Tuesday, December 24, 2024

December 24, 2024 - Go to Dorrington

 

Title: December 24, 2024 - Go to Dorrington

Hike Info:
Type: Car

Description:

Today we will meet up with our family in Dorrington, the site of many of my Boy Scout snow camping trips. Unlike Boy Scouts where we slept in tents, we will have a cabin, Forest Haven. Rachel is coming up here this morning; Andrea is driving down from Salem and David from Eureka. Unfortunately, Lawrence has a family crisis to attend to, so we will not see him. Should be a good five days.

The day starts off with rain, and a good amount. I still need to move the bulk of what is going into the garage. But most of that will not be going out until Rachel gets here. I am concerned that we have too much stuff to fit into the car with us using all three seats for four humans and two dogs. We will see and decide when Rachel gets here.

Forest Haven

Rachel got a late start and will be here about 11. Then we heard she was delayed by a huge downpour. Still she gets to Fresno about noon. I mostly putter around, putting together some loose ends.

When she gets here, I start packing the Highlander. The back is stuffed with more luggage to come, plus blankets. Before deciding what to do, we have lunch consisting of leftovers, designed to clear out the refrig. Then everybody agrees that to get everything in, we need to lower the third seat. Korra will ride between Steven and Sherri, while Friday will be on Rachel’s lap. Where will I be? In the driver’s seat.

We take off close to 1:30. The car seems stuffed, but we are all glad to be off. It does rain for part of the way. I think the dogs are a bit stressed over the tight confines. Korra is talking in my ear and Friday seems nervous. With the rain and prediction of a good mountain storm, I decided to not go the shortest way which is going north from Merced and following 49. Instead we go through Turlock then head north on Geer Road, taking Highway 4 east to Angels Camp and Dorrington..

But first, we stop in Turlock at the rest area and give the dogs a break, allowing them to stretch their legs. We continue north from there, eventually hitting Highway 4, but not before missing a turn out of Oakdale. But then again, there is a nice graceful rainbow looking out for us. The drive is fairly peaceful with not much traffic-surprisingly, We pass through Angels Camp and then Murphy. In Arnold, we stop at Cedar Creek Realty

So Clover
and pick up keys. It has started to rain again. And as we head the last five miles to Dorrington, the rain changes to snow.

There is a slight build up of snow on the sides of the road by the time we reach our cabin, Forest Haven. We unload the car and the “kids”-Rachel and Steven-take most of the stuff up. The living area is on the second level and the stairs are getting a bit slick, but everything and everybody goes up safely. A few minutes later, David pulls in and we all unload his vehicle.


Looks like this will be a pretty nice place to stay, And once we get used to the cabin, we will enjoy it. Initially the cabin is a bit cool-we think it may not have been used recently. Eventually during our stay it will warm up. Andrea is the last to come and inquires about road conditions. We tell her it's snowy, but not icey. We follow her through the wonder of Apple location. Once she arrives, safe and tired, we unload her as well.

It is time for David to go to bed. So we lost our sixth person for cribbage. But the rest of us play a couple rounds of one of Steven’s games, So Clover. By this time it is about 10:30. It is time for us to rest for the new day. When I crawl into bed , there is a sense of chill to overcome. But with the body heat, the bed warms up and it is comfy for Sherri to come in and sleep.


No comments:

Post a Comment