Dear Sabbatical: Entry 2
Dear Sabbatical,
I did it. I drove 3,174 miles from Madison, Wisconsin to Destruction Bay, Yukon. I left Madison on Sunday at 11:14 AM and arrived here today at 7:10 PM local. Nearly five and a half calendar days. I obviously stopped a few times along the way. Actual driving time was 61 hours and 58 minutes, as measured by the Mango’s engine computer. So what did I do? I took a few pictures and left. I’m now on the other side of the lake. I found a secluded little road that is apparently used by maintenance workers to funnel the tributary creeks into the lake. It’s basically a man-made valley of rock and gravel that captures the creek and directs it where it’s wanted. Kind of clever. Also makes for a nice little hideaway for idiots who decide on a long ass road trip without scheduling out campsites along the way.
Which, let’s be honest. If I’d scheduled out campsites that means I would have actually had a schedule, and that would have sucked. I at least liked the ability to direct my day and route based on how I felt. I stopped if something was interesting enough, and I didn’t stay if I decided it wasn’t that interesting after all. Kind of like Destruction Bay. There’s really nothing there except for an RV park, a gas station, and a maintenance facility (I assume for the road ways and the aforementioned lake management). It’s not even really on the lake. It’s lake adjacent, at best. So I didn’t stay. I noticed this side road on my way into town and decided that this could be a good place to camp if I needed it. Turns out, I needed it.
But now that I’ve made it to my destination, what do I do? From here, I can probably make it back to Madison in as little as 4 days. I stopped more than necessary on the way up here, so I’m sure I could trim the day if I had to. Assuming I want to leave the buffer and have 5 days, that gives me 18 days unaccounted for. Do I sit in my lake-side hideaway for the next 2 weeks and then make the beeline home? I probably want to head down the British Columbia coast for at least a little while.
Honestly, a part of me just wants to turn around and head home now. The part of my brain that is always yelling about how much is partially completed at home is acting up. There’s always so much left to do. Having 2 weeks where people don’t expect me to be at home or to do things means I could be so productive. Really, I had that thought during day 3 of driving. It really is a VERY long drive up here, and not all that fun of one around the middle. No matter what I do, a different route going home is required.