In Memory of Opal

A wonderful lady and loved family member passed away this week. Opal, my sister's mother-in-law, died this past Monday at 93. I hadn't seen her a lot but I heard of her and her love for her family through my sister many times. Opal cared for others always, from her husband, children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren to the people she met at The Peaks where she last lived. She always seemed happy and engaged in life and had energy to do what needed to be done no matter how she felt. Our love and thoughts are with her family.

Dredging and Dallying

Getting gold from the bottom of a river is a lot of work. It seems that more time is spent getting ready to dredge, climbing down to the river, suiting up, and setting up the equipment than actual dredging! Today we made the first attempt at getting to the other side of the river, where there is a very promising-looking cove.














The pics today show Mike carrying supplies around some boulders to get to the launch site. I scramble over the rocks. The middle pic is of the dredge floating in the water. On the left side of the picture is the opposite shore we're aiming to get to.

The pic of Mike shows him suited up for crossing the river. That's a boogie board in his hand. He's got a wet suit on and a life jacket and is tethered to a 300 foot rope that I'm feeding from the shore. I'll get pics of the crossing later this week.

It's not all work up here, we took a trip to Grants Pass earlier this week and on the way back I snapped pics of some of the wildflowers growing in the higher elevations of the mountains. I made Mike stop along the road and got out to take the shots. We've been here 3 months now and will be heading back the end of September. I'm looking forward to seeing some early fall changes before we return home. Summer is just flying by.

country pleasures

Sometimes it's the little things that make it fun to be out in the country.

i've grown herbs before but never tomatoes! This is a picture of my first and if the critters don't get it, it'll be ripe in a few weeks. Yummy!

The bowl of blackberries came from the bushes out on the river where we're dredging. These will probably go with some ice cream or pancakes but if I get a bunch I might make up some jam.

Sunday nights are potlucks in the campground. Tonight was smoked turkey. I made some tortilla pinwheels and carrot cake cupcakes (though some of them had to stay home for the hungry guy!).

I hung up the hummingbird feeder but haven't seen any yet. It's right outside the dining room window so I hope to snap some close-ups.

Tomorrow its back out to the river and some dredging in a new spot. Have a relaxing Sunday evening.

Dips and Trips

We've been busy for the past few days! Sunday I went out with Mike to work the dredge. The "work" consists of tossing the large rocks off of the sluice bed so that the dredge doesn't get backed up. I was up to my knees in the river while Mike worked underwater. The only sounds are the buzz of the motor and tumbling of the waves. I didn't see any fish but did see a few dragonflies.

After working on Sunday, Mike suggested we take in the 4th National Park in this area - Lassen Volcanic National Park. It's northeast of Redding about 50 miles. Check out the slideshow on the right of the blog for all the pics. We stopped at Whiskeytown National Recreation Area where they have a giant plastic curtain in the water to control the temperature for the salmon. And I got my new "National Parks Passport" stamped. It's a book that looks like a passport for recording when you visit a National Park, Recreation area, Historical Site, etc.

Lassen was a very unusual place. It's a volcanic cone and caldera at over 8,000 feet that last exploded in 1915. We took the 1.5 mile hike to Bumpass Hell where the steam femerols and mud pots boiled and churned with a strong sulfur smell.
We love shopping when we're in town, like kids in a candy store. We found some scrumptious tiny biscotti cookies at Costco and I picked up some household goodies at the 99 cent store. We load up the gas cans while we're in too. What I can't find in town, I order on the internet, like the wi-fi amplifier to boost the wi-fi signal that I received when we got back. And there's always Wally World for anything else.

Our ride home Tuesday was accompanied by heavy smoke cover, like a thick fog, as the Forest Service is setting back fires to contain some of the forest fires up this way. The skies were clear though when we got back home. The tents in the field in the Happy Camp town park is housing for over 600 firefighters in the area.

I picked up a hummingbird feeder at Whiskeytown and can't wait to see what little guys it attracts. And so it goes.

Confessions of a Sloth

I hate exercising. Ok, maybe that's too strong but I really dislike it. I don't like getting sweaty. It's unproductive as I have nothing to show for it but aches and pains and dusty shoes. Whine, whine, whine. But, I'm a grown-up and have taken the approach of getting it over with every day so I can do the things I want. It does get easier to get up the hill every day on my morning walk. I've taken to listening to podcasts from NPR as I walk for a distraction. Works quite well! I am rewarded here with leafy, green views, dragonflies and wildflowers. I guess it's like housework for the body - and I hate a dirty house ;-)

Summer days

We've been doing more of the same, prospecting, volunteering and hanging out. Mike has been moving his dredge, not without some minor glitches. He floated it about 20-30 feet further downstream and the anchoring pole slipped from his grip - it was either loose the pole or the dredge and the dredge won. After securing the dredge, he went back to shore and got his mask to free drive and find the pole. The current was so strong, he had to get out again and get his weight vest (about 40 pounds) so he could get down to the pole. He got the pole but then found he couldn't get back up! He ended up pole-vaulting to the surface until he was back to shore. All in a day's work!

My days have been much less treacherous. I volunteered to research the history of mining on the claims and wrote an article for the 49er's on it. Work (the hospice and consulting) keep me busy too.

There's several forest fires burning southeast and southwest of us, about 20 miles, and the smoke has been drifting north to our area during the week.

Today is my niece, Alanna's birthday. She's a big 4 years old! Happy Birthday Alanna!

Detours

Does it seem sometimes that life just insists on sending you in a different direction? This morning we headed out for the Redwood National Park just inland from Crescent City. It is truly awe-inspiring to think how long these trees have stood here. We did the Stout Grove trail and wound through the forest for several miles, heading for Hwy 199 and home.

Then, as the poet said, "two roads diverged in a wood..." and we encountered a road block because of forest fires. So, instead of going 57 miles to get home, we had to head north almost 100 miles and then take Hwy 42 to I-5 outside of Roseburg another 70 or so miles. We got home at eight at night.

Now, I'll admit, that all too frequently this would have made me annoyed, to say the least, and grouchy at a minimum. But thanks to having someone to observe my potential bad behavior (namely, my DH = dear husband) it became another adventure and opportunity to make the best of the change in plans.

I can now claim to have been taken on a romantic tour of the Oregon coast along 101, dining along the way at the Crazy Norwegian Restaurant. And that's much better than being grouchy.

All that life can throw at you is easier to handle when there's someone else to share it with, like you, my dear readers.

Crescent City

Today we came to Crescent City, California on Highway 101. It's a lot cooler here (63-68 degrees) and got windy as the day ended.



We're staying at the Curly Redwood Lodge, which was built with the wood of one giant redwood tree in the 1950's. Each doorway and room interiors have the wood covering. The first place we stopped and it's a great find!

We visited the Battery Point Lighthouse first thing, and a good idea, because later in the day a high tide it's inaccessible. We walked along the beach and took a ride along 101 toward Klamath through part of the Redwood National Forest. We plan to go through one of the groves on the way back tomorrow.

Life's annoyances

It's not all sunshine and light here all the time and though I try to present the best of our time here, things do come up that are annoying. Our neighbors on one side are musical but like to play after 11pm - booming bass - hardly a lullaby. And, there are sometimes barking dogs and motorcycle engines reeving.

The price of gas has curtailed our plans to do a lot of sightseeing. But, we refuse to let it get us down and it is great to be able to enjoy the outdoors and set our own schedules after years of answering to bosses. Mike's enjoying the dredging and prospecting and I've enjoyed volunteering in the area. The Happy Camp Chamber of Commerce web site was launched this weekend (check out www.happycampchamber.com). I built it for them using Go Daddy's Web Site Tonight service - pretty cool. All comments, suggestions and corrections are welcome!

Yesterday I began a new project. I'm researching mining methods for some articles on the 49er's web site. I went to Yreka, about 70 miles east and poked around the county library and historical society. Both have a wealth of information that will be fun to explore. I took the back road as it was slightly shorter and got a picture of one of the 4 bridges that cross the Shasta River on Highway 46 . I'll be seeing more of this road as I will need to go into Yreka a few more times for the research.

So, there are more reasons to be happy than annoyed as is true I guess for most of us and I'll keep sharing the best of our times here, with a few gripes now and then to keep it balanced.

Pacific Crest Trail

Today we went to Saied Valley to try the little cafe there. I had a good breakfast and Mike had a veggie burger, both good. On the way back, Mike stopped to walk on the Pacific Crest Trail. The Pacific Crest Trail (PCT) is a 2,650-mile national scenic trail that runs from Mexico to Canada through California, Oregon and Washington.
Since he was on the Appalachian Trail this spring, he's been on both trails in the same year.

We saw a young couple being dropped off by parents to do the hike through Oregon. They'll have some rough terrain and beautiful scenery along the way.

It's 86 degrees today but feels cooler because of the pines. We still have a lot of smoke because of the forest fires and it'll probably continue for a while yet. We run the A/C for a little while in the late afternoon but it cools off over night.

It's so peaceful here, with the stream running in the background, hummingbirds darting about and the birds chirping I'll be hanging out in the gazebo until dinner which will be some variation on ham, since Mike smoked one yesterday that we need to work on finishing up. Definitely the low stress life!

Garden Delights

What is it about we humans that makes us want to decorate the space around us? In our little corner of the campground I've added touches to our surroundings and I don't see any hope of stopping. The first month I bought a couple of flower whirlywigs that twirl in the breeze. The little girl across the path likes them and they're a bright patch when walking back from the laundry.

Late in May Mike got some tomato plants and they're starting to get blossoms now. I've got some cilantro and sage growing with them too. A tiny little garden.

Today, the 4th of July, I bought a carved wooden twirly bird because it reminded me of the wooden lawn ornaments that my maternal grandpa made. A good way to celebrate.

I hope you all have delights to share and remind you of someone you love.

Natural Wonders

This week we went to Crater Lake National Park in Oregon. It's about 70 miles north of Medford where we stayed the night before heading to the lake the next morning. On the way, we stopped at Mill Creek falls, a beautiful waterfall on the Rogue River about halfway to the lake. That's Mike standing on the cliff across from the falls.
Crater Lake is the deepest lake in the U.S. at 1943 feet. It has no tributaries - it's fed from snowfall, 533 inches average per year. One section of the loop road was still closed because of snow. Mike parked next to the snow bank so I could get a picture of the car in snow!
The lake is a very deep blue, though because of the fires in Northern California the past week, there was a haze in the early part of the day. It took us about 2 hours to drive around the open part of the loop road and stop at the overlooks. It is a very peaceful, serene place where I would like to come back to again. We are so lucky to be able to explore the country and see this beauty.