The Wind Kept Rippin'

The Wind Kept Rippin'

This photo was taken at Alabama Hills, California, which I visited on my second day on the road. Unfortunately, due to its immense beauty and popularity, Alabama Hills is the only spot of the trip so far that I’ve been unable to find a campsite. The place is gorgeous and unique and I desperately wanted to camp there for the night, but even though I arrived relatively early and drove around for at least an hour hoping to find a vacant spot, all the sites had already been claimed. I even considered asking someone if they wouldn’t mind sharing a site, but the right opportunity never presented itself and I was forced to get back on the road with my tail between my legs. 

I drove an hour to the next campsite on my radar—an open desert landscape next to a dry lake. The site wasn’t anything fancy, but it was clean, spacious and charming in its own way. But before long the wind started picking up. And soon my van was getting hammered by powerful gusts. For a moment there I wondered whether the solar panels mounted to my roof would stay put.

Not wanting to hit the road again, I remained optimistic that the wind would mellow once the sun went down. But, even after sunset, the wind kept rippin’. 

Yes, I could have remained hunkered down and I’m sure everything would have been fine, but I knew I wouldn’t get an ounce of sleep in that howling wind, so around 8pm I decided to find a different spot. I searched online for options but didn’t see any nearby. So, on just the 2nd night of the maiden voyage, I made a last-minute decision to drive another 30 minutes to one of the least glamorous options known to road warriors: the Walmart parking lot. 

Before embarking upon my trip I knew that Walmart was a decent fallback option, and I wasn’t opposed to the idea, but I never would have guessed that I’d resort to it on just the second day. But, to be honest it wasn’t half bad! I was much more protected from the wind and I was parked near 3 RV’s and another van which made me feel completely safe. With earplugs and an eye mask I could have been sleeping anywhere for all I knew.

In the morning I checked the forecast and saw that a multi-day wind event was expected, so after leaving Walmart I pointed my van away from the flat, windy desert and ended up finding a great site up in the mountains, right on the Kern River, where I was much more protected from the wind and ended up having a lovely time in an area I didn’t initially plan on visiting.

I guess the moral of the story is that life—especially life on the road—can’t and won’t always go to plan. We must be flexible. We must be open. I had visions of finding a perfect site in the picturesque Alabama Hills, yet I ended up sleeping at Walmart. But even though my surroundings weren’t planned, I got a great night's sleep and in the morning was off to my next adventure. Everything worked out great in the end.

“If you just go with the flow, no matter what weird things happen along the way, you always end up exactly where you belong.” –Tom Upton