Day 154 - Sunday - Getting things done at home

 Time for some domestic chores.  I find it surprisingly easy to install the new spring on the RV stabilizers although after tightening the nut as much as I can the rocker bar that connects the two springs still has some play.  The one on the other side doesn't.  We'll call the people tomorrow and ask about this - maybe this is why the first spring came off!

Still, the real test will be when we drive away.  But I'm happy to get it done.

I have less success with the non-working lights.  I'm able to take apart some of the fixture above the kitchen sink - enough to see that all the wire connections there are tight.  But to go further will require removing four screws, all of which refuse to budge, so that fixture remains inoperable.  The light above my side of the bed, which sometimes comes on and can be made to work at other times by just touching the bulb, seems like a classic case of loose wires.  I'm able to take that fixture down but again see no loose wires.  It does come on when I try it, but it remains to be seen whether it's really fixed.

Vicky is working on another HRB course, so I decide to research the Italian city of Treviso, where our new cheese comes from.  I'm delighted to find that it's a walled city, described by several websites as an undiscovered gem full of medieval buildings, churches with works of art, and even some canals and small gardens that sound delightful.  Best of all, it's only a half hour train ride from Venice, where we're spending 5 nights on our trip next May.  This sounds like a must do day trip, especially as I find a restaurant there - specializing in meat, that gets rave reviews from people from all over the world.  Thank you, cheese lady, for helping me find this place!

Later in the day we drive down to the main parking lot of the resort and walk over to the lake, tranquil today as it's past the time for boat rentals.  We walk around for a while, enjoying the natural beauty, then find a bench facing the lake where we spend the best part of an hour in quiet contemplation.  We see a lone duck - maybe a coot - swimming around, and a family of wild turkeys that was originally on the hill by the parking lot comes to take some water.  They then start foraging (or whatever wild turkeys do) in the woods across the lake.

When we resume our hike we immediately spot three deer - a mother and two babies, and watch them as they graze.  Are these the same family we see by our campsite?  If so, they've walked over a mile.  We debate whether they could drive one of the ubiquitous golf carts we see around the resort, then realize that the youngsters are about the same size - maybe twins.  Our local family has two fawns that are clearly at least a year apart in age, so this must be a different one.

As we set off back in the car we see two more young ones, one of which is much smaller than any we've seen so far.  These are mule deer, and this little fellow is all ears and eyes.  When we finally tear ourselves away and drive up the hill we spot a family of six, including a young buck, who are grazing close to another campsite and are clearly unconcerned about either them or us.

Back at the RV, we grill the smoked salmon and some shrimp, and Vicky prepares a delicious stir fry from many of the fresh vegetables we bought yesterday.  Quill is always sitting quietly next to me when we eat - we call her our dining companion - but this time she won't leave me alone.  The smell of the fish is obviously too much for her.  I take pity and leave a little salmon and put the plate down for her.  We're amazed when Cosette also comesover and starts attacking the salmon, and Quill doesn't object.  This is the first time in 17 years we've ever seen them share a plate.  Vicky also leaves a little on her plate but for some reason Cosette stays away so Quill gets all of that to herself.

Earlier Vicky put out some salt, hoping that would attract the deer family.  After dinner I'm sitting outside and the deer walk up the road behind our site, ignoring the salt.  Animals have their own priorities and we can't figure them out. 

But it's been another beautiful day and we still have one more full day before we again head into the mountains at the start of our two week return journey to Phoenix.  I'll be sorry to leave the beauty of Central California but not sorry to leave their prices, which seem higher than most other places.

Day 153 - Saturday - Of food and trains

 Last Saturday we discovered a cool Farmers' Market in Grass Valley but we hadn't brought a cooler and since the weather was hot and we were spending all day at the Draft Horse Show we didn't buy anything.  So today we decide to put that right!

Vegetables fresh from local farms with lots of stalls to choose from.  I won't bore you with a full list of what we bought, but my favorite stall is the one with many species of pepper with mix-and-match at 5 for $1.  I get a red jalapeño and a cayenne (never seen one before - just the powder in spice jars!).  We get three milder ones so Vicky gets some too.  We pass on the large selection of home made breads, but can't resist the lady who imports cheeses from around the world and lets us sample five.  We come home with Blue 61 which despite the name is an Italian Blue cheese with cranberries.  One bite is all either of us needs to be sold on it!   This cheese comes from Treviso, an Italian City we've never heard of.  We also adopt Beemster, the most flavorful Dutch Gouda we've ever tasted.  Some great lunches to come!

The lady in the next stall is a great salesperson.  She must have seen us trying the cheese samples and then buying, and offers us a taste of smoked salmon (amazing!) then askswhich piece we would like to take home!  Needless to say, we choose one.

We drive the 4 miles to Nevada City to see what's there.  We do drive up and down the cute main street, but it's the railroad museum that's the star here.  The Nevada County Narrow Gauge Railroad Museum tells the history of the railroad that connected Nevada City and Grass Valley with the main line at Colfax.  This is the same railroad that we saw the model of last week in grass Valley, but curiously, although both are run by volunteers, neither venue mentions the other!

This one is a gem, especially as we get a personalized tour from Jimmy, one of the docents.  We learn about the two brothers who started the railroad, about John F Kidder, who they hired to build the line and who eventually owned 2/3 of the stock after the brothers sold out, and of Sarah Kidder, John's wife, who took over running the line after her husband died and who was the first woman railroad president in the world.  It also appears she was more considerate of the shareholders than her husband had been!

We see a beautifully restored (on the outside) steam engine built by Baldwin in Philadelphia in 1875 that was part of the original equipment on the railroad.  It was later sold to Universal Studios and featured in over 30 movies before being donated back to the railroad.  The plan is to restore the boiler so that it can run again.  Jimmy also offers to take us through the restoration shop but first we're able to ride the "Railbus", a bus that runs on rails for a 35 minute roundtrip run over some of the original route.  This only runs on summer Saturdays and is usually full, so we're lucky to get on.

The commentary tells us about the origin of the term "switchback".  Now used for hairpin turns on highways, it was originally used to describe places where the railroad doubled back on itself to help in climbing steep grades.  The brakeman literally had to get out and turn the switch ("points" to those of British extraction) back and forth to allow the engine to maneuver.  The docent also tells us much of the history, including that of the once opulent Northern Queen Hotel. 

We love the experience but have been there so long that we turn down Jimmie's offer of a tour of the shop since we're overdue for lunch.  The most amazing thing about this museum and ride is that it's free!  They do solicit and accept donations, but considering what other restored railroads charge, and what it must cost to keep it running, this is a tremendous value.

Vicky is always ready to return to a restaurant we enjoy, but when we're visiting a new town I usually argue to try different places once only.  This time there's no argument.  We return to Grass Valley and Cirino's Italian restaurant where we lunched last week.  This time I enjoy a "Spanish Ortega Burger", ground beef cooked how you like it, topped with mozzarella and Ortega chilies, lettuce and tomato, served on a garlic laced French roll and accompanied by a fresh pasta salad.  Vicky's "Rigatoni Prosciuto Balsamella" was melt-in-your-mouth.  A creamy sauce laced with cheeses, a hint of rosemary and small pieces of prosciuto ham, baked so that top was crispy and the lower part soft.  It came with rosemary foccacia bread.  That's 4 different dishes we've had here and every one a winner.

The waiter offers us dessert but we remember the wonderful Lazy Dog Chocolate and Ice Cream Store.  I forego the tangy raspberry sorbet in favor of a mixture of  "Death  by Chocolate" (the richest dark chocolate ice cream I've ever tasted) and white chocolate raspberry ice cream.  Smooth, creamy and delicious.

We return to the hungry cats after which I take my book outside to read.  Behind the RV I find the mother deer staring at me, with her 2 youngsters grazing just behind.  I summon Vicky to share this wonderful moment, which turns into about 5 minutes as we and the doe stare at each other.  She even takes a few tentative steps towards us before sauntering off, followed by her family.  This place is magical!

Day 152 - Friday - Back to Lake of The Springs

 A relatively uneventful day.  After a cold night with temps in the 40's we awake to another beautiful morning.  We've had our 4 nights at Snowflower Resort and are backtracking 67 miles down beautiful CA 20 to Oregon House.  It's an easy drive - although there's a drop of almost 4000ft in altitude there are no really steep stretches.  I take it easy to spare the brakes on the RV and use turnouts to allow faster drivers to pass us.

We're soon passing Nevada City and coming into Grass Valley.  The car, now in tow, is almost out of gas and the RV is down to a quarter of a tank.  I had hoped we could get back to Nevada before buying gas since the taxes in California make it much more expensive here.  The RV might make it, but since we have to go over a 7000ft mountain pass before we find civilization in Nevada we don't want to risk it.  The car we could fill up tomorrow as long as it could drive the 12 miles from Lake of the Springs to the nearest gas station, but that also might be nail biting.  Gas at the top of the Sierras was $4.19 a gallon, high even for CA.

So we stop in Grass Valley.  This is no easy task.  Even though we're near the highway the gas stations aren't too big and are very busy.  Plus which the locals have no appreciation of how much space a 36ft RV needs to turn.  We do eventually get both vehicles fueled although Vicky has to speak firmly to someone in a pick-up truck who has come up so close behind me that I can't get out without hitting him, and who wants to know "If we're going to take all day?".

Other than that, and some continuing construction work after Grass Valley, we have no problems getting to the resort and are delighted to get the same site we had a few days ago.  We head to the post office to pick up a spring for the stabilizer that has been mailed to us to replace one that failed, check out the almost non-existent town of Dobbins and go for a walk.  No sign of the deer we encountered last week or any of its relatives.

We have 4 nights here, resting in the foothills.  This is a really peaceful spot and we really enjoy the tranquility.

Days 150 & 151 - Wednesday & Thursday - Learning about History including The Donner Story

We drive to Truckee again, this time visiting the Donner Memorial State Park.  The visitor center includes a movie on the California Trail and the ill fated Donner Party, and this kicks off our visit.  The rest of the time is spent exploring the exhibits.

Let's start with the Donner Party.  It was named for George Donner who was elected captain of the wagon train, but actually included other families - a total of 45 adults and 42 children.  The Donners were not poor.  They had $10,000 with them, sewed inside a quilt!  George was born in North Carolina and had been a successful farmer in Illinois.

The party's whole journey is a series of unfortunate and, in retrospect, probably avoidable mistakes.  They were part of one of the last groups to leave Missouri in 1846, making it important that they made good time so as to be over the mountains before winter.  At Fort Laramie, Wyoming (which we visited earlier this summer) they, along with other travelers, received an open letter from one Lansford Hastings, promoting an alternative route to California, proceeding south of the Great Salt Lake, which cut 350 miles from the route to Sacramento (or Sutter's Fort as it was then called).   Hastings had apparently only traveled the route on horseback, and was now recommending it to wagon trains!

While most of the emigrants in the group chose the longer, but well traveled northern route, Donner and his co-leader James Reed chose to take the "short cut".  George's wife, Tamsen Donner, apparently was not happy with the idea but she was overruled (or more likely ignored).  Hastings was to meet them at Fort Bridger to lead them on his route, but left earlier with another party.  A letter advising them strongly against following Hastings was sent to them at Fort Bridger but never given to the Donners.  One theory is that Jim Bridger, proprietor of the "Fort" (which was not a military installation, just a trading post), may have withheld it in order to increase the number of people following the Hastings route and therefore visiting his own business.

Well, both the Wasatch Mountains (east of today's Salt Lake City) and crossing the salt flats took much more time than Hastings had advised.  Since there was neither water nor food on the salt flats both the travelers and their oxen came close to starving, but they did eventually arrive at Truckee's Meadows, close to today's Reno, Nevada, where they were able to rest and recuperate for a short time.

However, it was now later in the year and they pressed on, encountering early snowstorms in the Sierra Nevada.  They attempted several times to crest the summit but ended up spending the winter in 3 cabins on the site of today's park, near the town of Truckee, California.  Although there were trout in Truckee Lake (now Donner Lake) they didn't know how to catch them and there was almost no other wildlife around, so half the party starved to death.

James Reed had been banished from the party after a violent incident, and made it to Sutter's Fort on his own.  He organized the first of several attempted rescues of the Donner party but it was not until late February 1847 before the first rescuers reached the party.  Even then, some people couldn't travel due to illness, and the journey down through the mountains was still dangerous.  Reed's entire family survived, but the Donners were not so lucky.  The children were taken to safety but George couldn't travel due to a severe infection in his hand, which he had sliced open when cutting a log.  Tamsen refused to leave him alone, and both were dead when the later rescue parties reached them.

The whole story is told tastefully in the museum, which includes relics from the party and a particularly moving exhibit that describes each of the people in the party and what happened to them.

As if this weren't enough, the museum also has interesting exhibits about the Washoe people, who, like many other native tribes, were roughly displaced by the 19th century settlers.  It includes a 3,000 year old multi-purpose Washoe hearth, discovered when excavating for a housing development.  A video describes its purpose as well as how it was carefully taken apart and re-assembled in the museum.

Two other videos highlight ethnic groups who are often forgotten.  The Chinese were the main workforce in building the Central Pacific Railroad through the Sierras.  Despite this, they were harassed for many years, and even banned from obtaining citizenship.  The second video highlighs the difficulty faced by African Americans driving cars across the country, up to the time of the Civil Rights Act in the mid 1960's.  They were frequently stopped by law enforcement for no reason; many towns would not let them in after dark; few motels would accept them.  A book called the "Green Book" both for its author and its color, listed "negro-friendly establishments" (sic).  There were none between Reno and Sacramento and only 3 in the latter city!

A highlight for me is the exhibit on the building of the transcontinental railroad.  It highlights the difficulties in the mountains, particularly in blasting 11 tunnels.  In particular, the "Summit Tunnel" had such slow progress from the western end that they started blasting from the eastern end at the same time.  It was still taking too much time - the Central Pacific was in a race with the Union Pacific who were laying track west from Omaha and each company was given free land along their right of way.  The CPR dug a shaft downwards from the center of the mountain and started digging in both direction from there.  When the tunnels met up they were within 6 inches of each other, an amazing feat of engineering.

We don't have much time to peruse the last exhibit, on early motel accommodation, or the gift shop as it's closing time at the visitor center.  But we do visit the Pioneer Monument and walk a nature trail that takes us past the sites of two of the cabins used by the Donner party.

Wednesday has been, as you've seen, a very full day so we come home to the cats, cook up some sausages,  and sleep 

It's time for a quiet day, and time to catch up with real life.  So today Thursday we stay around the campground doing domestic chores (cleaning, washing clothes, etc.) and spending quality time with the cats.  Tomorrow we return down the hill to Lake of The Springs for another 4 night stay.

Day 149 - Tuesday - Up and down the Sierras and a visit to Truckee

Today starts with a scare.  This park has 30 amp electric hookups (many have 50 amps).  30 is usually enough but Vicky wakes me to tell me that we have no power.  We were running the hot water heater as well as a space heater since it does get chilly at night. Vicky says she turned on the coffee maker and the power went out!  My assumption is that we exceeded 30 amps and blew a fuse.  I go out and check the circuit breakers (which Vicky had already done) and everything is fine.  So I'm thinking we've done something serious.  I do get us going on battery power, and am wondering what to do next, when the park ranger knocks on the door to apologize that the power company turned off power to the whole resort without warning.  So we're fine.

We're staying in Emigrant Gap, CA.  We had mail sent to General Delivery, Emigrant Gap CA.  There are 2 post offices reasonably close to Emigrant Gap, CA.  Today we find that mail addressed to General Delivery, Emigrant Gap, CA  actually goes to Alta, CA which is 15 miles west along I-80!   Post Office logic, I suppose.  So we drive those 15 miles, find the village of Alta and the only store where the clerk doesn't know where the post office is!  Fortunately she suggests I ask the man outside, who knows.  So we arrive, 15 minutes before they reopen after taking a lunch break!  Fortunately the nice lady has our mail package.

The plan after picking up mail was to visit the cute town of Truckee, which we passed through with the RV some weeks ago.  This is 38 miles east of Emigrant Gap so we travel a long way on I-80.  For the last 12 miles into Truckee we take "Historic Route 40" which has breathtaking views (and some breathtaking mountain roads!) and eventually brings us out high above Donner Lake, then down and along the lakeshore.

We park in Truckee and saunter along the main street, next to the railroad tracks, to the visitor center (in the old railroad station) to get a map.  As we're doing this, the Amtrak California Zephyr (San Francisco to Chicago) pulls in.  We discuss the idea of taking the westbound train, leaving Truckee in the morning, to Colfax (the next stop) or Sacramento and returning the same day.

Amtrak has no personnel in Truckee so we talk to the lady at the Visitor Center.  She points out that we can only do the journey to Sacramento one way and would have to come back by bus.  Going to Colfax could in theory be done in one day - we would have about 30 minutes in Colfax, and it assumes both trains would be running on time.  This is not Mussolini's Italy and that would be a big assumption!  I do price up the trip but we decide it's too much of a risk, and coming back by bus isn't appealing.

I've found the top 3 restaurants in Colfax according to Trip Advisor and we're ready for lunch.  It's just before 3pm.  #1 serves breakfast only and closed at 2.  #2 is only open for dinner from 5:30.  So we go to #3 to find it's just closed.  No problem.  Across the road is a a place with some inventive tacos.  I order a plate with one vindaloo (hot Indian) taco, one spicy Vietnamese taco and one pork belly taco.  Vicky also opts for the pork belly, as well as "al pastor" (pulled pork) and caprese (mozzarella, basil and chicken).  Vicky soon finds the pork belly taco is too spicy for her so we do a swap.  I get 2 pork, and she gets my Vietnamese taco which wasn't spicy at all.  A good lunch though.

We're following a walking tour of the historic buildings in this railroad/mining town, enjoying the varied architecture and the history, when we find an ice cream parlor.  So it's time for dessert.  The original plan was to spend time at the Donner Historical Park after lunch but it's now only an hour before that closes and we know we'll take longer than an hour learning the history, so we save that for another day and continue our tour.

This really is a great little town, and we'll be back tomorrow.  Meanwhile we return to the RV and the cats, who want to know why we've been away so long.

Days 147 & 148 - Sunday and Monday - Day at home, then into the Sierras again

After the busy Saturday we decide to spend Sunday - our last for now at Lake of The Springs - at home.  We get up late and Vicky spends most of the day working on her 20 hour class - finally finishing it and passing the test.  She's now an expert on Trusts and Estates, not something we get a lot of in our offices.  Since qualifying myself a couple of years ago I still haven't had a trust return to do!  But she needs to complete this class to increase her certification level.

For me, a quiet day working on the family accounts, and sorting through some papers.  Tomorrow we have a short drive up to Snowflower Resort in the Sierra Nevada, which we had originally planned to visit a month or more ago.  It was closed due to a forest fire (not there, but very close) so we had to rearrange our trip.  So now we're looking forward to a few days in the High Sierras.

Monday.  I'll confess I was worried that this journey would have some steep hills and challenge the RV.  I need to stop worrying!  Only 68 miles and the first 36 of these retrace our route to Grass Valley.  Other than an area with road construction that's a very easy drive.  The 4 miles from Grass Valley to Nevada City is freeway, so no problem there except we don't get to see what Nevada City looks like.

But CA Route 20 East from Nevada City is not only an easy drive but beautiful.  You gain elevation from 2000 to over 5000ft, constantly surrounded by pine forests.  Nothing worse than a couple of 30mph curves, and beautiful weather made this a delightful trip.  At lower elevations we see some maple trees which are yet to turn brown, but towards the top it's all evergreens.   Just before we reach I-80 the views open up and we can marvel at some high peaks.

I-80 turns up before our directions said it should, so we don't know which way to go.  Of course I make the wrong decision but it's only 3 miles to the next exit which has easy on-off.  Only a mile or two down the freeway and we turn off to find Snowflower.  What a delight!  Some reviews had said our only choice in a large RV would be an area they call The Cliffs, which is essentially a large parking lot.

This is where we end up staying, but we get a corner spot surrounded by trees, with squirrels climbing up them.  It's a paved area, very quiet and we're happy with it.  We do drive around the rest of the campground and find some areas with more trees and also lake views, but the roads are narrow with overhanging trees so we decide we've made the right decision.

Highs in the 80s with lows in the high 50s at night and more sun forecast for the next couple of days.  The park is practically empty at the moment so this should be a quiet, relaxing few days in the mountains.  This is why we took to the road.  Need to remember this when things go wrong!

Days 145 & 146 - Friday & Saturday - Fun with Draft Horses

Friday is a quiet day around the resort, but a lot gets done.  Vicky is still working on her interminable H&R Block course.  I'm working out the details of our trip to Italy, which is not easy since internet service is intermittent here, at best.  I do eventually get all of the hotel arrangements finalized - a lot of free nights in luxurious places thanks to the Marriott Rewards points I've been hoarding over the years; a delightful apartment in Padua and a re-visit to a cute B&B in Florence, right around the corner from the duomo (cathedral) that we visited several years go.  The big achievement, though, is getting us seats on direct flights to and from Rome on Norwegian Air at a reasonable cost.

After dinner we go for a walk around the campground, seeing a doe with 2 youngsters.

Saturday begins with breakfast in the RV lodge - their special with scrambled eggs, cheese and (white) gravy which was good but very filling.   Let's just say I did enjoy it but hope it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

The rest of the day we spend in the cute town of Grass Valley.  We have tickets for the evening performance of the Draft Horse Classic at the county fairgrounds and head in that direction even though it's still late morning.  There's plenty going on but we follow signs to a farmers' market and find it after several wrong turns due to the absence of follow up signs.  They have wonderful fresh vegetables so we're disappointed that we didn't bring the cooler - after a day in the hot car the veggies won't be fresh, so we just look.

With lots of time remaining we opt to check out the town, which dates from the gold rush and is full of Victorian era buildings (like every other town around here!)  It appears to have been settled by people from Cornwall and one of the places we consider for lunch serves Cornish pasties.  (We later find out it's just been permanently closed)

We eventually settle in a Cirino's, run by Italians serving family recipes, and, at least in the bar, served in a gold rush style ambiance.  I choose "Damn Hot Peppers" as the owner said his mother called them.  Hot and also sweet green peppers in a rich tomato sauce served with a generous side of polenta covered in cheese.  Don't be afraid of it - it has a slight bite but for my taste could have been hotter.  Nevertheless, a very unusual dish that I enjoy immensely.  Vicky settles for "Maltese Lamb" - tender chunks of meat in a tomato based sauce with tarragon, rosemary, coriander and garlic served with farfalle (bowtie) pasta.  Vicky declares it "Absolutely Wonderful", and from my small taste I agree.  Both dishes come with crisp salads.

After the breakfast and this lunch I'm feeling full as we continue to explore the town, so when we find a chocolate and ice cream store (Lazy Dog) I'm inclined to pass.  Until, that is, I discover that they have, along with the gelato, Italian style sorbets including a wonderfully juicy looking raspberry.  So while Vicky savors a dish of lavender gelato I let the raspberry ice melt in my mouth - sublime!

On to the fairgrounds where there's much to do.  We visit the barns, where a beautiful black Andalusian looks at us from a distance, decides we're OK and comes over for some serious petting.  We chat with his owner who, we'll later discover, is an accomplished trick roper.  We also visit with several other draft horses, some of whom are aloof (or eating!), others friendly.

There's a permanent model railroad display on the fairgrounds - an authentic reproduction of an actual narrow gauge railroad built to connect these gold mining towns with the maintranscontinental line at Colfax.  We chat with some of the volunteers and are invited to join them (I wish!), and we learn about the history, including the story of a circus train that was derailed because horses in one car caused it to unbalance.  No animals were harmed but 2 people were killed and from that point on the circus stayed in Colfax and transported people by train!

After visiting craft shows, an art exhibition and loads of vendors we eat the cheese sandwiches we brought and then - well - Lazy Dog (see above) has an ice cream tent on the grounds - need I say more?  Only that Vicky tries something called "Death by Chocolate" which was ALMOST as good as my second raspberry sorbet.

Time for the horse show - classes for all kinds of draft horse combinations including teams of 3, 4 and 6 and a "unicorn" class with 2 horses near the carriage and one more in the lead - apparently very difficult to drive.  The two announcers keep us entertained but also informed, explaining the history of the various combinations and the different draft horse breeds.

But what makes this show special is the specialty acts.  If you've ever been to a rodeo you know what I mean, but it's unusual to see this at a horse show.  Normally there are long gaps as the horses from one class clear the holding area and those for the next class get ready.  Not so here!  These gaps are filled by everything from mule races to the Mexican roper we already met, performing difficult rope tricks while riding - and standing on the back of - his horse.  Another performer tells us the story of the American Mustang, demonstrating their capabilities, including having a dog lead them by the halter and, at the end, having his mustang literally seated in the back of a carriage while another horse pulls it (and the family) around the arena.  The final act, the California Cowgirls Drill Team, consists of 12 women performing intricate and potentially dangerous patterns on their horses.  At the end, one of the women is led to the center of the arena where a cowboy rides in and proposes marriage to her.  She accepts!

The whole day has been full of wonderful experiences, and well worth the 30 mile drive home in the dark, which Vicky executes admirably!

Day 144 - Thursday - A harrying trip, but a very happy ending

Lake of the Springs Resort is only 48 miles from Lake Minden, through more fruit tree orchards and eventually up into the foothills of the Sierras, but the trip is anything but relaxing for me.

We could easily have gone shopping on the way home from Sacramento in the car yesterday but didn't, and Vicky wants to stock up on groceries as well as frozen raw food for the cats, so instead of a tranquil country drive we end up driving the RV, with  the car in tow, though the urban area of Yuba City.  We find a spot to stop in the parking lot of a grocery store and do the shopping.  But I'm not happy that the exit from the parking lot doesn't look easy to negotiate, plus we then have to go in the "wrong" direction on CA20 (compared with our final destination) to get to Petco.

Vicky kindly volunteers to drive and gets us out, and close to Petco, with no problem.  However their parking lot is nothing either of us wants to negotiate with the big rig.  Fortunately we're able to park along a side street and after a nice walk the length of a huge parking lot we get the cat food.  We also discover they have a kitten adoption center and one tabby there does a good job of convincing us to take him home.  But after yesterday's scene between Quill and the feral kitten, discretion becomes the better part of valor and he stays at the store.

Vicky continues to drive through the increasingly picturesque countryside with me relaying the directions from the lady in the cell phone.  We're less than 4 miles from the destination when we lose cell phone service and I think we've missed a turning.  We drive up the road to find a place to turn around, and find we didn't, in fact, miss the turning and soon find ourselves at the RV resort.

This is one of the largest we've ever seen - hundreds of RV and tent sites, surrounded by trees.  We were told by another camper to go to "Section X" which has full hookups, but we soon come to Section I which boasts cell phone and internet reception, so we check that out.  It's a difficult drive around for Vicky, with lots of sharp turns and low hanging trees, but we soon find a nice spot.  Unfortunately it's a back-in.

We follow our usual procedure - me backing in and carefully following Vicky's instructions.  Unfortunately RV's have 2 sides and Vicky can only see one, and from the cockpit I can't see either at a low level.  We eventually get settled in, with only 2 mangled hubcaps but no other apparent damage.  As we set up we discover that Cosette has escaped but get her back inside.  She's soon out again, however.  That's when we realize left the driver's window open wide after opening it to receive Vicky's directions.  Cosette likes to jump out.   Fortunately she never goes far away, and we get her back inside.  Quill, bless her, doesn't even try to get out.

This is when I look around and find we're in a secluded spot with great views of the foothills.  We decide to take the car and explore the rest of the resort.  As we're approaching the Lodge (a common relaxation area including a dining room for breakfast on weekends) we see 2 deer quietly grazing and share some time with them.  On leaving the Lodge we find a flock of wild turkeys.  We check out Section X.  It does indeed have full hookups (our site has water and electric but no sewer hookup) but there's no Verizon service here, so we're in the best place.  It also has some pull through sites, but they're all taken.  We see one site where the have a large red carpet outside their door, and two deer are lying on the carpet, chewing the cud!  Adorable!

As we drive back to the RV we see another deer right next to the car who makes no attempt to run away as we have a staring match.  Later, as I'm grilling the pork for dinner, a mother and baby walk right by us, and as we're sitting outside reading after dark, Vicky sees more.  "How do we read in the dark?", you ask.  Answer:  We both have Amazon Kindle on our tablets and cell phones.  "How does Vicky see in the dark?", you ask.  Beats me!

4 nights here, and lots of deer and hopefully other wildlife around.  A great ending to the day.  Stay tuned.

Day 143 - Wednesday - Discovering Old Sacramento

Our original plan last Sunday was to visit the Sacramento Zoo followed by the History Museum but as you know if you read Sunday's post, we never got past the zoo.

So today we drive the short distance down to the city.  It has the most amazing Railroad Museum - this, after all, is the western terminus of the original transcontinental railroad - that we visited many years ago.  Right next to this is an interesting looking history museum that we plan to visit.  However, after parking the car, we find we're in Old Sacramento - the original waterfront area of the city - which has been restored.  So we decide to tour the 8 historic blocks before going to the museum, and again never get to the museum!

On the riverfront is a riverboat that is now a hotel and restaurant, and we're able to walk around it.  There's also a smaller boat that does river cruises as well as a steam train that does excursions, but neither is running today.  However, it's the 19th Century architecture, and the history of the buildings, that is the star here.  The original offices of the Central Pacific Railroad Company and the Wells Fargo Express Company are still there, the latter full of historical documents and machines including a Morse code transmitter key.  We discover how difficult it is to get the right rhythm so that 4 dots (for "H") don't end up as one dot followed by 3 dots.  Must have taken some time for the operators to get used to it!

The stores themselves are mostly tourist traps so we content ourselves with admiring the architecture.  But we do visit several candy and chocolate shops, surprising ourselves by not buying anything, although we do take advantage of free samples of salt water taffy.  We decide to have lunch here and check out several options including an Irish Pub and a reasonably authentic Chinese restaurant, but eventually settle on The Firehouse, which I later find out is #8 of 1475 restaurants in Sacramento according to Trip Advisor.  It really was a firehouse at one time.

The bar and restaurant is 19th century formal and full of polished wood, but lunch is served in the courtyard.  Linen tablecloths and the side plates are liberally covered with blossoms (I think) dropping from the trees.  I convince myself that they're organic and nothing to worry about.  Duane, our server, is friendly and helpful - he finds me a St Pauli non-alcoholic beer instead of the more prosaic O'Douls - and after ordering we're treated to warm sourdough bread with butter.

Vicky can't resist a cup of lobster bisque to start.  She shares a spoonful with me so I can confirm that it's the real thing, rich and creamy.  It also has a large piece of lobster meat in it.  Should have had it myself!

I choose a steak and prawn salad - strips of meat cooked rare, just how I like them, along with 4 huge, juicy prawns and a generous helping of blue cheese.  The whole thing comes atop a bed of mixed endive lettuce with roasted and fresh cherry tomatoes and garlic croutons.  Definitely one of the best lunches I've had this summer.

Vicky also opts for a salad - pineapple curry chicken with coconut, raisins and romaine, along with chilled bulgur wheat.  It looks good, and Vicky declares that it certainly is.

This is definitely a "come back to" place although a review of their dinner menu confirms that, for dinner at least, this would be a special occasion venue.

We continue our peregrination around the old town and find an olive oil and balsamic vinegar emporium, which we leave with a large bottle of dark chocolate balsamic that will grace our ice cream for weeks to come, along with a small bottle of truffle sea salt, seduced by the sampler bottle on the checkout counter.  Talk about joint impulse buying!

At this point it's only an hour or so until the museum closes so we agree it'll have to wait and Vicky convinces me it would be a good idea to get out of the city before the rush hour.  Even though it's only 3:30pm we do get slowed down but it's not bad and we're back at Lake Minden in time to feed Quill and Cosette.

Later we eat a light dinner outside - still no sign of the feral kittens.  But they must have showed up later because as I'm sitting working at the computer I here a loud screeching from Quill (who, you'll remember, is a cat of few words) and discover her looking out the screen door, clearly not happy.  Although I don't see the kittens I figure one of them must have come close and is now aware that he's not welcome here, at least as far as the Abby is concerned.

A good day (except not for the feral kitten).  We're on the road again tomorrow but it's a short trip.

Days 141 & 142- Monday & Tuesday - A short journey to a tranquil lake

We leave the gold discovery area, retracing the journey we made from Sacramento in the car yesterday and, after stopping to see why someone pointed at our RV while driving by, only to discover that the door to the rear cargo bay is open!  Fortunately nothing has fallen out and I'm able to close and lock it, and soon we're heading west on US50 again.

This time we get on I-5 north, going right through the center of Sacramento, where the traffic is surprisingly light in the middle of the day.  Once north of the city we take off on CA99 heading for our next RV resort - Lake Minden - for a 3 night stay.  People we met at Ponderosa told us to avoid this place, but it's on our route so we ignore the advice and we're glad we did.

We were traveling through fertile fruit orchards and when we make the turn off the highway we're alongside peach trees all the way to the resort.  As the name implies, it's on a lake, and most people come here to fish.  We easily find a nice site with a full hookup and get settled in.  A couple of feral kittens check us out from a distance and as we're eating dinner outside. We're able to get them to come close enough to lick our (paper) plates, but not close enough to pet.  Good thing Quill didn't see them.

We were warned of mosquitoes here and they would be sure to come for me, but we don't see any.  So after a quiet day we get a good night's sleep.

Tuesday is an even quieter day.  Vicky works on her H&R Block online class, while I take care of the laundry and do some online research for our 40th Anniversary trip to Italy next year.

We again end with dinner outside but no sign of the feral kittens today.

Day 140 - Sunday - Falling in love with a Snow Leopard Cub (Kitten to us)

Over dinner last night Vicky suggested we might drive to Yosemite National Park, which had originally been one of our planned destinations, for the day.  The idea appealed until we realized it would be a 250 mile roundtrip drive, potentially exhausting.  So I offered to check out things to do in Sacramento, which is only about 40 miles from here.

The first thing I found was their zoo.  Their website showed Coconut, their newborn snow leopard, exploring his habitat for the first time.  At this point it didn't matter to us what other animals the zoo had.  This was a must see for us.  I also found an interesting history museum which also offers underground tours of the city.

So this morning we set out for the State Capital, planning to visit the zoo and then, if time permits, explore the museum.  We arrive at the zoo just in time for the animal show in their outdoor amphitheater, only to discover that the amphitheater is closed as it contains a hornet's nest.  Not to worry, the staff will bring out some animals for us.  So we meet a quite beautiful Brazilian rainbow boa, the first of her kind born by parthenogenesis (the female giving birth without the help of a male), a spiny tailed lizard (surprisingly soft in the body but with a hard tail he uses for defense) and several parrots.

We ask the keeper about the snow leopard cub,  She checks and discoversthey already tried to bring him out but he showed no interest, so he probably won't be out today.  We're heartbroken, of course, but there's still plenty to see.  We do find the mother snow leopard, sleeping the day away (she's a cat, after all) and right across from her is an otter exhibit.  The two residents are playing in and out of the water (they're otters, after all) but what makes this special is a floor to ceiling glass wall that enables the otters to see us.  They're curious and often come over, standing on their hind whatever, to look at us.  We're both charmed, Vicky especially, and spend a lot of time with them.

The zoo is quite small but their zoo teens are very friendly and teach us about frogs, bongos {the "most colorful" antelope) and cats paws (all cats can walk across surfaces with sharp edges without damage to their paws; snow leopards have a lot of fur around their paws to keep them warm).  The animal exhibits are full of behavioral enrichment objects, which says a lot about the philosophy of the zoo, so we're impressed.

We see 2 sleeping lions, a sleeping jaguar and several resting kangaroos and wallabies.  We're delighted by two species of lemur, including a white ruffed species I call "snow lemurs", and check out most of the other exhibits.  We break for lunch and then head over to the gibbon exhibit where there will soon be a keeper talk.  The gibbons, better at swinging from branch to branch than any other ape, keep us amused with their antics for a while.  Vicky looks at her watch and realizes we still have 15 minutes before the keeper talk and we're close to the otters, so we decide to visit them again.

We never make it!  There are lots of people around the snow leopard exhibit and I can see some keepers inside it.  This can only mean one thing.  The baby is out!  So we end up spending over a half hour being totally charmed by the 18 week old cub.  He's exploring the (large) habitat and initially he disappears behind a bale of straw, occasionally peeking out.  As we wait, he comes out, checks out all the people, and goes back to the rear.  Eventually he comes right across the front, looking at us but mostly playing with the grass and trees.  He settles down chewing grass (hey, buddy, don't you know you're a carnivore?) then playing with a stick of wood.

The keepers, each carrying a sheet of Plexiglas that they keep in front of their legs, mostly leave him to his own devices.  Eventually one of them lures Coconut to an area where there's a stuffed leopard, a large blanket and other toys.  The baby attacks the stuffed animal, grabs and pulls the blanket, falling over in the process, and then bounds over to one of the keepers.  Now we know why they have the Plexiglas sheets!  Finally, after subduing the blanket a second time, he picks up his small stuffed tiger in his teeth and trots back into his night house.  It's clear who's in charge here, and it's not the keepers.  However, since he's inside they shut the door and that's the end of our fun.  But what an amazing experience!  Snow leopards are shy and solitary and even getting more than a glimpse of one in a zoo is unusual.  To have over 30 minutes to share the joy of this new life is a privilege we never thought to have.  We are indeed blessed.

There's not much that could top that, so we decide to return home for dinner.  First stop is a Petsmart to get Quill's prescription medicine.  I didn't mention that on the way down this morning we saw signs for another California Welcome Center and followed them.  They took us off the freeway and then we found ourselves with 3 ways to go, no sign of the Welcome Center and no more directions.  Strike3!  We gave up.  On the way home we decide to try again.  This time there are more signs and we find ourselves in a nicely laid out shopping center.  We've given up on the Welcome Center but see signs for a Coldstone Creamery, our favorite ice cream.

As we look for a place to park, we actually find the Welcome Center, which closes at 4pm.  It's now 4:30.  Strike 4!  But we do get to enjoy the ice cream, and then find a way home that will be easy for the RV as we head this way tomorrow.

Sausages grilled outside and eaten with a view of the river end a perfect day.  The cats, of course, want out but we keep them in and they eat their dinner in peace.  They don't know how much I wish I could have brought them a new playmate!

Day 139 - Saturday - How the Gold Rush Began

John Marshall State Park occupies most of the town of Coloma, a short drive from the RV park.  This is the site of Sutter's Mill where Marshall discovered gold by accident in January 1848, while checking out the tailrace of the almost completed sawmill.  The mill itself was abandoned soon after and eventually disappeared but the State has built a replica, along with explanations of how it works, which we'll visit at the end of our day.

Marshall's discovery, which he and John Sutter weren't able to keep a secret, resulted in Coloma becoming a tent city and then a more substantial settlement as thousands of miners, most with no experience, descended on it, intent on making fortune.  We walk through the town, visiting a store built by a Chinese immigrant to service the needs of his countrymen; an indoor replica of a gold mine with descriptions - and models - of the processes used to extract gold from quartz; and examples of stampers and other gold mining equipment.

But it's the Visitor Center where we'll spend most of the day.  We're fascinated by a series of short talks by immigrants describing how they got to Coloma - round Cape Horn in winter by ship (159 days);  down the east coast from NYC, through the Caribbean and across Panama (no canal in those days and 22 miles of very difficult, if beautiful terrain) or Mexico; across the Pacific from Hong Kong ($40 passage paid for you but you had to work to pay it back); by ship from Chile where news of he discovery quickly arrived; or overland across the plains, the Rockies, the Great Basin and the Sierra Nevada.  We see the only known remaining Conestoga Wagon as well as an example of a smaller wagon that made a fortune for its inventor, a freed slave who became a successful builder.

There is a selection of "on demand" movies available and over several hours we "demand" them all.  We learn more of John Marshall, who never made much from his discovery.  He later planted an orchard and was eventually given a small pension by the State, but he spent most of his life in poverty.  We learn of the development of different mining techniques, including one that destroyed a lot of the valley by blasting mountains with high pressure water jets.  This was eventually stopped by a court order that didn't make it illegal, but made the mine owners responsible for paying for the damage they caused.

We learn of Black Bart, who robbed stagecoaches but never their passengers, and never hurt anyone.  We learn how he was eventually caught when he dropped a handkerchief at one of his robbery scenes.  The marshals were able to trace him through the laundry code stamped on it!  We learn of Charley Parkhurst, one of the most celebrated stagecoach drivers of the 19th Century.  It wasn't until after Charley's death that it was discovered that Charley was, in fact, a woman!

We learn of the Mormon Battalion, a squad of 500 LDS church members who left their families and went to fight for the same US government that had refused to help them when they suffered persecution for their faith.  After being discharged in San Diego, many of them made it to Northern California and 6 of them were with John Marshall in the building of Sutter's Mill, at the time he discovered gold.  They, and most of their fellow Mormon Battalion members, headed east to Utah to join Brigham Young at the same time as everyone else was heading to California to try to strike it rich.

After viewing all the movies, we meet Ed, the Park Historian, who researched and narrated the stagecoach movie.  He answers more questions for us, such as what happened to the Swiss immigrant John Sutter, whose dream of building a business empire was, ironically, shattered when gold was discovered in his mill.  (He retired to a German speaking area of Pennsylvania with his German wife, who spoke no English).  Ed also gave us more background on the Mormons.

A fascinating day, learning about much more than the Gold Rush!  We're ready for lunch so check out the only restaurant we can find but it's closed (hosting a wedding!) so we drive back to the RV for a sandwich and quality time with the cats.  There's a restaurant in Coloma that is only open for dinner on the 3rd Saturday of the month, and serves wood fired pizza.  Today being the 3rd Saturday we later return to Coloma, only to find it's closed!  Not to worry.  Right across the road from the RV resort we find a restaurant where we can have pizza outside looking over the river.  So that's how we end our day.

Day 138 - Friday - Lots of apples around here

Today we decide to follow our friends' suggestion and visit High Hill Farm, one of the Apple Orchards now in high season.  This takes us along CA 49 in the opposite direction from the way we came in (thank goodness).  In less than a mile we're in Coloma, site of the first gold discovery.  We drive through the town, most of which is now part of a state park, saving this for tomorrow.

Soon the road starts climbing and becomes twisty, although it's not nearly as bad as it was coming in from I80.  We're still traveling through lush farm country and eventually we arrive at US50 (yes, the same road we traveled across Nevada!) at the town of Placerville.

The road across the highway points to "Tourist Information" so we decide to try again for a map.  This takes us to the main street of Placerville which shares three things with the main street of Truckee - it's cute, narrow and congested!  Fortunately we're driving the car, not the RV, but we get through town without seeing any tourist info - strike 2!

We take Rte 50 east for a few miles and soon find the farm.  It's huge!  First we check out a display of working models of 19th Century machines, some of which identify their function, some of which don't!  Beyond that a row of craft tents that we explore - everything from hand lotions that "don't dry up your hands" to cute model houses to jewelry. 

Eventually we find the apple barn with displays of more kinds of apples than I've ever heard of.  In fact I'd be hard pressed to name as many fruits as they have varieties of apple!  They also sell apple salsa of various kinds, apple chutney and anything else made of apples you can imagine.  We buy a couple of bottles but pass on the apple fritters, apple donuts and suchlike.

We cross the path the their "restaurant" and choose from  a bewildering variety of apple pies.  I choose a slice of something called "Caramel Apple Crunch" and it's just as wonderful as it sounds - light flaky pastry, crisp apples, something crunchy on top smothered in caramel, and pecans, which I don't particularly like, but covering them with caramel makes them great! It comes with a huge scoop of smooth home made vanilla ice cream.

Stomachs satisfied, we peruse the rest of the craft stalls and decide it's time to check out Placerville (pronounced with a short "a", we find).  We park the car and walk down main street.  We still don't find the tourist info but admire the huge bell tower in the middle of the street and visit some shops without buying anything.  When we get to the Farm Table Cafe, housed in an old hotel, and check out their menu, it's time to complete the meal.  (We already had dessert, remember?)

The name says it all - everything is freshly grown and cooked to order.  Vicky has the daily special - a spicy sausage in a pretzel bun, accompanied by a salad of to die for multi-colored cherry tomatoes cooked with tarragon.  I get the same salad with an empanada - light flaky pastry surrounding a mix of chorizo, cheese and vegetables.  It's as good as any I had in South America and better than many.  They call it an appetizer but with the tomatoes it's enough for me, especially after the apple pie!

Now it's time to head back to the RV park where two cats tell us they're ready to eat.  We serve them.  They eat the obligatory two bites and visit with us.  Of course, everything will be eaten eventually.

I didn't mention that the site I chose for us is right along the American River.  We have the sound of the river passing over some Class II rapids, and if it weren't for our fellow campers we would have the peace of the countryside.  But even through the place is now full, and our neighbor's canopy is on top of our slideout due to the small spaces, we do have a great view across the river.  No sign of the otters yet but we do have a family of ducks.  A delightful spot that we'll come back to, especially now we've found a route that won't test the RV and our nerves, but we'll come midweek since it fills up on weekends.

You can raft the river and we probably will next time, but for now there's plenty more to do.

Day 137- Thursday - Easy Mountains, Nearly Impossible Hills

Fearing California gas prices, we fill up at a gas station across the highway from the Walmart and join Interstate 80 for the journey to California.  This takes us through the towns of Sparks and Reno.  We try to stop at a Petco to pick up cat supplies, but the parking lot has no space for a 36ft RV pulling a car and we're not totally out of food, so we press on.

Suddenly we see trees on the mountains and before long we're into the beautiful Sierra Nevada range, surrounded by pines and, with a clear blue sky, enjoying nature at its best.

Of course the Sierras are higher than the smaller ranges we've been traversing, and we find ourselves following the Truckee River towards its source, as well as the route of the Central Pacific Railroad.   Soon we're in California and stop for lunch at a rest area at the top of Donner Pass, at 7,400ft.  I won't go into the sad story of the Donner party here, but if you don't know it, try googling it.  There's quite a wind blowing here although I hadn't noticed it as we were driving.

Now we start downhill.  We've been looking for a California Welcome Center to pick up a map and other information and we're delighted to see sings for one as we approach the small railroad town of Truckee.  We're less delighted when we find out that the Welcome Center is in the railroad station in the middle of town, since the main street is (a) busy and (b) narrow.  There's also no parking for RVs at the station.  So although we both agree that this is a cute town, we go round the block at the end of the main street and return to the highway, unscathed but with no new map!

Our destination tonight is at an altitude of 710 ft so we know there'll be a lot of downhill driving.  Fortunately I80 has been built with stretches of 5-6% grades for 2-3 miles interspersed with easier sections, so it's not a problem for us or the RV.  At one point there is road construction which slows us down to 10-20mph.  Quill is very happy about this and settles down on the dashboard to watch the view - something she would never do at a higher speed.  Suddenly Vicky announces that our steps are down, which shouldn't happen when we're in gear.  I look back and discover the door is open!  I'm able to pull over and shut the door (which fixes the steps) and no cats have escaped.  I guess one of us (probably me!) didn't shut the door properly but I'm nervous for quite a few miles.

Eventually the pines give way to fertile fields - this is the area where the California Trail pioneers of the 19th Century were heading for - and we find our exit from the highway.  Although we're still 50 miles from Sacramento the last few miles among the Interstate take us through an urban area.  We exit on CA 49 and Vicky informs me it's 16.5 miles to our destination, Ponderosa RV Resort in Lotus CA.  No problem, right!  Especially since the route was chosen for us by a website designed for RV travelers.

Probably the worst 16.5 miles I've driven this year!  We have to cross the American River.  The bridge across the river is no problem, in fact it's quite spectacular.  But the downhill road to the river is steep (6-7% grades), twisty (20 and even 15mph curves) and narrow (so there's not much space between the center line and the (narrow) shoulder of the road).

I make it to the river with no problem except we've both decided we never want to drive this road again.  But of course, having crossed the river we now have to drive uphill on a road with exactly the same characteristics as the downhill one.  I average 20, occasionally pulling over to let people pass me, but when I do get to the top of the hill and pull over, there are dozens of vehicles who were probably fuming at my slow progress.  We agree that's their problem and breathe a sign of relief.

The last few miles are pleasant, driving past farms and even a vineyard with lots of grapes on the bushes.  But the "RV Trip Wizard" itinerary has one last curve to throw at us.  It told us that our destination would be on the left, 16.5 miles after we turned on Rte 49.  I've figured out what the mileage should be on the odometer and when we get to that figure there's no sign of the resort.  A mile or so further on we come to a crossroads where I pull over and Vicky calls the resort.  It's just past the crossroads and soon we see it.  However, to get in we have to do a u-turn across traffic and then squeeze past a truck that is taking up half the forecourt.

I make the u turn but decide I've had enough.  Vicky kindly jumps in and gets us past the truck and to the registration kiosk, where they are expecting us.  However, they haven't assigned us a specific spot and tell us to drive around until we find a spot we like.  A nice idea, but the roads are narrow with overhanging trees and we're still towing the car. We decide to unhook the car and I walk down and find a nice spot by the river.  I then go back to guide Vicky but take a wrong turn so she has to go through a narrow space and do a complete loop with the RV.  She accomplishes this and we finally find the spot.  I back it in under Vicky's direction.

Ron and Carol, two Californians in the next space, invite us over for cookies and conversation.  Vicky had already mentioned that the American River was where the gold that sparked the 1849 Gold Rush was found, but neither of us realized that we're just up the road from Sutter's Mill, where the discovery took place.  Ron and Carol give us the brochure from Marshall State Park, which commemorates John Marshall's discovery, and tell us it's fascinating and we could spend the best part of a day there.  They also tell us about "Apple Hill", site of many apple farms which are now at the height of their harvest season.  Listening to tales of apple pie, apple cobbler, local crafts and more makes us realize we need more time here.

The fact that they've seen river otters (Vicky's favorite animal) across the river from our site also makes a longer stay appealing.  So our original 2 night stay here will become 4 nights.  Since Ron and Carol also warned us off one of the other places we'd planned on staying (narrow sites, lots of mosquitoes, no full hookups), we need to rethink our plans.  As I'm updating this blog, Vicky has been working on new plans.  But in the meantime we've made it to within 125 miles of the West Coast unscathed and it looks like we'll have a fun weekend here.  Stay tuned!