Arrival at Base-camp Oregon

We're back in Sutherlin. Arrived this past Thursday late afternoon, the 26th of March. The days drive from Susanville started superbly, with a very pleasant meander through the middle of the Lassen National Forest on CA-44, and, later, through the Shasta-Trinity National Forest on CA-89. The former route is a newer wide roadway; the latter, older and narrower. Truck traffic can be heavy but it wasn't particularly bothersome to us that day. Bright skies and clear air provided some spectacular views of Mt. Shasta along the way. I really like roads like this.

But once we got on I-5 at Mt. Shasta things deteriorated. The pleasant peaceful pace changed to a terrifying race of clenched-jawed idiots paying more attention to their smartphones than their cars while jockeying for any imagined advantage over someone else... anyone else. Two lanes full of moving metal made passing the rare slower vehicle tough. It was three hours of hell on wheels and we were happy to be back home... happy, but tired.

So we made the return trip in just 4 days. I had an extra day or two of flexibility built into my plan for the return migration to Oregon. With weather being unpredictable, or the possibility of fatigue or mechanical issues popping up, it just seemed prudent to build-in those extra days. But, you might say... "hey, you're retired! What's the rush? Why even plan at all? Just take each day as it comes. If you feel like stopping, stop. If you feel like going, go. Sheesh... get a life."

Fair enough. Criticism accepted. We do indeed strive for that "day-at-a-time" ideal. Whether my "plan" is just a target or perhaps a vestige urge from earlier business days, I still haven't been able to be a nomadic purist all the time.

And here we are for the next month or so with task list in hand. Mostly it involves prepping the bushouse for long-term storage... deep mothballs, and the truck camper for a long summer trip.  At this time, we'd like to be heading out again by early May.

As usual during our time in a base-camp, updates to the journal will be less frequent.

Here's a very short video made along the way while I should have been concentrating on driving.