Doing the Baby Step Cha-Cha
I took my first big road trip for my 50th birthday, which will be 10 years ago in May. On that trip, I took along a tent and a few miscellaneous things that would allow me to stay overnight in a campground, but I never did camp on that whole trip. My previous experience with camping was either a trip someone else planned, or sleeping outside at a rustic conference center when I had activities keeping me busy all day. I was open to the possibility of camping on my 50th birthday trip, but I just never found the idea as attractive as staying in a motel, and I didn't push myself. Just taking that trip by myself was a big deal.
My next big road trip was when I moved from California to Indiana. I divided it up into 300-mile chunks (anything much more than that in a day and I become fatigued in a way that isn't in my best interest or anyone else's on the road). I had my critters with me, and I couldn't leave them unattended in my car for longer than it took for me to use the restroom. The first part of the drive was through the desert and it was too sunny and hot for them. After I crossed the continental divide, the second part of the drive was too cold for them. I didn't even consider camping. I gave away my tent before moving, along with a lot of my other stuff.
There were baby steps that prepared me for this trip in all those experiences. As I've moved through planning and starting this trip, I've taken a lot of baby steps. Researching vehicles, installing insulation, buying supplies, taking time away from working, looking at possible routes, planning to leave, making new plans when the first ones didn't work out, leaving, staying in motels, sleeping in my van the first night, then sleeping in my van more nights...
I also took some steps back. Injuring myself. Postponing my departure. Not sleeping in my van on some nights when I could have. But I've taken more steps forward than I have steps back. It's been a bit of a dance with myself. Cha cha cha. 😄
The other day when I got rattled by the drive on the winding mountain road with all the tailgaters in hot pursuit, I did manage to notice that I crossed a pretty spectacular bridge. I couldn't look to enjoy the scenery. It was high enough and surprisingly sudden enough to make quite an impression on me (and trigger a bit of acrophobia). I looked up the bridge last night, and no wonder! It is the highest arch bridge in the U.S. and one of the highest bridges in the country. You can see photos and more info about it here:
http://www.highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cold_Spring_Canyon_Bridge
After my night sleeping in my comfort zone (a.k.a. the parking lot in Solvang), I realized that I could actually retrace my steps and go back to the campground that I didn't stay at the day before. That part of the road wasn't at all scary. I could go and see if it was my Camp Goldilocks. So after breakfast and posting my Goldilocks post, I went back to the park to check it out. It is a lovely spot! In the summer it would usually be packed with campers, but on a week night in February, it was probably only about 5% occupied, so I was able to just show up and pick a spot with a view of the lake:
Turning the camera around, here is my van parked in my campsite:
I'm itching to hit the road again, so this won't be a spot I linger in for a few days. Perhaps I'll work up to that on my trip back South. Baby Steps. Cha cha cha.
My next big road trip was when I moved from California to Indiana. I divided it up into 300-mile chunks (anything much more than that in a day and I become fatigued in a way that isn't in my best interest or anyone else's on the road). I had my critters with me, and I couldn't leave them unattended in my car for longer than it took for me to use the restroom. The first part of the drive was through the desert and it was too sunny and hot for them. After I crossed the continental divide, the second part of the drive was too cold for them. I didn't even consider camping. I gave away my tent before moving, along with a lot of my other stuff.
There were baby steps that prepared me for this trip in all those experiences. As I've moved through planning and starting this trip, I've taken a lot of baby steps. Researching vehicles, installing insulation, buying supplies, taking time away from working, looking at possible routes, planning to leave, making new plans when the first ones didn't work out, leaving, staying in motels, sleeping in my van the first night, then sleeping in my van more nights...
I also took some steps back. Injuring myself. Postponing my departure. Not sleeping in my van on some nights when I could have. But I've taken more steps forward than I have steps back. It's been a bit of a dance with myself. Cha cha cha. 😄
The other day when I got rattled by the drive on the winding mountain road with all the tailgaters in hot pursuit, I did manage to notice that I crossed a pretty spectacular bridge. I couldn't look to enjoy the scenery. It was high enough and surprisingly sudden enough to make quite an impression on me (and trigger a bit of acrophobia). I looked up the bridge last night, and no wonder! It is the highest arch bridge in the U.S. and one of the highest bridges in the country. You can see photos and more info about it here:
http://www.highestbridges.com/wiki/index.php?title=Cold_Spring_Canyon_Bridge
After my night sleeping in my comfort zone (a.k.a. the parking lot in Solvang), I realized that I could actually retrace my steps and go back to the campground that I didn't stay at the day before. That part of the road wasn't at all scary. I could go and see if it was my Camp Goldilocks. So after breakfast and posting my Goldilocks post, I went back to the park to check it out. It is a lovely spot! In the summer it would usually be packed with campers, but on a week night in February, it was probably only about 5% occupied, so I was able to just show up and pick a spot with a view of the lake:
Turning the camera around, here is my van parked in my campsite:
I'm itching to hit the road again, so this won't be a spot I linger in for a few days. Perhaps I'll work up to that on my trip back South. Baby Steps. Cha cha cha.
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