Water

Water is important here is California.  For many years it has been to little.  __ Drought

This winter was a wet one.  Lots of rain in Southern Cal.  Lots of snow here in the mountains.  More than 15 feet in high locations.

All that water creates some problems.  Flooding in the the valley.  Landslides at the coast (Hwy 101)
Snow damage here at SLT.  Caved roofs. Broken irrigation pipes. Flooding basements or crawl spaces.  Seeping water coming out from hillsides.  All of those problems have shown themselves here at the site.  Extra work for all of us.   Repairs are nearly completed, but I expect more to appear as time goes by.  Maintenance is ongoing .

Wi Fi

   Wi Fi is nice.  So is cell coverage.  But here on the south side of Lake Tahoe, it is only marginal at best.  I am sitting down near the lake itself to get enough cell bars to use my Jet Pack.  If I get too far away, or back at the trailer;  no dice.  The mountains and too many visitors put a strain on the system.  It is frustrating.
   Enough growling.  Our first two weeks are over, The site is open for business as of Saturday.  Both Randa and I have given our first Pope House tours so we have that under our belts.  The weather has been pretty good.  The first week was cold both outside and inside the buildings. As time went on the temperature outside warmed up but the unheated, insulated buildings remained cold.  Working with the volunteer crew is the highlight of this place.  Nice, interesting people who have the same desire as we do, get the Tallac site open, repaired, and ready for visitors to enjoy.  The volunteers really love it here and it shows in their work.  There are so many opportunities to show off their skills and passions.
   Then there is the area.  The lakes and mountains are gorgeous!  There is more snow this than in any of the 6 years we have been coming here.  The mountains surrounding the lake are still showing lots of white covering.   My battery is too low to include photos so til later...

Bear Encounter

   Bear sightings in Tahoe are not unusual.  The forest and the mountains are all around so the creatures of natures are not far away.  Catching glimpses of bears through the trees or crossing a road are relatively common, but still exciting for us out-of-towners.
   Personal close encounters are another thing.  Last year, on our afternoon walk, the boys and I came upon a bear.  Actually, the dogs were aware before I was.  I heard the sound of bark of a tree being scraped.  I stopped and surveyed the area of the sound,  Sure enough, there was a bear, reddish brown, clinging to a tree about six feet up.  We turned around and went back the way we came.
   This scenario was repeated  two days ago on our morning walk down by the lake (Lake Tahoe).  Quam stopped and looked off into the trees.  I heard that same bark scraping sound.  I stopped.  Looking around I found a tree about 75 ft away with a very black blob on the trunk.  I could not distinguish that it was a bear, but I could see what I determined was a white muzzle which meant that he was looking at me.   The trail back to the trailer would have brought us closer to that blob. so after five seconds of hesitation, I chose to turn around and find another way home.  It wasn't scary but it did make the trip memorable.

Dog Park

Took the boys to the dog park here at SLT.  It's ok.  No grass, just chips, but ok.  It is interesting watching the participants react.  The ones that are there line up at the fence to check out the "new arrivals".  Quam was all "huffy" and growly when he was on the leash.
   Through the double gates and into the area and things Change.  Of course, everybody smells everybody else.  Especially in the rear area.  Then they all have to pee, one after another, on the same tree or blade of grass.  Then after the greetings, everyone goes back to doing whatever they were doing before.
    Quam is no longer huffy.   He seems very much at ease even though 95 % of the occupants are much larger than he,.  It's harder to smell the butt of a tall dog, you know.  (Sounds like words of wisdom.)   No fights, no disagreements.  ( Hunter did let a dog know that what he was doing was not appreciated with one "Woof!" )
  All in all the visit was a good thing.  We will come back.  🐶

Texture of Wupatki

SLT

This is the first posting since we arrived at South Lake Tahoe (SLT).  We arrived Friday to sun and high 60s.  The next day the weather deteriorated to rain and then snow.  6 inches total.  It was beautiful !  Most of it was gone by the next day Sunday.  Our first day of work was Monday May 8th.  Seven couples and one single volunteer.  After a meeting to get organized , we set out to get the site opened up.  The South Lake Tahoe area had a tremendous snow fall this year.  Reports say 200% of normal, but tell that to the locals.  They were sick of the white stuff.  It filled back yards, parking lots and any vacant land.
   The first four days were a blurr of activity; shutters being taken down and stored, buildings opened up, floors and walls cleaned, furniture uncovered and dusted, knick-knacks unwrapped and put in place.  It's is not totally done, but the transformation so far is nothing short of amazing.
  The lake is higher than we have ever seen it.  The beach last year was about 30 from trees to lake.  This year it is less than 5 feet.  Water, water everywhere..  The mountains have more snow on them than we have seen in the 6 years we have been coming here.

Death Valley Bloom

Some flowers were still blooming on the way into the valley

Death Valley

Today we drove west from Beatty on Hwy 374.  We stopped at Rhyolite on the way.  In the early 1900s it had a population of 10000.  Fifteen years later, it was deserted.  Only a few broken buildings remain.

Then it was up over the pass, into California, and into Death Valley National Park.  It was warm. I checked at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center and it was 103.  Looking at the weather for South Lake Tahoe, I see 49 for a high on Sunday.  Are we really going there?

Death Valley is awesome !  Huge,  Magnificent.  Dry.  Hot.  ( today it was 103 at 2pm  at Furnace Creek.  We found a great road called the Twenty Mule Team Road that gave us a one-way passage through some harsh but beautiful hills.  It was a good day. 

Reptiles

While at Wupatki National Monument

, I found this guy enjoying the sun.

Texture

Texture of Wupatki 1

Wupatki

While at Williams, we went on a trip north of Flagstaff.  Sunset Crater and Wupatki National Monuments.  Sunset Crater is the largest cinder cone in the area marking volcanic action in the area. Wupatki is an area of unique and wonderful ruins of people who lived there a thousand years ago.  Some of their structures and relics remain to give us incite into their lives.  The visitor center is filled with stories and pictures to helps tell their story, but the actual pueblo sites are the highlights.
The first site we visited was named Wukoki.  The structure is build on a red stone outcropping and incorporates the rock as part of the building.  The construction was amazing.  Notice the straightness of the corners.

The park visitor center is located close to the largest structure in the park, Wupatki.  

At the peak several hundred people lived in this multilevel pueblo.  Walking around it was amazing.  Even though the site was 1000 years old, it was occupied in the 1940s.  It didn't become a National Monument until 1939 and the second Ranger and his new bride occupied two rooms of the pueblo as their government-provided housing.  No electricity, no plumbing, water had to be pumped into a tank and 55 gallons lasted a week.  And, of course, the government charged them rent.
The couple lived among the people and became family members and had a life enriching experience during their several years there.

Beatty, NV

It's 7am we are parked in a small rv park in the small town of Beatty.  We are about 110 miles from the north edge of Las Vegas and the opposite end of the spectrum.  Where Vegas is this huge monster, consuming electricity, water and land at an enormous rate, Beatty is a town of 1000 trying to stay alive.  The life blood is Hwy 95 which is the main artery running north-south through western Nevada.  Hwy 374 branches off and heads to Death Valley at the only stop sign in town.
   There are two RV parks, three motels, one casino ( this is Nevada, you know), two gas stations, and two restaurants so choices are limited.  Groceries?  Well, maybe at the gas station, or The Family Dollar, but your best bet is the office of the Space Station RV Park where you can milk,eggs, potatoes, butter and the important things like beer and chips.  If need anything else, Tonopah is only 93 miles to the north.
   All that in mind, we are staying here another night.  The ghost town of Rhyolite is only 4 miles up 374.  I remember visiting it in 1971 when we were stationed at 29 Palms.  We were visiting Death Valley and the gas was too expensive at Stove Pipe Wells (47 cents per gallon ) so we drove to Beatty to gas up.  It should be fun to go back.