Must See Stops 2: Taylorsville, CA Days 9 – 13 of 83

Introduction: John and I had plans to travel. We had plans to find a way to become full-time RVers, but in reality we knew that this would probably have to wait for retirement due to his medical conditions. When he was diagnosed with angiosarcoma cancer in May 2017, he ended up being trapped in a hospital room for 83 days. He was admitted for six different hospitalizations in four different hospitals in three different cities before unexpectedly dying in the hospital on Oct. 5, 2017. You can read about the day he died Part 1 and Part 2. I then made Big Plans to take a trip to the places we had wanted to go and see together. For months I planned the trip: an 83 day trip in my RV with my two youngest daughters, almost 14,000 miles around the United States in 83 days! Each day would take back a day that was stolen from John in the hospital. This is one of 10 stories from my “Must See” destinations.

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THIS destination was the entire reason for the trip. Why, you ask? Why would Taylorsville, CA with a population of 154 be the first planned destination of my trip? Why would anyone choose this as their major destination?

Well, when your husband is lying in a hospital bed for almost the entire summer, battling a viscous, aggressive form of cancer and he suddenly looks at you and asks,

“When the school year is over, can you put me in the motorhome and drive me to the California town where our daughter lives?” you immediately mark your calendar. And when he dies unexpectedly seven months before the trip was supposed to take place, you decide that you will still bring him there. And THAT is why I went to the tiny town of Taylorsville, CA. You can read more about the plans I made by clicking HERE!

My daughter had told me that it was a classic California mountain town. Having traveled through some small mountain towns in the Eastern United States, I thought that I knew what to expect. I expected to see big ol dogs lying on porches of businesses, people walking around with shotguns strapped to their backs, weathered and worn buildings, and people who said little to “passers-by.” I couldn’t have been more wrong. Taylorsville, and the surrounding area, while tiny, was a bustling town with friendly people who wanted nothing more than to get to know you and share a laugh or two. It may have been because my daughter had lived there for almost two years, it may have been because unlike the trips to mountain towns in the Eastern United States, I wasn’t merely “passing through” or it may have been because I got lucky and met the right people, but Taylorsville was wonderful. It was also the place where I spent the most days of my 83 day trip. I stayed there for five days… the longest stop of the trip! This meant that I could put out my awning, my camping mat, and my orange water cooler, making it look more like a camping trip than any other stop.

             

We arrived on day 9 of the trip. Ironically, there would be two major anniversaries during this stop. First, on day 9 of John’s hospital stay, he was finally diagnosed with stage 4 angiosarcoma. I remember holding his hand at his bedside as the doctor and the doctor’s resident walked into the room to give us the news. The air in the room was tense. We knew to expect bad news. Our two oldest daughters held their breath as we did, waiting. The doctor wasted no time in delivering the verdict. Angiosarcoma. I had never heard of it. It didn’t sound good, but John had battled a cancer once before and won. I tried to believe that this time would be no different. “How long have I got?” John asked with a thready voice and the saddest eyes I have ever seen. “There are lots of treatments,” the doctor replied. “This isn’t a curable cancer, but it is treatable. There are many people that live with stage 4 cancers for a long time. We can’t give you a time frame.” John said nothing.

So, as a remembrance of that day… I just happened to pull into the place he wanted most to go. And while I was there, I celebrated our 26th wedding anniversary. Alone.

My oldest daughter met us at the campsite, which was biking distance from her home. She stayed with us in CeeCee for the first night, and the next day, she took us to one of the places she worked. A restaurant on Lake Almanor where they serve great food with the great views. The sun was shining, and I felt a sense of accomplishment in having arrived after several days on the road.

After lunch, the littles swam in the lake while Alicia and I dodged grenade-like pinecones that warned of their descent with several seconds of clunking and bumping on their gravitational path from the tops of the trees. They were almost impossible to spot before they hit the ground and we joked that we would be making a trip to the ER if we didn’t.

      

We returned to Alicia’s place, had a good old-fashioned Sheboygan, Wisconsin style brat fry and I sat on the porch with my oldest daughter, drinking a glass of wine. The night was capped off with a fantastic bonfire.

                     

I felt that the decision to come here had been the right thing to do. I could feel John’s presence, I could feel him smiling and laughing and enjoying the outdoors and the sunshine. I could see the pride he always had for his girls. The journey to California brought some personal challenges, driving a 32 foot motorhome through two mountain passes and navigating each day on my own was nerve-wracking at times, but I had found a rhythm to the days. I had learned how to live life on the road, moving every few days. I’d learned where to find the precious water that I needed, where to stop for gas, and where to stock up on supplies. I learned to start supper in the mornings with my coffee so that by the time I actually cooked, there wasn’t much left to do. I wasn’t even two weeks into this almost twelve week trip, and already I knew that I would miss this lifestyle when it was over.

On another day, I took Alicia to Lassen Volcanic National Park. Well, actually, Alicia took me. Well, actually, Kady took all of us with her free pass. Alicia’s little car climbed up the curvy mountain and we gained over 3,000 feet in elevation. We needed the extra coats that had seemed so silly when we put them in the car only an hour earlier. At this elevation, there was still snow on the ground on at the end of May! We hiked the 4 mile round trip Mill Creek Falls Trail (sadly, the Bumpass Hell Trail was closed. With a name like that, you almost HAVE to hike it!).

On the way to the National Park, we had driven through another small town;  Greenville, California. As I looked at the quaint buildings, I spotted a sign propped open on the sidewalk and read it as we slowly went by: Knit Night Tonight. Alicia was surprised that she had never noticed the shop before, and had been in the town so many times over the years! “Too bad you didn’t bring your knitting,” she said to me as we continued to the park. “I always have my knitting with me,” I said as I pulled two projects out of my backpack. “Then, you are going!” she said, and keeping to her word, I was dropped off in front of the store on the way back home and I got to spend an amazing time with Eva and the ladies. Knitters are cut from the same cloth (or is it cut from the same wool?). They shared their stories with me, and I shared mine with them. We were instantly a little knitting circle of life-long friends, kindred spirits united by the love of knitting. I know that Eva and will keep in touch. We actually already have!

On my last day in Taylorsville, I had some school work to finish. As a teacher for the Deaf/Hard of Hearing, I

had left before the end of the school year and there were some final papers that needed to be taken care of. Alicia’s friends at the local grocery store, Young’s Market, allowed me to sit at the table and finish my work for a few hours. While I was there, a young woman came in with her father. I noticed her right away because she was using American Sign Language! I introduced myself to her in sign and found out that she and her father had passed this town numerous times, and she finally convinced him to stop and take a look around. We were both surprised to find someone signing in the store, and the owner said that in the years she has been there, this had never happened before. Of course it hadn’t, I thought to myself. This idea of “this has never happened before,” was starting to become a theme of the trip.

On my last day, Alicia and I took the littles on her favorite daily hike. I was still hurting from the four mile hike the day before so we had to stop more often than Alicia would have liked, but the fresh air and beautiful scenery was soothing. It knew that it would be hard to leave, but I had so many things on my calendar, so many places to see in the upcoming months, that I knew it would be Ok.

Little did we know then, but Alicia would be able to spend another day with us after I had driven up the Pacific Coast Highway and toured Washington and Oregon. I felt good, knowing that I had kept my promise to John, and I had taken him to see his daughter and the new town that she calls home. We can see why she loves it there so much.

You can read the letter I wrote to John about this part of the trip by clicking HERE!

If you would like to go RVing, here’s Everything You Need To Know! 

If you, or someone you care about is dealing with grief, here are some tips for coping with grief from people who are dealing with it themselves!

Did you see the urn I was holding in the picture above? John picked it out himself AFTER he died. Honestly! You can read about his Hand Turned Wooden Urn!

• Must See Stops Series
• Stop 1: Kansas City – Day 2 of 83
• Stop 2: Taylorsville, CA – Days 9 – 13 of 83
• Stop 3: Seattle, WA – Day 21 of 83
• Stop 4: Zion National Park – Day 36 of 83
• Stop 5: Grand Canyon South Rim – Day 42 of 83
• Stop 6: Albuquerque, NM – Day 49 of 83
• Stop 7: Philmont Boy Scout Ranch – Day 51 of 83
• Stop 8: Galveston, TX – Days 55 – 58 of 83
• Stop 9: Exeter, NH – Day 73 of 83
• Stop 10: Acadia National Park – Day 75 of 83