The first stop is Lava Beds National Monument, less than a three hour drive, which is good because we got started much later than planned. For about the first thirty miles or so, the tears come. Tears for all I’m leaving behind. All the “things” keep going through my mind, but really I feel like I’m leaving a part of myself. Maybe I’m leaving behind an obsolete version of myself that hasn’t been replaced by a new version yet. It’s an entirely new life, and despite all my research and planning, I have no idea what to expect. It’s a very strange mixture of sadness, relief and excitement, leaving me in a weird place somewhere between confidence and fear. I’m living my dream, and I’ll just have to learn as I go.

I love living in my RV. One of the reasons I wanted to try this lifestyle is because every time I’d come home from a trip, I would feel sad at being back in the house. A few times I even spent the night in the motorhome parked in the driveway because I missed it so much. It’s hard to explain, but being in the camper feels more like home than being in the house. Now I’ve made the leap. I have no home to go back to. I’m pretty sure it will be fine, even great, but who knows? All I know is I have always been a problem solver, and whatever problems I encounter, I will just have to live and learn.

The first obstacle comes immediately upon getting parked. When I go to plug in the power cord, there is no receptacle for a 30-amp plug. What? In my somewhat limited experience, parks usually have both 30-amp and 50-amp connections. Some places have only 30-amp connections, but never only 50-amp. Luckily, the owners have an adapter on hand they are willing to lend me for the four nights I will be there. Apparently, I’m not the first guest to encounter this obstacle. I have a 30-amp to 20-amp adapter, but it never occurred to me I would need a 50-amp to 30-amp adapter. I make a note in my mind to buy one the next time I’m at a store that sells RV accessories.

We spend the next few days visiting and photographing Lava Beds National Monument and Tulelake National Wildlife Refuge. I’m thankful to be in familiar places because I’m in somewhat of a daze. On the one hand, I’m positively giddy about the adventures I know are ahead. On the other, I have only planned a tentative route that will take me through the next three months or so and I have no idea where or what will come after that.

The next stop is supposed to be LaPine State Park in Oregon, but while driving in that direction, I see a sign that says “Crater Lake – Next Left.” Then a sign at the intersection that says “Crater Lake – 40 miles.” Even though I have a long list of places I want to photograph, and I have already photographed Crater Lake several times, it seems a shame to just go on by when it’s so close. Plus, I have no idea if or when I will be in this area again I pull over to discuss it with Chris. We decide we are in no hurry and should go for it. And so we take a two-day detour, which means I will spend my birthday at Crater Lake. This is the joyful spontaneity I was hoping for in my new life. What a great start!

Crater Lake National Park has only one campground that can accommodate RV’s, and it has only a few sites with hookups. At the time, they are not accepting reservations and the procedure for getting a site with electricity is to show up at check out time and hope for the best. I honestly don’t know how anyone ever gets a site with hookups. They don’t tell you which ones they are. They just check you in and tell you to drive around till you see a site you want. After driving around all three available loops and seeing no empty sites with an electric box, I finally decide just to take a pull-through site with no electricity. After all, it’s only for two days, and although I have had plenty of backing-up practice on vacations and even in my driveway, pulling through is still less stressful and more convenient.

In all my previous visits here, I have never managed to get decent photos of the part of the park known as the Pinnacles. I learned from visiting them that the light is almost never in the right place, except possibly at sunrise. In fact, the best part of the day anywhere in the park is early morning. On my birthday, I rise before the sun and make the drive out to the Pinnacles in time for dawn. What a spectacular start to my 53^rd year. The next day, I rise just as early and witness the most breathtaking stormy sunrise ever from Rim Drive. Shortly after, it starts to snow and we are relieved to be on our way to lower elevations. Click here to view my collection of Crater Lake images.

We reach our next planned stop, LaPine State Park, only to find that all the campsites are marked either “reserved” or “one-night only.” My plan is to stay several nights. I search out the camp host and explain my dilemma. They tell me I am welcome to stay one night, and check in with them the next morning to see if the site is still available for another night. I do this for three more nights until they tell me I can stay no more. This gives me enough time to resupply food and explore the area. Now to find a grocery store. The GPS shows the closest one is 11 miles away in Sunriver. Off I go, following the device’s directions. Soon, I find myself in a parking lot with no grocery store in sight. Something that looks like it might have once been a grocery store is now an empty building. So much for that. The next closest is a Safeway in Bend, 30 miles from the campground. My first lesson in not trusting the GPS. Live and learn.

There are two waterfalls I want to visit in the area, but they are not near each other and both require a day trip from camp. It’s a tough decision but, I decide forgo Proxy Falls and visit Tumalo Falls since it is a bit closer. It’s a wondrous waterfall, although heavily visited, and I’m satisfied with my choice. We also spend an afternoon visiting the Newberry National Volcanic Monument, which is very interesting and surprisingly scenic.

The Deschutes River encircles the campground at LaPine State Park and there is a lovely trail that follows the river. Luna really wants to swim in the river, but the trail is high above and the banks are too steep to get down to the water. We find one place where we can hike down to the water so she gets a few swimming minutes. This is what she lives for. Her joy is so incredibly apparent it transfers to me. I make a mental note to find places to stay near water whenever possible. Living and learning.