How I Moved to a Cabin in the Mountains

I lived in the San Francisco Bay Area in an East Bay town called Pittsburg. This is in the Contra Costa County "East County" area right between Antioch and Bay Point. We lived in a not-so-great part of town though it was far from being the worst. Across the street was City Park with baseball fields, a playground and a museum. Across from that was City Hall and the police department.

My children had a lot of scuffles with other children who lived in our neighborhood. I didn't think these were normal arguments. Some seemed to be racially motivated; there was a lot of hatred and one boy tried to molest my ten-year-old daughter. I decided we couldn't stay and prayed to be led to a better home, preferably in a very rural area where there would be space between us and our neighbors. I wanted room for my children to play. They were nine and ten at the time.

I had a low income at the time (oh hey, I still do!) Living on a low income in an urban area with two kids isn't as easy as doing it in the mountains with no kids (they're all adults now) so I had to cut corners to make the move happen. I rented a U-Haul and with the help of a friend got it all packed.. This was the biggest U-Haul available as I was moving out of a three-bedroom duplex. I hauled my little blue car on a trailer behind the U-Haul.

The two kids and I, along with two caged cats, set out to drive north. When we got to Redding I put everything in storage ($99/mo. for a 30x10 space.)

We returned the U-Haul, got into our car, and set out in search of a home. We drove north to the vicinity of Mt. Shasta, and after a few weeks rented a hotel room in Dunsmuir for a month. While there a landlady from Happy Camp phoned me several times encouraging me to look at her house.

I'd never been to Happy Camp before, and after a few weeks of not finding anything we liked in Dunsmuir, I decided to take a look. The house was exactly what we needed. It looks like a cabin on the outside. Inside it is humble but has three bedrooms... large enough for all three of us. I rented it ten years ago... and am so glad I did. The rent is affordable and the experience of living here has been priceless.

Most of the people I've met here in Happy Camp have been friendly and hospitable. I've encountered a few sour people who look down on anyone who lived in the outside world, but they are few and far between and easy to avoid most of the time.

Of course, since you're in a small town you're going to see them. That's one of the things I love. Every time you go shopping or to the post office, you'll see people you know; people you have a history with. Most of this is good, friendly, happy stuff. Yesterday I went to the post office and saw a couple I hadn't seen in months. I stopped to talk to them. Next I went to the store and chatted with my son (he's twenty) and of course saw about 10 other people I knew there.

During 2002-2004 I served on the Board of Directors for the local Chamber of Commerce, and designed their original website. Since then I've backed out of local politics and left that organization. Now I like to keep to myself most of the time. Here at home I have my writing and gardening to keep me busy.

Going out of town is a strange experience sometimes. New items show up in stores in the larger communities - things I've never seen before. I've often had a sense of culture shock. You see, our town is 70 miles away from the county seat. It's a two hour drive on a winding river road. I've been out here on the river for months at a time without making the trip to the outside world.

I fantasize about moving to a town closer to the highway, with more population and more businesses, but so far it hasn't happened. It seems like the river has a hold on us, for now, and I don't know if I could get used to living "out there" again. Time will tell.

Cabin on the Pond
Art Print - Ervin Molnar
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