Iris

The flowers near the pond on the Pope Estate are just coming in bloom.

Last Day

   Today is the last day of Session 1.  We had to ( say "See you Again"  to our friends.  (We don't say Good-bye, we say see ya later instead.)  Five couple left the RV area this morning.  It was not a fun time for us.  We will miss the conversations and laughs.  The people are the reason we do the volunteering thing.
  Today we are in town to get cell coverage and visit the city library. I downloaded the app to borrow e-books from the Canby library.  The app is not really user friendly so I hope be using it often I can figure the out method.
   Lat night's temp was 31.  ( Tahoe weather is unusual.)  By Saturday the temperature is forecast for the high 70s.  We are ready for summer!!  

Endings

   Tuesday is the last day of Session 1.  It is going to be difficult to say goodbye to some of our friends new and old.  We have had many conversations, bowls of snacks, and tons of laughter during this 5 weeks.  I hope the next session will be at least half as much fun.
    The one given is that the weather will be warming up.  Although Tahoe weather is unpredictable, summer will have an influence even at 6200 ft.  Mother Nature is playing with us right now as the high today might not get to 50 or tomorrow and tomorrow night is forecast for 27.  Yipes!
    Second session differs from the first because the focus is more on programs and less on maintenance.  That's both good and bad.  Randa and I love to do the programs such as tours of the Pope House, Kitchen Kids (teaching 6-12 year-olds to bake treats from scratch, Servants Tours,  The catch is this year additional programs have been added to the mix.  With the rotation out of session 1 folks, I am apprehensive that enough new interpretive volunteers are added to the crew.  We shall see.     The Internet situation has not gotten any better.  I am writing this from the volunteer room down at the site because, supposedly, the reception is better.  Not that I can tell......

colors

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.