Returning from vacation

Wow, 12 days on the road in a 23ft motorhome, with 2 dogs and a new sound system. We took hwy 99 and assorted others across the desert to Yuma, Arizona, just 15 minues from Mexico. The weather was perfect, 85-90, spent at least 3 hours a day in the pool, and played tourist the rest of the time. No trips into Mexico this time, as between drug wars and swine flu, it seemed like not such a great idea. Came back north via San Diego way up to 101 and cruized the Pacific Ocean all the way to Berkeley. Poked our way around all the cute costal towns with views to die for, and city parks that hang onto cliffs. Wow. A couple of days in the Bay Area, again beautiful weather, marveling at Bay Bridge and Golden Gate views. I always get that happy feeling when we drive over the Bear River Bridge on hwy 174 and see the Nevada County sign. All in all, this is still my favorite place. Got home to the smell of wet asphalt (recent rain) and the scents of pine, liliacs and daffodils, mixed with that wonderful earthy smell of damp red dirt. Heaven.
Road favorites: camping in little county fairgrounds. Clean, pretty, and lots of nooks and crannies to explore when walking the dogs. Best Billboard: A picture of Jackie Robinson, with the message "Here's to you Mrs. Robinson." " Character building, what's truly important."
Best Mall: (if you like that kind of thing) a little south of Palm Springs, NOTHING BUT WOO-WOO SHEE SHEE, big time name brands. Best coffee: ALWAYS those little independent huts in store parking lots. Yummy coffee and way friendly barista's. They almost always gave us dog bones for the "children." Most Heart waming moment: watching a rehabd sea lion being released back into the ocean a little north of Santa Barbara. He seemed to want to stay with his handlers, and they had to give him a few good pushes to encourage "escape." We watched him hang near the shore for 20 minutes before disappearing into the vast waters. Hope he found his pod. New discovery: At an animal rescue habitat, got to feed a Zonkey. Yep, half Zebra, half Donkey. Very cool looking animal. Also got to feed camels, deer, and critters I have never heard of.
That's allllll folks.

NO MOTOR DAY AT SCOTTS FLAT/PACKING

Today and tomorrow are no motor days at Scotts Flat Lake. You can learn Stand Up Paddling (?) Sunday from 11am-2pm. Gold Country Yacht Club is having an open house and offering free sailboat rides (if you can't paddle over to the other side, you will have to drive to 5 Mile House and down the that entry point) Last year it drew 100 people. Wolf Creek Wilderness is teaching the Stand Up Paddling. It will be fun just to watch! On father's day Wolf Creek has a kayak tryout clinic. That's lots of fun. You can test drive all their kayaks.
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We are packing up the motor home for a trip to Arizona. Sun, swimming, margarita's! It is always such a job to get packed, dogs bathed, food figured out, house sitters for kitties, someone to water plants. Whew, I'm tired already. Anyway, it's great to travel, and even better to get back home! I'll try to blog from the road.
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Reminder: LML cleanup is May 16th, Sat. 10am till done! Volunteers appreciated, lunch served. I'm starting to get summer bookings for the lake. See the flyer on the home page if you are interested (click on Lake for Rent).
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Did you believe the snow the other day? 2nd snow since the dogwoods bloomed. According to legend, that's the last for the year. We'll see.

FIREHOUSE BOOK EXCHANGE

I went down to review the supply of books at the exchange (the file cabinet by door of firehouse). We definitely need new/interesting books. Had to throw out the many that got wet this winter. If you have books to donate, EXPECIALLY KIDS BOOKS, please give me a call or drop them by my house (corner of Pasquale and BQH Hill, 15855 BQH Rd to be exact). I will gladly put them on the shelf when we are sure it's done raining for the year. Also welcome are magazines, periodicals. Please, no encyclopedia's or out of date/tech books. The exchange is used by many, and it's a great feeling to see kids and others perusing the shelves in the summertime, when getting to a library is and extra trip to town (the kids are kinda landlocked here in C.S.). Thanks for your donations.

Lost Mine Lake Clean-up

The annual clean up is Sat. May 16th this year, 10am. Volunteers welcome. Bring a helpful spirit, garden tools and dress funky. We serve a great lunch to all that help. The CSHA is planning some great improvements this year. If you know have, or know anyone with carpentry skills that would like to help, we could sure use it on some of these projects. It would be nice to save some $ by using volunteer labor. The kiddie swing is being replaced this weekend on the playset, and new woodchips broadcast. As usual, our groundskeeper Gary keeps a close watch on LML, and keeps things moving in the right direction all year. Where would we be without him? There will be a new sign this year "no alcohol or loitering" in parking lot. We hope this helps keeping the entry gate area clear and welcoming. If there are improvement you would like to see, please contact someone on the board and let us know. Maximum usage of this beautiful little park is encouraged.

Snowing and 80 degrees this week

That's right, a few days ago it snowed (just for a few minutes a few times) and today it was in the 70's, going to 80 tomorrow. Scotts Flat Lake is so full there is virtually no beach at this moment on our side, and Lost Mine Lake is full too. Everyone is out planting flowers, the bulbs are in bloom, and the dogwoods are starting to pop. Happy Days!
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The Womens Club Easter party was a big success as always. This year we added an egg hunt for about 30, which was much enjoyed by the kids. Each child had to find 4 eggs with special stickers to keep it fair, and they seemed to like finding "their special eggs." Then onto the party inside the firehouse that included bingo, musical chairs (even the older kids love that one), making bunnies on skateboards and beating the candy out of the pinata. It was a perfectly sunny day after a week of rain. Did you know that this is all paid for the the Womens Club fundraisers? They sell various items at the special events held here over the summer. So if you are interested in supporting, be sure to buy those items (such as the daffodil bulbs, CS wine glasses, tote bags, aprons, caps.) If you don't go to events but are interested in buying said items, call Anna Rees at 265-6114 and she'll tell you what she has in stock. They also planted those daffodils in the big hill that look so pretty right now.

American Idol/Adam Lambert

I fully admit to being an AI junkie. DO NOT CALL MY HOUSE BETWEEN 8-9PM ON TUES OR WED. That said, if you are following AI this year, my pick, like just about everyone else is Adam Lambert. If you want to see him REALLY do his thing, type into Google "Adam Lambert is crazy" and see him do his cabaret bit with the girls. Pick the 1st offering on google (should be a UTUBE video, or just go to Utube and type in same). There are alot of clips from his performances before "idol" discovered him. (I don't think he was unfound . . . )
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Hope you are aware of the rabid skunk that attacked 2 dogs on Summitt Ridge in late March. KNCO reported that the animal control located the skunk's nest, and found other skunks had been there too. So, be on the look out for skunks or foxes behaving strangely in the area, and make sure all you pets have rabies vaccines, even the kitties.
Someone left a message to me (anon) that there has been another incident on BQH near Summitt and that a skunk charged people and their dogs . . . . . skunk was shot . . . .

ROSIE IS HOME! EASTER PARTY

If you read the blog before, I'm happy to report that Rosie the Dane is now home. A neighbor on Sailor Flat Rd. found her on their property and contacted Pam from the flyers she put out. Rosie had a few bumps and bruises, but is otherwise fine. I still think it is a remarkable and compassionate thing that Pam went to the shelter looking for a family dog and came home with a senior dog with serious health issues. Bless you. Who knows what would have become of Rosie otherwise.
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THE kids Easter Party is this Sat. at 1PM at the Firehouse. Egg hunt, games, egg dying, snacks and crafts. It is put on by Womens Club and free to all. Big fun.
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I went with friends to Golden Gate Fields in Berkeley last Sunday. It was $1 day, which means $1 entry, $1 parking, $1 hotdogs and drinks. The big draw was the doxie races (aka weiner races). Inbetween each horse race a group of 12 or so weiner dogs would race about 75 ft from a doggie gate to the finish line. What a riot! About half would run the race, and half would stay around the gate and socialize (kind of like little kids at T-ball). The cutest was the little guy that had his rear legs in one of those carts (he was paralized) but came in 3rd in his heat. What a champ! He was serious, and ran straight for the finish line. I've never seen such a great variety of doxies, long haired, wire haired, dappled, spotted, black/tan, red, gray. A smorgyboard of weiner dogs, each one cuter than the last. Also, a glorious Bay Area day on the bay, sunny and hot, then windy and cool. You know, if you don't like the weather in Berkeley, wait a minute! I'll definitely go back. My 41/1 longshot horse came in 2nd, and I had $10 bucks on her. Sorry Halle B, but great run! It was worth the bet so see a little black filly, smallest horse on the track come from last to 2nd against the big boys. She even had the lead around the last stretch.