Mistakes, Fear, Quitting, and Family

Andrea, Dreana and I in front of Fogglifter’s Cafe. A must visit when in McCall!

We were headed north to McCall, Idaho to visit our oldest daughter, Dreana and her boyfriend, Reed. 

Trips like this were what we had dreamed of.  Being able to go see our children in their adult worlds, while not intruding upon their space. 

I had researched the area, and despite some concerns about traveling north, where winter comes quickly, we were reassured by the forecast that it would be mild. 

There was plenty of free camping or “boondocking” available in the area and this late in the season I was sure we would have no trouble finding a spot ☹

A mistake I should have learned from earlier was not having multiple boondocking locations planned. 

I was all in on Little Payette Lake and based on the reviews it would be no problem getting in and finding us a spot. 

We arrived excited to get set up and start visiting family.  Dinner in town and catching up, since it had been almost a year since we had seen each other were the first things on the list. 

All we had to do was turn off the paved road and find the perfect spot….

Unfortunately, the first four spots in this area, were already taken on a Tuesday afternoon! 

Murphy’s law had struck again, and I was going to pay a price.

Andrea and I walked down the road further to where spot number 5 was available but the road in was rutted deeply.  That was most likely why it was vacant and should have been a clue to me. 

We questioned if we could make it down that road and was the area large enough to get turned around in?

Andrea was against it.  I was in favor and in retrospect way to naïve about the distance we needed to turn around and the Airstream’s low clearance. 

We decided to try it despite Andrea’s misgivings. 

Sadly, hindsight is 20/20, but down the road and into the rut we went. 

The loud scraping noise was the hitch of the truck digging up the ground followed shortly later by the sound of our rear bumper scooping dirt like a shovel. 

I had done it! 

One of our only physical possession and all our belongings were with us and I was damaging them.   Not only that but the space was far to small to make a 180 degree turn. 

Damage to the Queen’s bumper. Sad, sad moment!!

For two days, I could not sleep.  I was constantly evaluating how I could get us out of this spot and kicking myself for what I had done. 

As Andrea tried to enjoy her lake front view, with a small price.  I was ready to quit.  Facebook marketplace here I come.  Listing both for free in exchange for a bus ticket to anywhere but where I was. 

Thankfully calmer heads prevailed. 

Andrea was a great reminder of the learning curve we knew we had to climb by going on this adventure.  Mistakes were bound to happen and learning from them was the best we could do. 

The solution we came up with was to level out the rut by filling the base with wood and shoveling down the center peak. 

I had always wanted to work on a trail crew and now here was my chance!

From now on we agreed two yes votes are required to proceed down any road.  😊

Two days after getting into this predicament, we ended up spending an hour getting ourselves turned around and out of the spot.

This is where the stress subsided and the fun began! 

The Queen parked next to our gracious hosts. Having electricity plug ins came in handy as the weather dipped just below freezing on a few overnights.

We spent the next week “camping” in Dreana’s driveway, enjoying her, Reed and their roommate, Mike. 

Staying here was so much better than our first spot and allowed to spend real time with them. 

Early morning breakfasts before work.  Cooking dinner for them when they arrived home in the evening. 

Learning to sip and appreciate whiskey while playing games.  Never knew I would enjoy whiskey and an ice cube so much.  

Laughter, love, and peace abounded. 

We toured the McCall Smoke Jumper base (Both Reed and Mike are smoke jumpers), watched a training jump and learned all about the courage these men and women display daily to protect us. 

This experience more than made up for the mistakes earlier in the week.  

Next week:  Lessons learned and hearts full we are off again