My base camp for my time in Lassen was Cabin Number 4 at the Mill Creek Resort.

The resort is located 12 miles south of the Lassen Volcanic National Park southern entrance. It was 25 miles from gas and groceries in the metropolis of Chester.

The resort was first opened in 1936 and featured a store, gas station, and a post office. The current resort has nine cabins, eight RV sights, and 17 tent campsites. The twelve acres includes a stretch of Mill Creek.

After almost six months of distance leaning one thing that really appealed to me about Cabin 4: no WiFi! I was more that ready to get away from screens and start to enjoy the rustic.

No more work email, useless YouTube videos, political ads, or any ads. Just a view from the front porch, a book, and my watercolor journal and sketching kit.

The true test came on Wednesday evening when word came that PG&E was going to be shutting off the power because of high winds for three day. It was about to get really rustic!

One Wednesday I was in the middle of reading the poem “Traveling through the Dark” by William Stafford when the power went out at 7:35 PM. This was uncanny, irony of the highest order!

I turned on my headland and finished the poem which ends:

I thought hard for us all—my only swerving—,   
then pushed her over the edge into the river.