I Am Not a Happy Camper Part 2

I parked on the side of the road and waited. I knew that the person who had picked up the other half of the kitchen stuff would be coming by at some point and as she had been here before - she would know if I had been on the right road. She arrived sometime after 9:00 PM - and yes the road that my car could not make it up was the right road. I wished her well and decided I would spend the night there - hoping that someone else tomorrow morning would have room for the kitchen stuff and I could head south. It was dark by then - I admired the person's driving skill - I think she thought me a poor Rainbow indeed if I lacked the courage to bash my car along the road. But then as she said - she didn't care what happened to her car.

It was hard sleeping in the car. The back was so full that I could not adjust the front seats. I would adjust my body - get it to feel as if I was comfortable (after all I have slept on trains, buses and planes, how hard could this be?), almost fall asleep and then realize that I really wasn't comfortable and wake up again. I know I slept for a few hours because around 4:00 AM I was woken up by a terrible noise. I opened my eyes to see these two bright lights in a haze of fog shinning right at me but getting smaller at the same time. It took a few seconds before I realized that the log trucks were running. The two very bright lights were spot lights on the side of the trailer so that the driver could see his load, the fog was dust and I was in no danger. It was, however a rather abrupt awakening. The log trucks running in one direction full and the other empty continued until noon. There were also lots of pickup trucks running back and forth - A couple of them stopped to wait in my little parking area for a log truck to go by. When one of the drivers found where I wanted to go - he agreed that my car would never make it without being damaged.

I hung around that spot- moving only to stay in the shade until mid-afternoon. No one came by to get the kitchen stuff. Around 3:00 PM I slowly made my way down to the beginning of the road and found a good spot with a cool breeze and lots of shade. Finally after being on the logging road for 24 hours someone came by. We - and his 4 passengers chatted for a bit, moved some of the stuff in his truck around and made room for at least the food. We hid the rest of the stuff in some tall grass. I said I would hang around until dark but then I would head south. Someone else would have to come back and get it. Fifteen minutes after the first vehicle left, someone else came by and got the rest of the stuff. I headed south and was home by around 10:00 PM.

I arrived home feeling like a failure . While it was great to see some friends going in, it made fell even sadder. Being at the Gathering was/is important to me. Everyone else would make it. Perhaps I had wimped out. It was depressing. I did a brief post on the Family's Facebook site talking about being careful of the trucks etc. Two people posted that they had room for me in their vehicles on Friday and I could go up with them. But as I had to be back by Monday - I could not take a chance that I would not find a ride south.

Another post on Facebook talked about how the Gathering was coming together. I know in other times, when there is a bit of a journey to get there - it really brings people together. I miss being there - I can imagine how wonderful it feels.

I Am Not a Happy Camper

I am not a happy camper - in fact I am not a camper at all this week and I was supposed to be.

I have been participating in Rainbow Family Gatherings for a number of years. On most years I just make it to one Gathering, on a few I made it to two and in one exciting year, I attended three Gatherings. They are important to me - they are times and places where I get to hang out with my chosen family, people with who I am comfortable with, people who are comfortable with me.

I may not like all of the people at a Gathering, but I do love them. As a collective of people they cover the entire range of possible type of personalities, body shapes and attitudes -I even have known a Rainbow or two who said they were Republicans. Like all families there are good times, great times and times that are not as great. There are times where the folks who have decided to make supper have done an extraordinary job - with there being lots of it, perfectly spiced and inventive; I have had other meals that have been served very late and the taste was not so great. There have been times when there appears to be such perfect harmony within the circle that one could almost weep for the sheer joy and beauty of it all; but there are times (thankfully very seldom) where people disagree on a particular issue or two and their discord affects the whole Gathering for a while. I look forward to Gatherings; I look forward to going home. I am sad that I was almost there and had to turn back.

I had planned to go - I was packed, the car was loaded and I was on my way. On my way up island I dropped in on a brother and picked up a car load of kitchen stuff (pots and pans, a propane burner and tank, some tarps etc.). The car was definitely just as about full as it could be.

Like so many of the Gatherings on Vancouver Island, this year's Gathering was down some logging road. One can dislike clear cut logging with passionate hatred but still have to admit that without the extensive network of roads built by and maintained by the logging companies, most of us would not have access to much of the Island. The first part of the logging road was not too bad, it certainly was relatively smooth with only a few potholes. Logging truck are large, the weight of the vehicle constantly wears and tears at the roads, therefore replacing culverts, strengthening the bridges and grading the roads are a constant activity.

The road, especially until noon can be a dangerous place - the logging trucks, loaded with good size logs drive like they own the road - because they do own it . The truckers assume that people will get out of the way. Those trucks, some of which are driven faster than I would ever drive, could not stop quickly if they had to- there is just too much weight. If one needs to drive on the road when the big trucks are active, it is best to get behind one of the multitude of pickup trucks driven by service crews and follow them. They have radios that tell them when a log truck is coming and so get off the road. All of the traffic makes everything, the trees included, covered in a fine dust, a dust that sticks to everything.

The last 16-20 kilometres of the road were horrible. The road was no longer in use and therefore the forestry company was not maintaining it. It was relatively steep in some spots, it had either large potholes or numerous medium rocks on the trail (sometimes both). Every ten or fifteen feet I would hear a loud clunk on the bottom of my car. I had visions of crushed brake lines, broken tie rod ends and smashed mufflers. After two-three kilometres I stopped and turned around. It was just not worth the risk. There was also the possibility that I had somehow got on the wrong road. Surely the scouts did not plan on me going down that road!

To be continued.....