Cami, Grayson, Tamra and I were headed from Los Angeles to Carrizo Plain National Monument to see the super bloom. The two and a half hour drive did not go smoothly for anybody. Not far from Los Angeles, Grayson messaged the group saying that he had lost a solar panel while driving down the highway. It just flew off. Not long after that, I was driving down the interstate when my back door just flew open. I hadn’t even noticed until some people started honking to let me know, and then I had to pass through three lanes of traffic to pull over. Luckily all my animals were still in the bus, which was my biggest concern. I did lose the curtain to my back door, but nothing else that I noticed.
Shortly after that Cami sent a message saying she was broken down on the side of the interstate. Tamra and I were not far behind so we pulled up behind her, but there wasn’t much we could do other than get her and her dogs off the highway, and wait for a tow truck with her. We all sat in Tamra's bus eating sushi while we waited. All four dogs were in the bus with us until somehow they busted out and made a run for it. Maggie slowly walked around so I was able to grab her easily, and Tamra and Cami got her two dogs, but Sophie, always the runner, was gone. The three of us searched for her, and I would occasionally catch glimpses of her running wildly through the brush, which was so thick I couldn’t get to her. I was covered in all sorts of scratches when she suddenly sprinted past me, and I lunged and tackled her to the ground. That dog always keeps me on my toes.
Eventually the tow truck came and took Cami’s rig away. We all followed, and that night Tamra and I slept in a nearby lot while Cami slept in her RV in the mechanic’s lot.
The next day we all decided our best option was to continue the rest of the way to the bloom. We brought Cami along, leaving her RV to be worked on, and I let her borrow my tent in the meantime.
Luckily for us, Grayson had successfully gotten there the previous day and had saved us the perfect spot. We drove down a long dirt road until we came to a field of yellow flowers with a small dirt lot dead-center in that field that was just big enough for our rigs and a tent. That was our home for the next few days—a sea of yellow flowers.
No one else was around, and when I let the dogs out, Sophie bounded into the flowers. She hopped through them like she was a rabbit, full of glee.
We stayed in that little paradise for a few days, taking in the beauty and solitude.
The second day we went for a hike, following a long dirt road that our vehicles could not go on. All four of the dogs ran freely, and Sophie was full of bliss. We ended up doing an eight and a half mile hike. I thought I would be exhausted when we were done, but it somehow energized me.
Cami and Greyson left the next day, leaving just Tamra and I. I took that time to finish painting the back door of my bus. It was now green, which I loved. It didn’t look great with the blue color of my bus, but I plan on painting the rest of it at some point.
I also took my moped out, which worked surprisingly well on the dirt roads. I zipped all around on it, taking in all the beautiful wildflowers.
When I got back, I was hanging out in my bus when I heard a ruckus outside. I went to find Monster and Thomas (Tamra’s and my cats) chasing something around. I tried to shoo them away while I called for Tamra. Eventually a little rodent went in between Tamras dually back tires. Then I was able to look closer and saw what appeared to be a teensy baby squirrel or chipmunk. With the cats circling the tire, I didn’t know what else to do other than pick the little guy up. It was so tiny I could cup it in one hand, and my heart melted when I touched it.
I knew I couldn’t let it go after being captured by a cat and being so young. I did as much research as I could, figuring out that it was not a chipmunk, but a female Antelope Squirrel, around 5-6 weeks old, and that it could be fed a specific kind of puppy formula. I loved our little flower paradise, but I knew I had to leave to get the food for this little girl. I headed to the closest town, an hour away.
Once I fed the baby squirrel, I got a call from Tamra that her cat had caught another one. She drove out to where I was so we could feed that one too. It ended up being a little boy. I found a little cage for them at goodwill to protect them from the other animals, and made them a little bed out of rags.
Soon after, Tamra was picking up her son Justin, and then we were meeting Cami at Remington Hot Springs. I was driving there when I saw Cami on the side of the road. I pulled up behind her to find she had broken down again. She had supposedly gotten her RV “fixed”, but here she was with the same problem as previously. We waited there until Tamra and Justin eventually pulled up. We weighed our options, and decided to wait awhile longer and then try to restart the vehicle, and continue on our way slowly if it started, hoping for the best. Luckily, after a few hours it started up again and we continued slowly on our way, figuring the problem had been caused by the vehicle having to work so hard on the steep hills. We arrived without incident, but late at night, so the hot springs would have to wait until the next day. We were at least able to park in a parking lot overnight. Unfortunately for me, I had to do squirrel feedings every 2-3 hours, which left me with very little sleep.
The next day the four of us hiked down to the hot springs, which were supposed to be alongside a river with little walls built up separating the hot springs from the icy water. Unfortunately, the river was so high that it consumed the hot springs, leaving us only with cold water except for one tiny hot spring that was higher up on land. There was a family in it though, so we decided to try our luck with the river. I stepped one foot in, but it was too cold, and I instantly pulled back. Tamra somehow went all the way in, submerging herself fully. She persuaded me to take a dip, and I somehow gathered the willpower to make myself go under. I instantly got out, grateful that the hot spring had become available. It ended up being only semi-warm, but I was quite grateful for it after the intense cold.
We stayed in that location two more nights. I took the squirrels for another night, but by the third, I was too tired to function. Luckily for me, Cami volunteered to take the squirrels that night.
Sophie was able to run free at the hot springs for a while, until I realized there were free roaming cows around. She took off after them, luckily not harming any. After that she couldn't run free anymore.
The next day I joined Tamra in Bakersfield. I had been trying to find a wildlife rehabilitation center to take in the squirrels, but wasn’t having any luck yet. Tamra took the squirrels that night, and by morning I had found a facility about a three hour drive away, straight toward the coast, which is exactly where I wanted to head anyway. Tamra and I parted ways, and I headed for the little coastal town of Morro Bay. Unfortunately for me, I forgot to close my newly rebuilt moonroof, and it snapped off while I was driving. Again. I was so over it, and decided to have an open ceiling concept. Again. I unscrewed the broken remains of the moonroof, bringing them inside.
I said goodbye to the squirrels as I dropped them off, quite sad to see them go, but excited to get sleep again. The next day, the wildlife rehabilitation center called to tell me that this type of squirrel was endangered, and they needed to know exactly where we had found them so they could let them go in the same place. I was grateful I had been able to keep them alive.
I found a little dirt lot nearby to spend the night, and awoke to the feeling of rain on my face, which seemed to be happening a lot lately. Messing around with the broken moonroof, I was able to partially put it back together. I screwed it back on but it was skewed and left a small open area. I ended up just stuffing a towel there to keep out the light rain.
I spent the day in the lot getting my bus back in order and relaxing. I figured I would sleep one more night there until a policeman pulled up. When I came out, the officer told me that they had seen me parked there the previous night, and had been being lenient. I replied politely and sweetly that I was hoping they would give me one more night, and I would leave in the morning. He replied, “Okay” and cheerfully skipped away. Simple and wonderful.
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