Entering with a drama!

When we choose to take a highway it is usually our last resort. Being on the road between the farms for 3 nights, going onto our fourth day, we were kind of getting tired.
So, highway it is!

We took 5 south to Sacramento (state capital), and then switched to highway 99 south, going through Fresno. From Fresno it was a short drive and then we entered a scenic road.

But, there was no enjoying the scenery and taking pictures. The night was darker than dark.
It was already past 8 pm or so. The stars were out and the new moon was smiling up above.
Our tired crew was following the directions we had gotten from our farm host. Sometimes, however, people forget to mention very insignificant for some but extremely important for the other, details.

The paved road was getting more and more narrow, steep and winding. Frequent turns brought back memories of driving up the hill in Montana, and before long the thoughts of getting stuck on the mountain started lurking in.

In the worst case scenario we would have to camp out on the side of the road (that is if there would be a wider spot) and then look for a solution in the morning.
We kept on watching for numbers on the posts and my heart was beating fast. I was scared. I was scared of us getting lost. Finally we were relieved to come to the ranch gates made out of old telephone poles and see the number we were looking for.

Unfortunately, the relieve didn't last for too long. The high beams on the truck revealed a steep downhill and a few narrow curves. Not such a good news, after all! We had to enter with a drama, again!

Mirek parked on a side, got the flashlight (to see if there were no undesirable creatures like black widows or rattle snakes) and went down the hill towards the dark abyss and the dogs' choir.

When we were sitting in the truck a lot of different questions went through my head. "How far did Mirek have to go? What if he didn't see a rattle snake and stepped on it? What if there was a mountain lion? How much longer will we have to sit and wait?"

It took him 15 minutes. The longest 15 minutes for me. Mirek got a ride back up and it was a quick shaking of hands and introducing ourselves to Anore, our host. The kids were troopers, but it felt like a calm sea before a storm. Everybody was so exhausted and could think nothing about but to put our heads on the pillows.

Anore and Mirek searched for a place for us to park the trailer for another 15 minutes. I could see two flashlights gleaming up and down, left and right. Anore's suggestion to go another 0,4 mile up the road and make a U turn at a gravel pit was decided to implement in the morning, when we could see better.

So, it was decided. We drove into a narrow driveway up on the hill enough for the trailer's butt not to stick out too much.

We have never fallen asleep so fast. All of us.

The next morning our alarm clock were the branches scratching the top and the sides of the Airstream. Then we opened the door, and for the first time saw where we were.
Majestic mountains all around us. Beautiful color contrast of dry yellow grass and green bushy trees. Sierra Nevada Mountains were welcoming us in their morning glory.
The challenge of finding a spot to make a U turn and then unhitch and park the trailer was still ahead. But we decided it could wait, and all went down the driveway to meet our farming hosts in a proper manner.