Saturday, November 17, 2018

overlanders

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We were just one day from home as we pulled into Arcata, and after a full day with zero bars of cell service, our phones blew up with texts. Half of them were @backroadbennetts and @his.tinyasscamper debating the merits of various SUV’s with third row seats capable of towing 30’ Airstreams, but the rest were from friends in the Bay Area urging us not to come home. At first, that hurt a little after 10 weeks on the road, but then we realized they were trying to save us from horrible air quality caused by the tragic “Camp Fire” that has schools closed and outdoor events cancelled. . Our plan had been to stop at home to drop the trailer and snuggle the chickens before heading to Truckee for the holidays with family. After consulting air quality maps, Truckee looked clear, and the third fastest Google Maps route there from Arcata perfectly looped wide around the worst of the air. We even suggested our friends come up and meet us in the mountains for a breather. Only problem was, the route would take 6:43 and we’d need somewhere to store the trailer when we got there. . We were on the road by 8:24 am this morning with Google Maps projecting a 3:07 pm arrival. Through spotty reception, we managed a call to a storage place in Truckee that had one last indoor spot available (snow expected next week and no time to winterize), but they closed at 4:00 pm and weren’t open tomorrow. Despite steep, curvy roads through the Six Rivers National Forest and Shasta Trinity National Forests, some of which gave us a close look at the devastation caused by the Carr Fire last August, I managed to gain a couple minutes on the ETA. Gas stop, 5 minutes lost. Grabbing an armful of stuff for lunch, 5 minutes lost. Another gas stop, another 5 minutes lost. An incoming call from the storage place to check on our timing... . But we made it! After the fan covers cleared the roll up door by under an inch, we emptied the fridge contents into grocery bags, grabbed the dirty laundry and a few clean options, shoved toothbrushes and the laptop into a backpack and locked her up for a couple weeks until we’re ready to head back down the hill to home. . #airstream #captionovel #stayflexible

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