Chasing That Horizon!

What an amazing and busy month August has been. Dee was in SoCal for a few weeks, tending to a family illness. It gave her a good opportunity to help out and keep things moving, especially with back-to-school, scouts, dance lessons, and general household issues. Keith's cousin and her husband came up to camp for a couple of days. As we sat at the picnic table one evening and discussed the possibility of being visited by bears, we were alerted by other campers that a large bear was right behind us. Excitement followed, as the bear was pretty insistent about a bag of bread that he snatched from another site. He was not going to leave until he ate every last bite. More anxiety was shared as he then took a leisurely stroll through the campground, fully asserting himself as the one "in-charge" of things, until he finally got bored of the game, and took off into the night. Dee got some good photos, and we realized that this bear was a relative newcomer. Apparently, he had heard about the fine dining here.

Angela's in-laws also camped for a couple of nights before going down to Reno for Hot August Nights. We all had the opportunity to join Aaron and his fiancé KT in Reno for BBQ dinner and to celebrate Keith's birthday. It was nice to have most of the family together for a little while, at least. While Dee was down south, Keith had to work the campground checks on his own. Things went smoothly except for one night of dealing with drunken and aggressive campers who were intimidating other campers. After a few tense moments they finally retreated to their site, soon to be visited by two ranger patrol vehicles. They were ejected, but had to sleep it off first.

When Dee returned, we went to Gold Country-Coloma, CA for a day of whitewater rafting on the American River South Fork. This was right across from Sutter's Mill, where the first gold nugget was discovered in 1849. Rafting was great, and only one person fell out of the raft. That of course, was Keith. The day was invigorating and tiring, but at the end, we still needed to drive 100 miles plus back to Lake Tahoe. On the way, we passed our favorite camping and 4-wheeling area at Indian Springs, where we had gone almost every year for close to twenty years. Out of curiosity to see how things had fared through the tough winter, we turned off the I-80, and spent the next three hours driving rugged trails and poking around an abandoned "glamping" resort. Beat-up, waterlogged, and sun-baked, we finally got "home" and immediately went to bed.

Two days later, we were in the Jeep and on the trail again, as we clawed our way up Blackwood Canyon, over Barker Pass, and into Desolation Wilderness. After a fine picnic lunch in the forest, we continued through stream beds, thick brush, and up a rocky hill that surely put dents in the underside. Having to pile up rocks and be spotted, we did make the climb unassisted, though some teeth fillings must have loosened as we bottomed out several times. We were anticipating meeting up with the Rubicon Trail at some point that would still be manageable with our stock Jeep. We did, though we did not recognize the terrain features that had just been visited in early July. Everything then was wet with snow still present, but six weeks later, it looked completely different, dry and dusty. We got back safely, and had just a little time to get up to Squaw Valley to meet Aaron and his friends for a free concert with members of Pearl Jam, Dave Matthews Band, and some other groups. The music was loud, yet mediocre, but we had a good time anyway.

Dee flew to SoCal again, and Keith stayed in Reno, at the Grand Sierra Resort, where he and Aaron saw Yes in concert. It was a good show, though it is sad that the members of Yes could not get along enough to play together, and are now touring as two separate Yes groups. Keith remarked that it is tough seeing the band aging and the audience wearing worn out concert tees, with white hair, thick glasses, and canes.

It is September 1st, and the campground will be completely full this weekend, as Summer draws to a close. (Keith doesn't like to acknowledge the end of Summer until late November.) Cars, campers, fifth-wheels, and coaches are rolling in. People are riding bicycles everywhere and in every direction. It is Friday, and there are sure to be some who feel they are owed a good weekend, and will kickstart that with a bottle of Jack Daniels or a case of beer. The rangers will busy tonight. Perhaps a bear will come along and scare someone sober.