Visit With Family
Jun. 11th, 2023 02:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kevin_standleeYesterday, I made a roughly 600 km / 375 mile trip to visit my father, who I haven't seen for some years.
Google Maps driving times are nonsense, as usual. I knew I was going to have to stop a bunch of times, and that the roads over which part of the trip ran would not be suitable for driving at the absurd speeds that Google Maps assume.
This trip took me over a few roads over which I've never driven before, even though some of them are quite close to my home town. In particular, after turning off of CA-20 and heading up the Marysville Road, I turned off at Loma Rica Road and headed across through the town of Bangor and through some relatively twisty country roads. Another difficult was that fire engines from CalFire were coming the opposite direction, but the roads have no shoulders, so all I could do was slow down and move a small distance to the right.
My father was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, and the initial diagnosis was dire, as in "less than a year to live." The good news is that he has responded well to the treatment, and while he's not in the best of shape, things are looking much better than they were a year ago.
I pulled up at my father's house just after Noon. I masked up before coming inside. Neither Dad or his wife (my stepmother) said anything, but I volunteered right away that because of my father's health and because I have no idea who I might have encountered lately, I wanted to protect him. To my massive relief, they responded enthusiastically about that. They still go out masked to stay protected.
We visited for around four hours, and could have gone longer, but Dad was starting to look tired, and I had a long way still to go, so I left around 4 PM. I decided to drive out of the way to go visit my childhood home in Challenge. Those of you who have followed my journal for a while know that I inherited that house from my grandfather through my mother, and that the property had fallen into severe disrepair, but that I sold it to someone who initially was only interested in salvaging lumber from an outbuilding. What I found was surprising, but I think it's good news.
So instead of just reversing my route, I headed up the Forbestown Road to Challenge and then up the steep road that leads to what I still think of as my grandparents' home.
As I drove around the corner, I took this photo out the window of the Astro. The people there seemed slightly puzzled by my presence, so I stopped and introduced myself. They bought the property from the person to whom I sold it, and they knew my name (and that of my mother and grandparents) from the pile of chain-of-title documents that came with the house. We talked for a while and I filled them in on some of the history. Some things I knew nothing about, but I was able to given them at least a hint on where to look for a corner post from which the highly irregularly-shaped property lines might be able to be surveyed.
The folks who bought this house have a lot of work cut out for them. (For example, the bathroom is such a wreck that they have to start over, starting with getting a new septic tank permit, which apparently has proved difficult due to the county having a problem finding the old permit dating back to the 1970s.) But as I told them, I'm glad that someone who loves the property is taking care of it, and I wish them the best of everything.
Then it was back down the La Porte/Willow Glen/Marysville Roads to CA-20 and home via Grass Valley/Nevada City. I was rained on off any on during the drive, but nothing serious. I did not take any more photos, which is perhaps too bad because there were some interesting views along the way. I made a lot of bathroom breaks, as I've had to do a lot these days, and picked up a take-out burger on the edge of Reno that I ate on the way home.
Most of the snow that engulfed the Donner Summit rest areas is gone, although there's still plenty of snow nearby. To my annoyance, both rest areas were closed, and furthermore, the scenic overlook on CA-20 that used to have pit toilets no longer has them. Because I anticipate making this trip a few more times, I explored a couple of the campgrounds, and found at least one where it looks like I could park at a trail head and use the toilets there.
CA-20 is also under an immense reconstruction project that appears to be meaning to, as the Dukes of Hazzard TV show theme song says, "straightening the curves; flattening the hills." I'm glad I didn't come through on a weekday when they are working.
Lisa did not come with me on this trip. We had contemplated spending the night in Oroville and then driving home through the Feather River Canyon. However, not only was Lisa not up to the trip, but CA-70 is apparently closed all summer except for a few windows to clear landslides from this past winter.
I'm glad I made this trip, and hope to be less of a stranger and visit my father more often. I was very tired when I got home, but I'd had so many caffeinated drinks to keep me moving during the day that it took a couple of hours to come down sufficiently to sleep. Surprisingly, I only slept for six hours overnight, plus a two hour nap late in the morning. Maybe I'll be able to get back on schedule for tomorrow.
This is the first of two trips I have scheduled over the mountains in two weeks. I'll have more to say about the second trip later this coming week.
Google Maps driving times are nonsense, as usual. I knew I was going to have to stop a bunch of times, and that the roads over which part of the trip ran would not be suitable for driving at the absurd speeds that Google Maps assume.
This trip took me over a few roads over which I've never driven before, even though some of them are quite close to my home town. In particular, after turning off of CA-20 and heading up the Marysville Road, I turned off at Loma Rica Road and headed across through the town of Bangor and through some relatively twisty country roads. Another difficult was that fire engines from CalFire were coming the opposite direction, but the roads have no shoulders, so all I could do was slow down and move a small distance to the right.
My father was diagnosed with cancer a year ago, and the initial diagnosis was dire, as in "less than a year to live." The good news is that he has responded well to the treatment, and while he's not in the best of shape, things are looking much better than they were a year ago.
I pulled up at my father's house just after Noon. I masked up before coming inside. Neither Dad or his wife (my stepmother) said anything, but I volunteered right away that because of my father's health and because I have no idea who I might have encountered lately, I wanted to protect him. To my massive relief, they responded enthusiastically about that. They still go out masked to stay protected.
We visited for around four hours, and could have gone longer, but Dad was starting to look tired, and I had a long way still to go, so I left around 4 PM. I decided to drive out of the way to go visit my childhood home in Challenge. Those of you who have followed my journal for a while know that I inherited that house from my grandfather through my mother, and that the property had fallen into severe disrepair, but that I sold it to someone who initially was only interested in salvaging lumber from an outbuilding. What I found was surprising, but I think it's good news.
So instead of just reversing my route, I headed up the Forbestown Road to Challenge and then up the steep road that leads to what I still think of as my grandparents' home.
As I drove around the corner, I took this photo out the window of the Astro. The people there seemed slightly puzzled by my presence, so I stopped and introduced myself. They bought the property from the person to whom I sold it, and they knew my name (and that of my mother and grandparents) from the pile of chain-of-title documents that came with the house. We talked for a while and I filled them in on some of the history. Some things I knew nothing about, but I was able to given them at least a hint on where to look for a corner post from which the highly irregularly-shaped property lines might be able to be surveyed.
The folks who bought this house have a lot of work cut out for them. (For example, the bathroom is such a wreck that they have to start over, starting with getting a new septic tank permit, which apparently has proved difficult due to the county having a problem finding the old permit dating back to the 1970s.) But as I told them, I'm glad that someone who loves the property is taking care of it, and I wish them the best of everything.
Then it was back down the La Porte/Willow Glen/Marysville Roads to CA-20 and home via Grass Valley/Nevada City. I was rained on off any on during the drive, but nothing serious. I did not take any more photos, which is perhaps too bad because there were some interesting views along the way. I made a lot of bathroom breaks, as I've had to do a lot these days, and picked up a take-out burger on the edge of Reno that I ate on the way home.
Most of the snow that engulfed the Donner Summit rest areas is gone, although there's still plenty of snow nearby. To my annoyance, both rest areas were closed, and furthermore, the scenic overlook on CA-20 that used to have pit toilets no longer has them. Because I anticipate making this trip a few more times, I explored a couple of the campgrounds, and found at least one where it looks like I could park at a trail head and use the toilets there.
CA-20 is also under an immense reconstruction project that appears to be meaning to, as the Dukes of Hazzard TV show theme song says, "straightening the curves; flattening the hills." I'm glad I didn't come through on a weekday when they are working.
Lisa did not come with me on this trip. We had contemplated spending the night in Oroville and then driving home through the Feather River Canyon. However, not only was Lisa not up to the trip, but CA-70 is apparently closed all summer except for a few windows to clear landslides from this past winter.
I'm glad I made this trip, and hope to be less of a stranger and visit my father more often. I was very tired when I got home, but I'd had so many caffeinated drinks to keep me moving during the day that it took a couple of hours to come down sufficiently to sleep. Surprisingly, I only slept for six hours overnight, plus a two hour nap late in the morning. Maybe I'll be able to get back on schedule for tomorrow.
This is the first of two trips I have scheduled over the mountains in two weeks. I'll have more to say about the second trip later this coming week.
