Pope House

The crown jewel of the site.  Come and take a tour.

Sunday Morn

It is Sunday morning, the last day of May.  Where has it gone?  The weather here has settled down to Tahoe normal.  Lots of sun, warm days, cool nights.  Memorial Day at the site was busy but not crazy.  We did not drive anywhere during the week-end so we had no trouble.  With Lake Tahoe being a resort area, there is lots going on all time and more in the summer.  Friday night was a relay race around the lake. Q&M walked down to the highway after dark to the reflective and lighted runners jogging by.  This week-end is also the Rennaisance Faire at Camp Richardson which is a mile away. It draws many people and their vehicles needspace to park.  This creates problems because there is not adequate parking nearby for the influx of folks.  There has always been a problem in this area during the summer and Cal Trans has made the problem even worse this years with road construction and adding bicycle lanes along Hwy 89 eliminating parking along much of the roadway.

4th of July will be very interesting indeed.   Above is one of the guest cabins Pope estate. 

Memorial Day

Yesterday was a beautiful day.  It was the first bright sunny day that we have seen for several weeks.  Of course the clouds gathered in the late afternoon and it rained Hard from 5pm til 6; the hardest rain we have seen since we arrived here.  The rain is messy when you live with dogs in a trailer, but rain is so needed that  I can't mind.
  
Mount Tallac had a clold cap as I walked Q & M at 7am.  The quiet is such a pleasure.  I had forgotten how busy Hwy 89 gets in the summer.  No one was driving as we walked down to the lake.

Later, in mid-afternooon, the three of us hiked the trail along Taylor Creek upstream to Fallen Leaf Campground which is a USF campground with over 200+ sites.  We strolled through the site.  It was only about 1/3 occupied.  The weather forecast probably kept folks at home.

The morning walk

The morning walk happens about 6:30.  The dogs, basically Quam, tell me that it is time to get up and go for a walk.  I hook Q & M up and head down the driveway toward the lake.  We cross Highway 89 and head for Taylor Creek which flows south from Fallen Leaf Lake into Lake Tahoe.  Early in the morning the sights and sounds are nature, nature, nature.  Water flowing around the beaver dam, mist lifting from the water, birds chirping.  The quiet of the creek in the morning is a great way to start the day. 

Spring Flower

End of week two

   It is Thursday night.  R and our next door neighbor, Lois are watching a recorded "Dancing with the (almost) Stars".  Help me please!  So I am on line and trying to ignore the blah - blah.

   Today was the last day of our two weeks of prep.  The volunteers have done a tremendous amount of work to get Tallac Historic Site ready for the Memorial Day opening.  All of the buildings have gone from wrapped up for winter to fully furnished, fully open in this time period.  Over 500 barrels of Jeffery Pine needles have been raked up and hauled to the burn pile.  The place is ready for opening day which is the Saturday of Memorial Day, in two days.

    The weather has not been the greatest.  Cold and rainy.  Makes me think of Oregon's winter.  I am ready for warmer temperatures, but looking at the forecast, I will have to wait for a while yet.  The rainy weather is making the mountains have a whiter look.  They definitely have more snow than when we arrived two weeks ago.

  

Day #4

It's Thursday morning 6:12.  The dogs let me sleep in til 5:30.  A bit earlier than I would have picked but better than other nights of 1am and 4am.  Our new dog Quam, is still in training.  He cannot be left alone yet because he gets too anxious and get into trouble ( tippng over the waste basket, getting up on the table), so we must put him in the crate while we are gone.  I hate to do it but as time goes on, he will realize we are not going to leave him and his feelings will lessen. 
  Quam adapted to our house fairly quickly, and I feel he will get this camping thing quickly too. There are many different proceedures when you live in a 30 foot fifth wheel.  However, he and Mollie are loving the twice daily long walks in the woods that happen here at Tahoe. 
  The weather here has been cool, with mostly sunny days.  We have been working hard at the Tallac site.  There are approximately 20 buildings that have been "put to sleep" for the winter.  Our job right now is to wake them up and get them ready for our summer visitors.  This entales removing shutters, replacing them with screens on some buildings, covering furniture, cleaning and dusting the rooms, "dressing" the rooms with furniture and nicknacks, and moving on to the next one.  The buildings were built about 100 years ago so maintenance and repairs are constant chores.  Right now there are 16 volunteers working like beavers four days a week to get the site ready to be open on Memorial Day week-end. 
  It's hard work but we love this place and the people who we work with.  We have been here 7 nights and have had social get-togethers at least 4 of those nights.  Lots of talking, eating, laughing, and getting reacquainted.  We come back for the people.