Wednesday July 13

Today is our last Wednesday meeting.  R and I have four more work days.  Saturday is our last day on the job.  The time seems to have slipped away again.  It does that every place we go.  Days go by, things happen, memories are made, lessons learned, and we move on.  Just like life, I guess.

  Sunday we will pack up the trailer, and head down the "hill" on Monday morning.  I have been doing a few tasks to prepare for the trip.  Checking battery levels, cleaning my K&N air filter, rearranging items in the underneath storage compartment.

 I was trying to figure out our route to Minnesota yesterday.  We are definitely not going the direct route.  First, we are spending a few days at Capital Reef Nat. Mon. visiting friends we met at LBJ.  Ron and Mary are camp hosts and the Fruita Campground.  That area is beautiful and it will be good to see it again.  That means we will drive across Nevada on Hay 50 which is labeled "The Loneliest Highway in the US".  We have been on it before.  It is.

  Then we will drive east and north, avoiding the high passes of Colorado, thru Grand Junction, Craig and up to Wyoming.  We want to stop at Scottsbluff Nat Mon and go straight north to several small parks in NE Nebraska and SW South Dakota before we jump on I-90 and go east.  Eastern SD is not that exciting.

Up up and Away

Morning is the best time to take a hot air balloon ride.  At Tahoe the balloon rises from a barge in the lake for a flight where ever the winds will carry it.

Cowslips

On a morning walk in the woods the sun coming through the birch trees decorating the Cowslips with strings of light.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie

Sometimes when you are tired and Quam is in your bed, you just have to make do with what is available.

Neighbor

Monday I was out at the picnic table pouring Cheerios into Tuperware  containers when I heard a scratching noise behind me.  I glanced back to see what it was and saw one of our neighbors sauntering along the side of the volunteer trailer about 25 feet away,  I turned and watched him, not saying anything.  He stopped and we looked at each other for a moment.  I called out to R, who was in the trailer, to come and see.  She stepped out, said , "Oh my!" ( or something appropriate) and went to get the camera.  Her shot is not too great but it is better than the one I got when I finally thought about taking my phone out of my back pocket.

 He was the most beautiful shade of chocolate brown.

Two Weeks

   We have two weeks left here at Lake Tahoe.  Eight actual work days. How did that happen?   When you arrive, there is so much work to do and time to pass, it seems to be a long way off.  Not so.  It goes by, just like life, quickly.
    Two weeks from today we will be on the road again, (sounds like a Winnie Nelson song ), heading east and then north toward Minnesota.  That is going to be another story.  We will have no time frame so it will be at a more leisurely pace.  Going and coming from Texas, we had dates and appointments to keep so time was more important.  The only time I have set for us is that I would like to be back in Oregon by September at the latest.

    The View out window, if 5 or 6 trees were cut down.  The cross of snow on Mt Tallac has broken.  Last year the snow level was much less and it disappeared much earlier.

July 4th

A quiet day for us.  We were off !  So we just hung out here at the RV site.  No way were we going to face the crowds and traffic.
  I did go for a morning walk with the boys down by the lake.  At 7:15 there were already several canopies set up on the beach with folks staking their claim.  The hot air balloon had customers as well.  It was a good way to start the day.  Happy Birthday America !