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!