Day Four: Leave for Grass Valley via Nevada City. Drove through Donner Pass and marveled at the cold, snowy, rocky summit of Donner Peak. Amazing to think of the human suffering that went into the move west for many people. Drove into Nevada City to explore the old part of town and had a nice lunch at the Broad Street Café, where they allow dogs on the patio under your table. Poked around antique shops and nature stores with Clare. Found an old water mill and gold extractor and Clare had many questions about power and crushing rocks and gold and water. We all napped in the RV on a quiet street in a peaceful afternoon. Left for Gaby and Adrian’s house in Weimar (Grass Valley) and met up with them about 5pm. They have two horses and two they keep in pasture for their neighbors, three dogs, two cats, and a pond full of frogs. When we added two more dogs to that, all hell broke loose! Hartley is going out of his mind trying to figure out what a horse is, and learning that you can’t chase them!
Dinner: Lisa made pork loin with apples and raisins, and crispy potatoes
Day Five: Lazy breakfast with Adrian making eggs and four kinds of toast. Gaby shows Clare the “Crick” that runs down the back of the house, and the pond that it empties into. Clare is still gathering sticks for her “stash pile” and loved scooping the tadpoles and small frogs the size of dimes out of the water. Lisa sat by the creek and stroked all the pretty flowers and peeled sticks. Gaby offered to give Clare a ride on Penny, the retired racehorse. Penny got a bareback saddle and Clare got a great 45-minute walk around the paddock with Gaby leading Penny in loops. Clare was ecstatic! Adrian and Tom spent the morning talking politics and financials. Then Clare roped Adrian into going down to the pond and the whole frog/dragonfly/stick/flower event repeated in a lazy, lovely fashion. Naptime was called and all retired. Upon rising we decided that we were too chilled out to go out to dinner and ordered pizza and sat around listening to the crickets and frogs, with an occasional whinny from the cadre outside. Tonight mom and Hartley sleep in the RV for a little peace and quite from the animal parade.
Dinner: Cheesy pizza from a “local” joint.
Day Six: the historic HWY 49 and points unknown!
Saturday, June 6, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
We're "Camping"!
Well, it's nothing like how I camped as a kid, but the creature comforts certainly don't hurt. We haven't had great internet (of course, we're camping!) and today we leave the only known connection we will have. So I will post a list of what we've done so far for your viewing pleasure. I'll try pix on next post.
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Day One:
Leave home at 5am. Drive to Bishop and Brown’s Millpond Campground. Stop in Lone Pine for a walk at the foot of Mt. Whitney (N. America’s highest peak). After much searching for the site down winding roads, we find an oasis nestled into the hillside. The winds turn gale force at times, and it alternates between thin sunshine and horizontal rain. Clare befriends a two-year-old girl named Katie, and they search for sticks for their “stash pile” and cross the bridge over the small creek repeatedly. Dogs love watching the leghorns and Rhode Island Reds foraging in the scruff.
Dinner: Chicken Breast with lemon and steamed broccoli with brown rice.
Day Two:
Drive to Mono Lake to see tufas. The wind was icy and the lake appeared to be a light cornflower blue as it reflected the sky. Unimpressive from the highway, Mono was stunning up close, with vertical tufas rising up 12-15 feet in the air. The dogs enjoyed chasing the protein flies and cavorting in the breeze.
Drive to Tahoe. Stopped in Bridgeport for giant burritos. Scaled Monitor Pass (8000+ feet high) with Mom clinging to the “oh shit” handles of the rig. No guardrails and sheer cliff drops!!
Stay at Zephyr Cove RV Park. Walk to Zephyr Beach to see the Miss Dixie Boat and watch sunset.
Dinner: Chicken Breast with Marinara Sauce, Provolone and Noodles
Day Three: Breakfast at the Zephyr Cove Restaurant across the street. Lisa tries Eggs Benedict with hangar steak for the first time. Tom and Clare load up on pancakes. Drive around entire Lake Tahoe, looking for a park or place to get out with dogs. No DICE!! Finally find Laytin Park on the North West shore near Tahoe City. Lunch there, with Mom serving towering sandwiches. Tom and Clare at stocked trout pond. Whack-a-fish adventure goes like this: Get dirty rag, hook puller, cracked bucket, fish whacker rod, and mystery bait ball. Lower bait into shallow pond. Instantly pull up fish. Put said fish on stone bench. Whack repeatedly until dead. Do not mind eyeball falling out. Repeat. Take two whacked fish to man with one tooth. Ask him if he’s sure Willie Nelson fishes this way. Ask him to gut fish. Decline offer of guts for “soup”. Leave big tip just to get the hell out of there. Answer repeated questions from Clare about fish brains, eyeballs, and why eating said fish would not be a good idea. ☹ Dad grills hamburgers (in the rain) instead. We soothe our consciences at the Zephyr Cove Restaurant with ultimate s’mores and hot chocolate.
Dinner: Campfire cheeseburgers, asparagus
Day Four: Leave for Grass Valley via Truckee and Donner Pass.
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Day One:
Leave home at 5am. Drive to Bishop and Brown’s Millpond Campground. Stop in Lone Pine for a walk at the foot of Mt. Whitney (N. America’s highest peak). After much searching for the site down winding roads, we find an oasis nestled into the hillside. The winds turn gale force at times, and it alternates between thin sunshine and horizontal rain. Clare befriends a two-year-old girl named Katie, and they search for sticks for their “stash pile” and cross the bridge over the small creek repeatedly. Dogs love watching the leghorns and Rhode Island Reds foraging in the scruff.
Dinner: Chicken Breast with lemon and steamed broccoli with brown rice.
Day Two:
Drive to Mono Lake to see tufas. The wind was icy and the lake appeared to be a light cornflower blue as it reflected the sky. Unimpressive from the highway, Mono was stunning up close, with vertical tufas rising up 12-15 feet in the air. The dogs enjoyed chasing the protein flies and cavorting in the breeze.
Drive to Tahoe. Stopped in Bridgeport for giant burritos. Scaled Monitor Pass (8000+ feet high) with Mom clinging to the “oh shit” handles of the rig. No guardrails and sheer cliff drops!!
Stay at Zephyr Cove RV Park. Walk to Zephyr Beach to see the Miss Dixie Boat and watch sunset.
Dinner: Chicken Breast with Marinara Sauce, Provolone and Noodles
Day Three: Breakfast at the Zephyr Cove Restaurant across the street. Lisa tries Eggs Benedict with hangar steak for the first time. Tom and Clare load up on pancakes. Drive around entire Lake Tahoe, looking for a park or place to get out with dogs. No DICE!! Finally find Laytin Park on the North West shore near Tahoe City. Lunch there, with Mom serving towering sandwiches. Tom and Clare at stocked trout pond. Whack-a-fish adventure goes like this: Get dirty rag, hook puller, cracked bucket, fish whacker rod, and mystery bait ball. Lower bait into shallow pond. Instantly pull up fish. Put said fish on stone bench. Whack repeatedly until dead. Do not mind eyeball falling out. Repeat. Take two whacked fish to man with one tooth. Ask him if he’s sure Willie Nelson fishes this way. Ask him to gut fish. Decline offer of guts for “soup”. Leave big tip just to get the hell out of there. Answer repeated questions from Clare about fish brains, eyeballs, and why eating said fish would not be a good idea. ☹ Dad grills hamburgers (in the rain) instead. We soothe our consciences at the Zephyr Cove Restaurant with ultimate s’mores and hot chocolate.
Dinner: Campfire cheeseburgers, asparagus
Day Four: Leave for Grass Valley via Truckee and Donner Pass.
Monday, June 1, 2009
Tomorrow We're Off!
The RV is being packed and cleaned and stuffed to the gills. First stop is Brown's Millpond Campground just outside Bishop. Then on to two days in South Tahoe, two days in Grass Valley, one mystery day (haven't decided yet), two days at Lake McSwain, then an amble home! On the way we're stopping in ghost towns, Mono Lake, and anywhere else that looks interesting. Won't you blog along with us?
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