Hampam Trip - Day three - on the road

We hit the nine o'clock mark fairly well. Between waiting for our valet with Yukon XL (Jay: "Good look finding a place to park this baby in San Fran!") and Maya's visit to the corner of Happy and Healthy for a medication retrieval we probably hit the road out of town thirty minutes over give or take several minutes.

Jay drove. Darcy rode shotgun. She gets car sick on long trips thus she slid into that spot after hearing of the winding, twisting roads we would be driving. Maya, Ewan and I took the middle bench and Maddy and Anya rode in the very back. Between us and the trunk full of luggage, those two were pretty much trapped in their row.

Hyampom, or as Anya and Ewan refer to it Hampam, was about a six-hour drive north from San Francisco. The trip was filled with good conversation, several rotations of Apple music playlists, a game of crazy songs, a few naps, various stories, and a host of other nonsense of which I've now forgotten. It was nice to catch up with the cousins and their lives and I liked that we had that opportunity on the front and back end of the trip.

The first leg of the trip was uneventful on a major interstate with some nice views. I felt like I was back in the car on my Ireland trip just soaking in the vast difference of our country and resorted to snapping pictures out of the window. Jay was very much like Tom in that he didn't give a fig about stopping at viewpoints and acting like a tourist. He's done this drive every other year so his mindset was all about reaching the destination. Since he was doing all of the work, much like Tom in Ireland, I only made a few comments here and there. I was very grateful that I was a rider and thus not in charge. I'm content in the role of a follower. Especially when it comes to road trips.

The biggest city near Hyampom is Redding. When people ask me where my aunt lives in Northern California I always give that city as a point of reference even though in my head the city of Redding was rural with about 1,000 people. Turns out I was way off base which explains why those people always nod their heads in the understanding of the direction of Hyampom. Redding is a huge city on the Sacramento River south of California's northern border. It reminded me of our overpopulated county full of people and stores and restaurants. 

Jay stopped at an In and Out Burger joint for Darcy who didn't feel her first meal from there counted. 

The place was packed and we had to stand over people until they finished before we could snag two tables and then we waited hours for our food. A nice In and Out Burger lady trolled the restaurant offering sticker games for entertainment and hats for the kids. I took both. I then sent her in the direction of our kids at their table and told her to make them wear the hats.

Back in the Yukon XL, we did not stop for groceries as was the plan. Jay, via texts with Auntie Marilyn, decided we needed nothing from Redding and so we headed on for the second leg of the trip. The next stop was the town of Hayfork. This was exactly what I had pictured in my head and we stopped at the grocery store for $150 worth of chips and bottles of liquor. The grocery was smaller than the one in the town next to where our farm lies but the similarities were numerous. 

We drove past the clinic where Maya was born and past the school where the children of Hyampom are bused now each morning. There were several businesses and the main center wasn't as spread out as Sullivan, Indiana. More contained into one major thoroughfare. 

From here, the road was everything Jay had described. I bitched a lot about driving the mountains in North Carolina on the winding, twisting roads, but this route gave that route a run for its money. It was paved for a great portion of it but unlike North Carolina with its forests full of lush trees that gave you the sense of security on either side, the fires that have plagued California in the last ten years have left the trees stripped and bare so that we could see down, down, down to where we'd end up if our trip master fell asleep at the wheel.

The devastation that these fires have left is horrendous. Everywhere we traveled we saw it. Forests destroyed. Trees and vegetation gone. Trees standing naked in all their charred glory. Seeing it in person was worse than what we've seen in the media. Much like our own hurricane destruction, the real thing makes you sit back and think. Nature is powerful. I couldn't get over it the entire time I was there. Bless those who fight those fires and protect peoples' homes. Wow.

Because of my bitching interest in photographing some of our drive-by scenery, Jay pulled off the road for me to snap a few pics. He also decided it was a great pit stop for a bathroom break and he disappeared.

Only to reappear in my camera where he scared the shit out of me. The trip master in charge once again!

The pavement eventually turned into a dirt, gravel road. Since I was comparing the "roughing it" side of Hyampom with our farm this was much the same. Then it wasn't. This dirt, gravel road went on and on and on for miles. One side was protected by the mountains and the other, well, suffice it to say that it was smarter to drive in the middle of the road and pray you didn't meet a car coming in the opposite direction. I was told that the county still maintains the roads into and out of Hyampom but I'm not sure how much longer the road will survive as the side heading off the mountain seemed to be wasting away as we drove.

My aunt has lived in a one-room cabin with a loft for most of her life. Maya was raised in that cabin. It was where I visited in 1972 but several years ago she built a big, beautiful house on her property and as we drove the winding, twisty road we got a neat glimpse of it through the burned trees. Everyone told me how you once couldn't even see her house through the forest, but the fires made it possible now to spot the house, her cabin, and the other buildings she has on her property.

I got teary when I saw the house. All my life I've heard the stories of Hyampom. I've gotten the gist of how important this place, this property, is to my aunt and the fact that I was finally going to experience it and see it for myself had me teary. As did the thought of how much sharing this with us must mean to my aunt. I know how much sharing his farm with those he loved meant to my father. I think I know my aunt and her feelings fairly well in regards to family and her property and all of that bunched together with my own feelings just had me very emotional.

There was not the opportunity to discuss this with my aunt. She had a houseful of people upon our arrival and more came after us and if there was anything that I missed in the entire trip it was not having a least a day where I could have just enjoyed my aunt alone. I was able to enjoy the peace and the sanctuary. There were ample opportunities to escape the people and the bustle and energy, but no time really to sit and communicate one on one without interruption. Oh well, just an excuse to visit again!

The rest of the evening was spent with people, liquor, and food. Tons of food. Hordes of people. Plenty of alcohol. Maya's childhood friend and her family come every other year too and they arrived after us with loads and loads of coolers, food, drink, and an endless supply of items that I seemed to need. Neighbors arrived. Oldtimers appeared. We ate and drank and talked and talked and talked. By the time the sun set and people wandered off to their various sleeping arrangments, it was 10:00 p.m. Just on principal I sat alone until eleven writing but then I just couldn't keep my eyes open. It was in the 40's at night so I went to bed in my Steelers sweatpants, pajamas, and both sweater and pullover eagerly awaiting tomorrow's activities.