Crazy kids
I can’t believe these crazy kids from the CCC. They are camping above me and I rarely see
them. I was home early the other day and
I watched them all hike right through my clearing on the way to the river. Apparently, they work all day then clean up
down there, in the freezing water! I
watched them straggle back with towels thrown over their shoulder and wet
hair. They are a tough group! It’s pretty cold at night, I woke up
yesterday with no water because the hose was frozen, it’s that cold at night
and they are sleeping in tents.
Last night was a ‘super’ full moon, the one day a year when
the moon is closest to the earth. My
whole clearing was lit up, it was so bright!
When I took Brutus out before bed, I could see my shadow. It was
beautiful. (The clearing, not my shadow)
I’ve been hiking a lot in the area around where I live, but
there is one trail I heard about that I just can’t find. It’s supposed to be an old railroad track and
I just don’t see it. I have directions,
it says turn on Strawberry road, but there are 3 entrances to the same
road. I’ll keep looking,
meanwhile I’m going to check out a hiking trail in town today. The difference between hiking up here compared
to Virginia is the elevation. We’re at
about 6500 feet above sea level and I sure can feel it. I’m huffing and puffing much more then I
should be, even accounting for the steep up and down nature of the trails. I found one trail the other day that I really
liked. PG&E, the power company, is
siphoning off water from the river for hydro power. The trough runs along a ridge and there is a
little trail right next to it. I wanted
to see where it ended, but after only a few miles it went through the employee
housing compound and I couldn’t get in. I’ll go back when someone is there,
maybe they’ll show me around. It would be interesting to see how they convert
the water to power, It’s not only peaceful walking right next to the flowing
water, but best of all, it’s all level ground.
No hills, rocks or boulders like most of the other trails I’ve been
on. As I was walking the trail, I caught
glimpse of a nice hard packed dirt road, also very level. I would like to take my bike up there, I’ll
have to figure out where the road starts.
I am supposed to work Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the busy days for the park. I showed up bright and early Friday morning and my boss said, can you change your days to Tue-Thurs? No problem. Since I was there, I went ahead and worked all day anyway. We had some fun things on the agenda. They haven’t re-scheduled the ATV class, so
we’re not patrolling the ORV trails yet.
I’ve been working with Kim and one of the things we do is check the
upcountry roads, campground and day use areas to see if they are passable
yet. Once the snow is gone, they can be
opened. We went to check one road and
some idiot had plowed right through the gate.
The posts are sunk into the ground with concrete and they pulled the
post right out of the ground. I couldn’t
believe it, but she said it happens all the time. I guess with a big enough truck, it would be
easy. Kim drives and I get out and open
the gates. The locks are in a hole in a
post sunk into the ground. Basically you
stick your hand into a dark hole, feel around for the lock and try to figure
out which key fits. All in the dark,
with one hand, kneeling on the ground reaching in at an awkward angle. Most of them I get with little difficulty,
but one is really hard. The post is
taller than the others and the lock is farther up in it. There isn’t room for both of my hands, so
there is a lot of fumbling around. I’ll
be so glad when we can get that road open for good. Next week I’ll be working with someone else,
we’re making the ORV signs. It will be a
nice change of pace from driving around all day.
They finally opened up the pass, so next week I’m headed to
Reno to see my best girl Stephanie. Kim
and I checked out the pass and I couldn’t believe how much snow is still up
there. We passed several snow mobiles
and when we stopped for lunch, there were two guys going snowboarding. I got some great pictures, including some
avalanches.
Last night I cooked the shrimp I got in Louisiana. My freezer was stuffed and I couldn’t find
anything in it. As I was digging for the
shrimp, I found a lobster tail that I forgot about. What a nice surprise! The shrimp boil spice I
got was pretty smelly and I was warned to cook it outside. So I got my propane stove out and got the
water boiling. When I next checked on
it, the flame had gone out, no more propane.
Uh oh, the other can was almost empty too. Lucky for me, it had just enough to finish
the job and I had a most awesome dinner!
Wonder what else is hidden in the freezer?
I can’t believe how lucky I am, to be able to live the life
I’ve dreamed of for years! When I quit
my job in February, I thought I’ll do this for a few months and starvation will
set in and I’ll have to get another job.
So far, I still have money in the bank and my bills are paid. It helps a lot to do volunteer work. Not only do I feel like I’m doing something
for someone else, working with Habitat, or I have a sense of purpose every day
working here in the forest. As an added
bonus, I get to cut expenses either by being fed or getting free or reduced
hook up sites. I still want to travel
overseas, I’ve been thinking a lot about the Peace Corp. I recently found out, older Americans can
get a 6 month posting as opposed to the year that college age kids
get. I’m going to check it out, I would
love to do something like that. I
thought about Americorp, the domestic Peace Corp, but it’s a 10 month
commitment. Much too long, I have too
much else I want to do!
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