Journey

Part One:

It was time for an escape… a solo journey, just the dog and I. Alone, taking the truck and the trailer to a new place…close enough yet far enough away. I needed to know that I could do it on my own, and I needed to get away.

I was nervous and excited at the same time. To tow the trailer by myself, to unhook and set up with out help, I thought I could handle that. I was most nervous about the backing up. I knew it would be okay, and there is always someone fairly close at hand to help. I would be okay, I decided.

As the day approached I had the trailer ready to go. Food, clothes etc were packed and I was starting to be more excited than nervous. I had talked to on line friends and had gotten towing tips, also researched towing tips on line. I knew I could do it and I would be calm about it, I had the knowledge, now all I needed was the experience. The trailer was hooked up Friday night before leaving, all I had to do was to put in my pillow and Teddy bear.

One more little detail… I have an extra passenger now, besides my dog, James. The cat is going also. Nick loves to travel and has stuck to me like glue these past few days, not missing an opportunity to get into the trailer. Seeing as he had to have medical treatment everyday for another abscess, I decided to let him go with me. (I really would have missed him had he been left behind.)

Saturday morning… it is time. Took my husband and myself to breakfast, I wanted to start out with a good meal. I only had to go 240 miles the first day, so time was not an issue. The time is finally here, Nick and James are riding in the cab with me. After one final check of the rig I climb into the truck and say good bye. The freedom starts…

As I drive off I am a bit nervous, trying to be cautious. I need to make my turns wide enough, and get used to the mirrors. The trailer is wider than the truck so I have to work a little harder at staying in my own lane. Suddenly the calm comes over me as I realize that this all easier than I had realized. Although, I don’t want to get too confident, and make a mistake.

Part Two:

Things are more and more comfortable as the miles go on. There is very little traffic and the truck tows the trailer like it isn’t even there. Funny thing though… I never drive the truck, so I don’t really have anything to compare it to. I laugh at myself with that and start to sing again to the CD that I have playing.

James is calmly lying on the seat in back and Nick has taken refuge under the seat somewhere. He reminds me of myself in my sailing days. I love the ‘being there’ but I hate the ‘getting there’! When I stop for diesel he is up and looking around asking if we are there yet. I pull away from the pumps and off to the side, call James out, tell him to potty, and we are on our way again. This is no problem I think. I can do this!

As I drive I am gaining a new respect for trucks, and RV’s. More room is needed for changing lanes and passing. I have gotten a bit upset with a few cars that have passed and then pulled over to soon, or the ones that have pulled in front and slowed down. I goofed a couple of times, not reading traffic right. I didn’t give myself enough time to get out from behind a semi going up a hill. So I didn’t have power enough to get myself past him in, what I considered to be a timely fashion. I learned and got it better the next time. I also now will be much more considerate of trucks and RV’s in the slow lane when I am coming on the freeway and either kick butt to get on or slow down to fall behind. It is not always easy for these rigs to slow down or speed up enough to accommodate your getting on. Funny the new views you take on when on the other side of the fence.

I ended up with a little more experience than I had bargained for on the first day. I was to take the G13 out of King City to the 25 and go north to the first nights stop. I missed the G13 and rather than turn back chose to go the alternate 146 up by Soledad. No big deal, I had been back and forth as to which route to take anyway. Well, it was a big deal… I missed a road sign and got an unexpected tour of the town. Then when I got back on track and got to the 146, there was a sign saying, "Rough road, Not recommended for trucks and cars with trailers".

Wonderful, so I stay on this road I am on because it says King City so many miles. The road I have just chosen is a kin to the roads in Baja. It is very narrow, winding road with no shoulder. It runs along the side of a hill so it is hill on one side and a drop off on the other! Now I am committed to this route because I can’t turn around. It turns out to not be all that bad either, just had to pay a little more attention, and slow down some. When I finally get back to King City I have gone 40 miles out of my way.

From this point on it is more winding scenic hilly road to the first nights stop over in San Benito. The campsite is set back from the road and is the typical hilly terrain of southern California. This time of year the ground has turned its golden color and the oak trees spot the terrain. There are the grape orchards of the local winery, small farmhouses, cattle grazing and other fields ready for planting.

I pull into the campsite and am a bit disappointed. The grounds are very dry, with mowed down weeds, and infested with ground squirrels. There are the nice areas around the pool and recreation areas but for the most part the trees are sparse and things are very dry and hot. Naturally the spots under the trees are taken or if not, they are electricity deficient. Not a problem, and I can even find the good in that, I was hot and tired anyway. I just picked a spot, and it was a pull through, so I didn’t have to back up. I plugged into the power, turned on the air conditioning and took a nap.

I woke up about an hour later, it was still hot but there was a nice breeze. I had a sandwich from Subway in the fridge, ate that and took care of Nick and James’ needs. I decided to hit the road early in the morning to get to the next site early enough to be able to get a good spot. Slept very well that night and was up and ready to go at 4 in the morning. I never even undressed for bed. Wow… what ever I want to do… whenever I want to do it, this is great, I could get used to this.

I checked the rig, unplugged and was on the road at the crack of dawn. Saw the sunrise in the surrounding hills and beat any would be Sunday traffic in the town of Hollister as I headed over to the 5 and the continuation of the journey.

Part 3

Wow, travel today is so much easier than yesterday, once I hit the 5, I was doing 65 -70 mph. This is really getting easy, not much in the way of hills or winding roads, not much traffic, I am making excellent time. Being the weekend I guess helped with the traffic going through Sacramento on my way to the 80. Some road construction, but not bad. I will be into the next stop by 10:30 AM.

Now things are really starting to get pretty as I head out of Sacramento on the 80. As the higher elevations start the ground cover is changing from the dry grasses to the still green foliage and wild flowers. The oaks have changed to the pines and more rock formations are visible. The smells of the pines are an extra bonus from the smells of the city.

As the elevation rises so does my mood. Everything is getting clearer and lighter. My soul is coming alive. I can feel my heart beating, there is a smile on my face. Colors are brighter, the air is cleaner, and my attitude reflects the surrounding beauty. The realization of the journey is coming alive within my every sense and I know that I made the right decision to take the trip.

Just a few more miles and I decide to stop at the rest stop up ahead and take care of some personal items and James’ needs, as I know that it will be a bit before we are settled in. It is so pretty out, the weather couldn’t be better. It is very warm with a cool breeze that is just enough to take the edge off the heat. Now too it seems that I am on top of the world, things have leveled out some and there doesn’t seem to be many surrounding mountains that are much higher than where I am now.

Things are getting very exciting now as the off ramp approaches. As the road winds back to the camp ground entrance I am able to really look at the different wild flowers. There are the yellows, blues and lavenders, the pinks, and everything is so vivid. It must be the thinner air. There are at least three different types of pines, along with oak and a few other species I didn’t know, but appreciated none the less. And there ahead of me sits the ranger station and the final destination of the journey.

Part 4

When I pulled in and checked in I explained that I would be there for a week and asked if he could direct me to a particularly nice spot. The ranger explained that they were out of maps and would be for about an hour, but tried to give me some suggestions and directions. I drove away trying to remember what he said but not really knowing what I was looking at in regards to his directions.

Oh well, I will just cruise around and take a look at things. I go down the road a bit and see sites on the left under some cliffs, but it appears to be more like a parking lot. No, don’t want to stay there. On the right there is another parking lot type group of sites. Oh well, maybe they like being on the concrete so the kids can be close to the pool and be able to ride there bikes. So far, this is not for me yet.

Ah, now we are getting close, the road turns to dirt, but a good rolled dirt, and there are sites in the shade of the trees, a little more privacy. I turn up to the right and as it get closer I can look down the slight hill to the 23 acre lake they have on the preserve. Mmm, this is getting even closer. I drive around, looking for a site that would afford the most privacy and at the same time be easy to back into. I continue to cruise around and as I get closer to the lake, I think that maybe the chance of mosquitoes will be higher there, and oh well, there are more kids down here and not as private.

There is still more to check out so I drive out of there, noticing how well I am doing with the trailer in these closer quarters. I feel sort of proud of myself as I continue to explore.

I start to head down the road a bit more and suddenly the road gets sort of bad and I am not seeing any other campsites. Uh oh… am I supposed to be on this road? How am I going to turn around? There better be a way out of here! There is no one behind me so I can’t ask, I am stuck now and have to go forward and hope.

Not to far ahead now I see a possible turn out in the road. Well, this may be my only way out and maybe I can back into the turn out a bit and give myself enough room to turn around. Now, I have the turning knowledge, but not the experience, so as I start to back up, the trailer is not reacting the way I think it should and I doubt myself and turn the wheel the other way. Now the trailer is doing the opposite of what I want and I realize that I hadn’t turned the wheel enough, in the first direction.

Oh my, this is really scary, I am getting myself in trouble here. Never mind, I will just pull out and keep going. Uh oh, I am burning rubber and I can’t go forward, the truck wheels are stuck in the soft sand! Wait, there are 2 vehicles coming, I jump out to ask if there are more campsites ahead. The guy in the car says that he was told there were, so I say, "okay, now I am just stuck and not lost". He asked me if I had tried 4wheel drive, and duh… forgot I had it. I get into the truck, manage to figure out how to put it in 4wheel drive and it walks right out of there!

Phew, I feel better now but am not seeing any suitable roads to turn into to even check out the sites. It is higher up here than at the other sites, I have been climbing. I certainly don’t see any other trailers up here! Pretty soon I find myself going down hill again and I end up back at the ranger station. I am very frustrated now and as I get there I motion for one of the rangers that I had seen earlier.

She was very kind and I explained that I needed a map! This is my first time towing the trailer and I am on the verge of tears now, from the nerve-racking experience. She went right into the office and got me a map, calmed me down and showed me on the map where I was, where I had been and where I would probably like to be. Okay, I recognized things now and had cruised through there a little earlier, before my scenic trip. So, I drive away this time feeling much more confident than before.

Part 5

Now as I drive around, I spot an opening where there wasn’t one before. This even looks like I could back in with out much maneuvering. I come around again and spot a man that had just gotten off his bicycle, and ask him if he would mind spotting for me as I back in. I explained it was my first time on my own and he was very nice and said no problem. Now, of course I was having a bit of trouble again trusting myself and when I didn’t see the trailer doing what I thought it should be doing I went the other direction. All the while he was very friendly and nice, saying that he could do it for me but that I would never learn that way.

There, I am parked, I thank him very much and he says no problem. I decide to first hook up the power and let Nick in the trailer to access the litter box. Of course I took advantage of grabbing a cool drink, and water for James. I went out and started to do everything I needed to do to settle in for the week.

I had already leveled the trailer when I backed in. I hooked up to the water, was plugged into the electricity, and started to put in the jacks. I laid out the astro turf carpet, set out a bucket of water for James and started to unhitch the trailer. Might I joke here that it came off without a hitch? Everything was set up and I was ready to enjoy the surroundings.

As I looked around I notice how fortunate I was to have gotten this particular spot. I am close enough yet far enough away from the showers and I am on a loop so actually have more room than I would have had in a straight line. There is also a beautiful view behind me with no one behind. I am up on a hill so I am looking out over the tree line as it slopes away.

There are trees between me and my neighbors on either side and because of the loop and the terrain, they are further away than the other ones on the loop. The terrain is very rocky, more like a stone ground cover than any dirt, and the areas of dirt have a wide variety of delicate little wild flowers. It was as if the stones were stepping stones through a pond of fragile vegetation. There was a very large deadfall tree laying there in the clearing amongst the varying boulders that facilitated quite a choice of seating for watching the sunset, as the back of the trailer was facing west.

Part 6

That evening I decide to breath and take in the surrounding peace and beauty. After a shower and getting cleaned up James and I sat out on that old deadfall and watched the sunset. As the sun disappeared behind the trees, it glowed like a fire accenting the out line of the trees. I had a light dinner and retired early.

The next morning I was up bright and early, time to explore the surroundings. We walked over towards the lake and James was thrilled to get his feet wet as we crossed the spillway towards the damn. We walked over towards the boathouse to check out the rental rates and talked to the lady running it. I was saying that it would be nice if I could let James in for a swim and she was quite obliging and said that of course he could, but suggested that he not go near the fishermen on the damn. Now we were in heaven.

I took James around the bend a bit and turned him loose. He bound into that water like a long lost friend. I swear goldies are happiest when they are wet. What a pleasure it was to see his happiness. He swam and brought me a stick back and forth till I had to call it quits.

We did some more exploring and headed back to camp for a barbecued steak dinner.

There were some evenings that the bugs were a problem for a little while, but the breeze kept them in check for the most part. Every day was a treat as I did what ever I wanted whenever I wanted. I got up when I wanted and enjoyed the leisure of my coffee and the views. I would cook a nice big breakfast, and head out for the days exploring.

On the way over to Tahoe one day, we stopped at the Donner Pass Memorial, and one day I left James in the trailer with Nick while I scooted over to Reno just to check it out. Big spender, I dropped a whole $20 in the slots. I had a great buffet lunch at the El Dorado though.

All in all the week was perfect and it was difficult to leave. I am very pleased with how things went over all and am very glad I made the trip. I knew in my heart that it needed to be done. Coming back was uneventful and very easy, actually wished I had done it in one day and stayed the extra day up north.