GROVER HOT SPRINGS, May, 2021

GROVER HOT SPRINGS

May, 2021 

Our first camp trip of the year was a quick little jaunt to Grover Hot Springs State Park, near Markleeville, CA.  It was a quick, three day, two night trip, but it was much needed.

Because of "The Vid," you had to make reservations for your soak, but it was actually nice, because our whole group was able to soak at once.  We soaked Friday and Saturday.

Absolutely beautiful meadows around the springs.

Susan and Dex heading out to the waterfalls.

Made it to the falls just as it started to drizzle rain.

A lab is required by law to find water and JUMP IN!

Susan made some incredible little Keto BLTs for lunch.

Some "Yoga-ish" stuff happening at camp.

Best friends make every experience better.

Some live music at camp is always great.

Enjoying a campfire before fire season bans them all.

My girl in her happy place.

Last campfire of the trip.

Susan is quite the camp chef.  Tonight was carnita tacos with all of the trimmings.

Even though it was drizzly at times, the weather was just about prefect.  It was so nice to get outside after the 2020 mayhem that hit us all and to see things starting to get back to normal.  This was the weekend that the CDC lifted the mandatory mask mandate that kept us all subdued, sedated, divided, etc.

Many future trips were planned during this weekend and after not adding to this blog in a year or so, I hope to fill it up this year.

ANOTHER QUICK TRIP TO THE

BLACK ROCK PLAYA

09-26-2020

We squeezed in another short little camp trip to the Blackrock playa and this time it was to help celebrate the birthday of Susan's friend Maureen.  This weekend also happened to be National Public Lands Day, which was a bonus.

In addition to meeting more of Susan's friends, I had one of my closest friends, 

"Hansi" join us on the trip.

Even though the days were fairly hot, the evenings cooled down considerably 

and at night, it was downright chilly.

There's just something about that first beer you open on every trip

that makes you realize how truly wonderful life can be.

Home on the playa.

I first met "Hansi" in 1998.  We worked together in the same career and often found ourselves in the kind situations that give rise to a strong brotherhood.  He's been 

one of my closest and dearest friends ever since.  We now live eight hours apart

and that sometimes makes it difficult to see each other as often as we'd like, but 

with retirement right around the corner, we've vowed to change that!

 

The clean, crisp air of the desert and the wonderful sunsets always make

me feel at home and at peace.

Two perspectives of Old Razorback mountain with the moon.

Hansi always goes LITE, but we were all wondering if he could actually

fit in that little tent.  He did, but only barely.

For dinner, Susan and her friend who's also a Susan, made her tacos that

were such a hit on our last playa trip.  Chicken and beef asada tacos with all

of the fixins and as usual, there was plenty of beer and wine.

After dinner, I grabbed my black UV light and went scorpion hunting.  Out on

the playa, you probably won't see any scorpions, but if you go into the portion

of the playa that transitions to the sage, you'll see more than you can count.

Virtually every bush I went to had at least one scorpion and some had two or three.  They ranged in size from about 1 to 4 inches, so think about that next

time you decide to walk around with sandals...

This was Hansi's first time on the playa, but he loved it and is already

making plans to return with his wife.

There really is something special about this place and most deserts

in general.  I think they're every bit as beautiful as places like

Yosemite, it just that the desert makes you look for the beauty

a little more, but there's a certain joy in making that realization.

We packed up camp on Sunday and stopped by Planet X Pottery on the way home.  If you plan it right, you can get most of your Christmas shopping done

in one stop at Planet X.

We're already planning our next trip to the area and would like to check out

the Fly Geyser and the Soldier Meadows area.

Until next time...

 A LITTLE WEEKEND TRIP & CAMP
TO TAYLORSVILLE, CA
09-05-2020

Every year, Susan meets a bunch of her family and friends at an old historic house that's been handed down over the generations to her mother's close friend Kay.  The house usually fills up with guests and several families park their campers on the property for a weekend of catching up over a lot of great food and wine.

This year, amidst the smoke from the many wildfires that were burning up a large portion of northern California, I accompanied Susan on her annual trip and we had a great time.

The house was built in 1857 and it has so much character that only a house

of that age can have.  It's right on the main street of Taylorsville.

Just look at that beautiful wrap around porch.

We set up our little camper near the barn, alongside two big, 

fancy travel trailers.

We had a great time just relaxing on the big porch.

There was plenty of wine, beer and snacks to keep

everyone happy.

The next day, Susan and I took a walk through the little town and of course,

Dexter had to roll around in any bit of water he could find.

The temperatures were in the high 90°s during the day, which isn't that

bad, but the humidity was also very high and that, combined with

all of the smoke from the fires, made it somewhat uncomfortable in 

the middle of the day.

This is the old one room schoolhouse for Taylorsville.  When

peeking in the windows, you can still see some of the old

furniture and fixtures from yesteryear.

When you think of northern California, it's easy to imagine

wine vineyards and orchards, but this area has a lot of

ranching.  We saw lots of cattle and sheep grazing away in the

picturesque valleys of the area.

We had to cool off in the local swimming hole and although the views were

spectacular, the smoky haze gave the area a kind of surreal look.

I can't tell you how good it felt to sink into that cold water

after such hot, smoky days.  A wet Dexter in the foreground

lets you know he spent more time in the water than out of it.

Susan and Kay caught some rays and enjoyed catching up

with one another.

Back at the house, Dexter assumed his regular dog

duty on the front porch.

Sunday finally came and signified that the weekend was coming to a

close.  After one last nice breakfast on the porch, we packed up the 

camper and headed back home.

We had such a great time and it's so nice to meet the friends of someone

who's special to you and even better to realize her friends are as

wonderful as she is.