Slackin'

Man... I'm slacking. I haven't posted anything for a few days and things have been happening in my life. Since I was the last holdout in the whole country that didn't have a cell phone, I finally got one. OK, I had a good reason finally for getting one, to keep in touch with someone I am getting very close to. Funny how your perspective changes. Anyway here I am, in a different place than I was several months ago and going in a direction that I never saw coming. WTF? It's all good and just where I'm supposed to be, I have no doubt about that.

Next week I'm making a trip down to Las Vegas to spend some time with Karen. She's attending a wedding and I couldn't be there for that but we will have the weekend to get out in the desert together and soak up some sun. Warm... YEAH!! I can't wait...

Early taste of winter... Yuk!!

I'm not ready for this. The highest I saw my thermometer get yesterday was 41° and I stayed indoors most of the day working on my distribution sheets, getting laundry done, and trying to stay busy to keep my mind off of missing a very important person in my life. It's supposed to warm up again this coming week so hopefully I can get out and get some pictures of the fall colors. At least that's my plan. Maybe as early as tomorrow... I can only hope. Any way you look at it, ya gotta love it!!

Lodi

I just got back from a fantastic week in Lodi with Karen. We spent the time finishing up a remodeling job on her brother's house so they could put it on the market. There was plenty to do but Karen had gotten most of the hard stuff done earlier in the year.



This house is an old one in a pretty nice neighborhood in Lodi. Karen's grandson Cody was staying with us and helping out, as well as a cast of characters that dropped in during the week and also did a bunch of work.



The interior woodwork was quite cool as you can see in these pictures. There was an old wood toilet with the tank high on the wall in the bathroom, and a claw foot bathtub. Of course my favorite thing about this last week was that I got to spend more time with Karen which meant more to me than anything, I'm crazy about this lady. Considering that we were also working together on a worthwhile project made it a very special event that I will never forget.



Meeting all the nice people who came to help including Karen's niece, nephew, his wife, and their friends and seeing how enthusiastic they were to pitch in was a great thing and a testament to the support that Karen has in her family.

It doesn't get much better than this!

Looking for fall

Today I rode up to Goumaz and back, checking out the fall colors that are starting to show up along the way. I love this first view and I have many pictures I've taken over the last several years of it in spring, summer and fall. No winter shots yet since I keep talking about getting into cross country skiing but never doing it... maybe this year. Today there was a play of shadows being cast by the clouds that gave it a slightly different look... at least that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Going down below Devil's Corral to where Cheeny Creek comes into the canyon the colors are getting nice but the sun wasn't cooperating. I took pictures anyway, what the hell, it's digital.

Today was the last day I'm going to get up there for a while and it's all good. Tomorrow I have to do a little shopping and pack for my trip to Lodi with Karen, which I am vewy, vewy excited about, I must say.

See the road?

Me either... Yesterday I took a ride up Rogers Canyon and down Squaw canyon. I was looking for quail, didn't see any, but I did get to some places I've never been. This first picture is one of them. I was following a road and it just turned to this. Not quite what I would call high adventure, but it still made things interesting.

Today I wanted to climb Squaw Peak, so I did. This picture is from the Jenkins Sheep Camp area looking back to the peak. You can see it's nice and pointy but it was an interesting climb. Toward the top it was really rocky and you had to stay on top of the boulders because the brush between them was too thick. Long pants might have been nice.


The monument at the top is labled Queen and I'm not sure why, the maps call this Squaw Peak. The elevation according to my map is 6506 ft. The views from up there were pretty nice looking into Squaw Valley and it was a warm day and nice and breezy at the top to cool off after getting there.

A funny thing I noticed at the top. Someone had chopped quite a few of the large Mountain Mahogony trees off many years ago. I thought at first maybe a lightning fire but I couldn't find any char or evidence of a burn. Like I said this had been done quite a long time ago, I'd guess at over 50 years.

I got an email from Karen this morning just before I left saying to have a great day so it was truely a great day and a 28 mile ride... ya gotta love it! 5-3-6

The great escape

Yeah, I escaped to the woods today to recharge my batteries, ride my bike and maybe shoot a quail or two. It was a glorious day, sunny and warm and I even found some quail to chase around. The aspens are starting to get colorful and I always love to see the variations of colors they get in the fall. I stood there watching the wind blowing the leaves, causing them to quake and it was a great thing to do. Ya gotta love the little things in life, and this was one of them. I had a little snack on some ripe currants I found, they were nice and sweet.


My little ride today was only 12 miles but there were some pretty good hills on this one and it felt good to get the muscles working. It's funny that when I first started riding my bike the hills were killing me. Sometimes I would have to stop and walk my bike up them until it leveled out a little. Now days I don't dislike the climb, in fact I enjoy the feeling of working my legs like that and I rarely have to walk my bike anymore.


The road I took today is one that I used to drive my family on going up to Antelope Lake. This road has been closed for some time but they didn't rip it and it's a very pleasant ride. It's a little grown over in places but the cows have kept a trail open through the brush. I kept thinking how I used to drive a Chevy Vega on this road...

I'll be leaving town soon and this will be the last time I get to ride up here for a while. But it's all good, I'm going to go help Karen with some stuff and of course I spent most of the day thinking about her. I just can't get that lady off my mind... but then I'm really not trying, go figure.

Goatheads

Man... took off on my bike after running around this morning doing errands, getting ready to leave town for a while. I didn't get too far before I accidently ran over a goathead vine. Those things are at their worst right now. The vines are all over the place, it's been dry so the heads are all prickly and stick like glue to everything.

I am always on the lookout for them this time of year but today I had a weak moment I guess, I didn't see it until my tires were full of those things. The first one I pulled out oozed slime so I knew it had gotten through. I have extra thick tubes with slime in them and that usually stops those things but when the green slime comes out the hole to the outside of the tire, that's not good. Needless to say I came right home and patched it before leaving again to ride the Canyon Trail up in Susanville Ranch Park.