I bought a car at the end of the summer when my old car started shimmying and shaking on the way home from Canada. I had been dreaming about a vehicle that would make camping easier, something I could sleep in.
I found a large minivan that had been converted to a camper with a roof tent and a pull out bed in the back seat. It has a solar panel and a frig. So great!!! I started dreaming about the possibilities!
I decided to do a test road trip in preparation for a Baja camping excursion. My family was going to the Bay area for Thanksgiving and to see my sister’s extraordinary performance of hula puppetry in San Francisco. I decided to drive down and back, even though I didn’t have a lot of time off.
Of course it turned out to be the time of the bomb cyclone with flood warnings, the I-5 passes were closed, and there were concerns about downed tress and flooded roads. So… a little nerve wracking. Over head signs were flashing on the road- Travel Precautions! I got phone calls from my family- why don’t I think about flying instead!
But everything was ok. I called my folks on the Oregon coast and it was clear and calm. And so I went and had an awesome drive with a few fabulous visits and made it to my friends’ place in Bandon,OR that first night.
They were great and helped me ascertain that 101 through California would be ok as well, despite the flood warnings. I decided to drive as far as Ukiah, where I could arrive just as it got dark at 5, instead of trying to get all the way to my friend’s place in Sonoma where the flood warnings were worse. So I looked for an airbnb- I didn’t want to sleep in my car for 12 hours or darkness and I didn’t want to drive in the dark.
I was rushed and there was limited cell service so I didn’t scope out the airbnb that I chose too well. It looked cute though- a little studio cabin, and it was in Ukiah and at $107, the price was right for a quick one night sleepover.
Well… ha, ha!
I got to Ukiah by 5PM after a long fast drive with alternating short downpours, clear skies, light rain, and windy roads through gorgeous scenery. The weather started deteriorating around 4 and it was dark and raining steadily by the time I arrived. I was tired.
Still crappy cell service! I couldn’t open up the airbnb welcome package, damn it, so I just grabbed the address and stuck it in my gps. I left them a message to call me and I set off in the rain. Darn! The gps told me the place was 30 minutes away, which seemed far. But some dude property manager person called and he assured me that there would be cell service when I arrived so I just plodded along and planned to open up the welcome instructions when I arrived at the destination.
First sign that something was wrong was when Siri asked me to turn down a very small road 5 mins out of town. Then after another few minutes, she told me to turn onto an even smaller road. And it was dirt. Turned out to be steep and very windy. It wasn’t slippery though, the car steamed up the hill, but wow, it was narrow. And it was dark. And I couldn’t turn around.
I was doing this. But it was f….d up!
The car did great, and I just held on and navigated the curves in the dark. Drove fast up the hills, slow down the hills, and kept reminding myself that I was doing this. But it was so f…..d up! But I was doing this. Somehow I knew this would make a great story and that it would have a happy ending but wow, this was f….d up!
I finally got to the top and to the destination but there was absolutely no cell service. And I couldn’t find the place. The address was not to be found.
There was a lighted house up a long driveway so I got out of the car with my cell phone flashlight and walked up to the gate but there were a lot of no trespassing signs. Clearly they didn’t want to help me find my airbnb!
I decided to drive on a bit, maybe the numbers were screwed up, but there was nothing. I managed to turn around with a 30 point turn! Ha ha- it was a narrow road with ditches on either side! No cell service! This was so f….d up!
I wasn’t driving back down that road in the dark. I couldn’t find the place. I couldn’t call anyone. I realized that I couldn’t find my phone….either it had bounced off the magnet and was somewhere in my exploded mess of a car, or I had dropped it by the driveway that I had checked out. But there was no cell service anyway!
I decided to just stop in the middle of the road and lay down in my bed and wait for it to get light. In 12 hours! ugh.
I listened to the coyotes howl, looked at the darkness all around and realized that I was safe, I had food and water, I had a bed, I could lock the doors, I was doing this, but wow, it was f…..d up!
I lay down and just kind of vibrated for about an hour. Then headlights appeared. I knew I would be interacting with this person since I was blocking the road! I hoped it was a good person.
I was super lucky- he was nice and helpful and he knew where the airbnb place was. He was ok dealing with this crazy woman who couldn’t find her phone, didn’t know where she was, had trouble navigating the windy road in the dark, and was worried that her sister was worried since we hadn’t been in touch all day.
He told me that most folks weren’t too friendly cuz there was a lot of marijuana growing on that road.
He helped me look for the phone in the road by the driveway. With the car running, I could hear the phone playing music through the system. He helped me look for the phone in the car. We couldn’t find it! This was so f….d up!
He suggested we drive a ways down the road to where we would have signal and he would call me and then I could find the phone. That worked out. And I opened the welcome package- my door would be unlocked it said. Then I followed him to the driveway my gps hadn’t known about to the place where there were a bunch of yurts and cabins that they rented.
It was totally dark. I could see buildings and a car or two but no lights. The guy left me there after donating over an hour of time to this crazy lady. I realized that at least I could sleep in my car there without being in the middle of the road if I couldn’t find my cabin. But this was so f….d up!
But finally, a young man appeared, the host, he said. He commiserated sweetly with my journey so far. Then he said that it would be “a walk” to my cabin.
Right.
Down the muddy hillside in the dark.
It was fine, he carried my bag with my dinner and breakfast and computer and sleeping stuff. The cabin was cute and had electricity and wifi and heat and lights! A frig and a hotplate, a kettle and coffee for the AM. No running water but there was a hose outside. And an outhouse over there for the AM. It was comfy and fine, but still….this was so f….d up!
It was a “wilderness Airbnb.” Read the descriptions before you book, people! And arrive in daylight if it is a steep windy dirt road. And pray for good people to help. And whatever happens, just do what you can do.
I really gave my car and myself a great test drive. Baja, here I come!