The Trek North – Perilous Roads & Railway Cabooses
Things always look better in the light of day, and with a mug of coffee in hand. We had a plan. If we stayed at places with full hookups we wouldn’t really need the reservoir of fresh water – evenings and mornings would be fully covered with water, power and sewer . . . . and the pressurized tank would hold enough water for toilet use along the way. Perfect! There’s always a silver lining . . . this could have happened at the beginning of the trip . . . or worse . . . it could have been one of the OTHER tanks that was leaking. Perish the thought!
Encountered a poor guy whose car had quit on a highway bridge . . . he was desperately trying to push the car up-hill. Of course cars were backed up, tempers frayed . . . at least someone had stopped to help. Then just a 100 yards on a fender-bender in the fast lane . . . more frustration. At least in Canada when there’s road rage you’re more likely to be stabbed with a health card than confronted with a gun! Keep calm and carry on. Nasty accident ahead between a Semi truck and small car . . Truck’s bumper was torn off . . . the car was crumpled into a ball. Shudder.
On the way to Glen’s friend Neil in Auburn, was the old goldrush town of Placerville. Lovely winding tree-covered road beside a meandering stream – leaves newly emerged and spring green in the sunlight. Large spreading oak trees with 2 or 3 horses shading beneath. Suddenly, without so much as a by your leave, that road ended and we were confronted with a freeway, 2 Walmarts and a cascade of thundering traffic. WHAT!! Quick detour through a busy Safeway parking lot to gather our bearings. Traffic appears to be funnelled through one half of Placerville, while the other half has the historical old buildings and allows visitors to amble at a more sedate pace. Not as nice as Bisbee, but pleasant. Had a wonderful old Hardware Store – claiming to be the oldest in the US. Creaky, uneven floors . . . all different levels . . . endless assortment of nuts, bolts, kitchen gadgets, hunting knives, tea, mugs, garden equipment, boots, artificial bear claws, dungarees, used false teeth, postcards, t-shirts, fertilizer. THAT’s what a hardware store should be.
I think Miss Google was having a laugh at our expense . . . probably payback for all the time we shunned her suggestions. According to her, Highway 49 to Auburn was a mere 5 minutes longer than Highway 99 and didn’t go through Sacramento. In a car, it would have been a dramatic but enjoyable drive, hairpin bends, staggering drop offs, high bridges, white water rivers far below. Towing a trailer, less so . . . considerably less so. Going up was ok . . . coming down through endless narrow hairpin bends, no paved pull outs to allow brakes to cool (just uneven soft gravel considerably below road level) and a line of impatient traffic behind. Definitely stressful! I think my fingerprints are permanently embedded on the armrest. Still, we’d made it to Auburn – only an hour and a half later than Miss Google’s 5 minutes. Now to find Neil’s place. Two gravel lanes in close proximity with no identifiable signage . . . of course we took the wrong one and ended up bouncing along a rutted driveway to the astonishment of a young boy playing outside his house. Tricky bit of maneuvering and a friendly wave to the young lad who still stood mouth agape, and we took the next turnoff. Despite an ever narrowing road we wound our way up to Neil’s property. What a delight. Green dappled light . . . wide area to turn around and park . . . not another house in sight . . . and a warm welcome.
Overnight it rained . . . quite hard. The first proper rain since starting out five and a half weeks ago.
Neil had coffee on in the morning . . . had a good visit . . . Glen drooled over the extensive workshop and collection of motorbikes and classic cars. Stopped for gas and an AM/PM Breakfast Croissant (!) to save time . . . not the worst food ever. This time we stuck to Freeway driving . . . no precarious mountain roads today. Sky was a just-washed pale blue with soft grey/white clouds . .. the verges were green . . . fields of yellow mustard waved gently in the breeze dotted with splashes of orange California poppies or blue Lupins.
Wish I’d had my camera ready . . . sign announcing: “Sheriff Detention Center” (!). Another advertised: “Duck Blinds Available” . . . venetian, perhaps? . . . a nice organza or polyester?
Pulled over for ten minutes to wait for an intense downpour to ease. It had been a long day of driving, so we were glad to pull in at the Railroad Park Campsite in Dunsmuir. There are railcars and cabooses people can rent, but we were happy with a nicely treed site and hook-ups.
