From Reno, NV to Tionesta, CA: Saturday, May 22nd

Becca had been up a lot the night before and awoke crying with ear pain. Why is it impossible for only one person to get sick?! We coordinated our morning to stop by Urgent Care while I could buy groceries, with the camper in tow. So, our second child of the week was diagnosed with a double ear infection and more antibiotics entered the fridge. Neither Caitlin nor I felt particularly wonderful either but our throats were suffering more than our ears, hopefully we’ll continue to be able to beat it with OTC drugs and avoid the docs.

We drove the single lane roads towards Tionesta, along what would prove to be our most beautiful 4-hour Saturday drive to date. We saw very few cars and were surrounded by trees of Modoc National Forest for much of the way. Driving past those firs still covered with snow created awesome picture-postcard views; it was wonderful.

We did comment a few times on how glad we were that we had stocked up on food – and gas! We passed through the odd tiny town here and there but other than houses, there didn’t seem to be much else around.

When we arrived at Eagles Nest RV Park, we were greeted by the owner who told us that they drive about an hour each way to get groceries! I suppose that is the price you pay for living in the middle of nowhere. The kids were excited to see a playset in the campground and very few campers. There was however, another travel trailer, much like ours, housing a Dad, Brian, and his two daughters, similar ages to ours. They gave us some great info on things to see at the National Monument and which roads to avoid as we headed into Oregon.

He also told us about ‘Corn Snow’, which we had never heard of before. The drive over had brought us through bouts of snow (yes, it’s mid-May, hard to believe!), one was particularly bad as it settled on the cold road, thankfully, as quickly as the snow appeared, it disappeared. Corn snow is kind of a cross between hailstones and snowflakes and by dinner time, it was really coming down; we had to take refuge inside.

There was a beautiful sunset later in the evening (oh dear, more pictures) but it was cold being outside. This was another night of needing to disconnect the water as it dropped a little below freezing.