October 2013 - Cutting Firewood

Jim and I loaded up the Polaris and took it to the lodge last weekend to use for carrying firewood up the hill.  We have been cutting down about 8 of the dead cedar trees (we have over 40 dead trees due to the beetle blight) with logs of up to 24 inches that needed to be hauled up the hill and split for use this winter.

Though we tried to get the trailer ready for hauling Friday night - by midnight we figured out that we would not leave until Saturday morning.  Jim had the heavy plywood on - but we still needed to add all the tie downs and light kit and figure out how to get the Polaris on the trailer without having a good set of ramps - we used heavy duty plywood in the end.

When we arrived at the lodge on Saturday, the first order of business was to haul up wood we had cut 2 weeks earlier.  Jim took the Polaris down the school rode, through the gate, over the creek and onto the lawn area so that we could load up oak and cedar.

Then, once that pile was up in the front, we started cutting down additional dead cedars in the back of the property.  To get to those cedars, Jim and I had to cut a trail through the woods and down the hill quite a ways.  We used machetes, loppers and the chainsaw to clear small trees and brush.  We also had to move some rocks that were in the way of the path.  All in all, only took about 2 hours to get down to the bottom.

We used the rest of Saturday to cut down about 8 trees, cut them up and pile up the debris.  Sunday, we hauled the rest of the wood up the hill and spent the day splitting and stacking wood (we rented the log splitter from Hills).

We now have enough firewood for a heavy winter.  No need to buy any!

We saw Art and one of his friends on Saturday and another neighbor stopped by on Sunday for bit.  Overall a pretty busy weekend - with no time to complete the barbeque hut or work on the sauna.

A Challenge from the Donner Summit Historical Society

Today I finally got a moment to read my copy of the Donner Summit Historical Society Newsletter. They referenced a postcard written in 1913 from a E De Choudens of Truckee to a Miss A Mitchell of Alameda. They asked if anyone of the readers knew if the Mitchells still owned the Alameda house located at 1031 San Antonio Av. 

They went on to pose quite a few interesting questions - Was the writer in love with his correspondent? Did he send the picture? What had Miss Mitchell sent him? What did E. de Choudens do in Truckee in 1913? What lessons was he wanting to give? How long had he been in the country (given his language errors). Did it ever snow that winter? Did Miss Mitchell come to Truckee? Did she speak French (in those days only those with good educations could)? Did they meet in France while Miss Mitchell was on a Grand European Tour at the conclusion of boarding school for proper young ladies? Did they ever get together? Is there a record of marriage? What were their lives like after 1913? To me that was a challenge to my historical sleuthing. So I pulled all my internet search skills together and this is what I found.

The house at 1031 San Antonio was built in 1890 and is still there. It was sold in 1978 so it is unlikely that the Mitchell family still owns the residence. It is quite a large victorian (8 bedrooms) so the Mitchell's would have been a prominent family. 

De Choudens was a swiss ski instructor who worked at Truckee in 1913 at the Winter Carnival teaching people how to ski. In 1940, he resided in Meadow Lake Township, was 63, had become a US citizen and was single (so he was born in 1887 and he did not ever marry A Mitchell). 

Ms. Mitchell was Alexine Mitchell of Alameda. She was born in 1887, was a graduate of Stanford University, served as an ambulance driver, then a nurse in a french hospital during WW1. She was the daughter of Capt. Josiah A. Mitchell who survived 43 days in an open longboat after the clipper ship Hornet burned at sea. Mark Twain wrote a story about his adventure (Long Boat to Hawaii). She was also related to Charles Lee Tilden the founder of East Bay Regional Parks. 

Ms. Mitchell married rather late in life (she was still single at 33 when she returned from France). She married Walter Luboski. He later changed his name to Walter Gregory. They had a son, Dr Michael S Gregory who went to Cal, taught at SF State, was a founding board member of the National Endowment of the Humanities. He passed away in 2005. 

So to answer some of the questions:

What did E. de Choudens do in Truckee in 1913? Taught skiing at the Winter Carnival in Truckee CA

What lessons was he wanting to give? Ski 

Did it ever snow that winter? The postcard was written in February 1913. They got 73.00 in January, 9.00 in February, 17.50 in March and 15 inches in April. The next season, they got much more snow with 156 inches in January alone. 

Did she speak French (in those days only those with good educations could)? I think she probably did speak French based on the information about her tiime serving in WW1

Did they ever get together? Is there a record of marriage? They never did marry - it is hard to tell if they ever dated. She may have been a ski student during Carnival. 

What were their lives like after 1913? We know a bit about Alexine's life (there is even an interview with her about her time in the war online) but de Chouden is referenced on the internet very little. 

Did they have a relationship? Who knows. Perhaps descendants of Ms Mitchell know a bit more.

October 2013

Last weekend, Jim and I went to the lodge with the plan of working on the sauna casita, the BBQ hut and, if time allowed, cutting down some of the dead cedars for firewood.

On Saturday, Jim ran the 220 wire from the lodge over to the sauna and installed the "box" with the needed panels for the wiring.  Next he installed the door I purchased a few weeks ago at Habitat for Humanity.  It is a solid oak door and should wear well in the snow.  Next time we are up at the cabin, I plan to give it a good coat of spar varnish.  And finally, he dropped the ceiling inside the sauna so that the square footage would meet the recommendations of the sauna tech machine.  We still need to insulate (spray stuff), put in the cedar paneling and slate flooring, add the decking, and install the fixtures. We are still hopeful we can get this done by Christmas.

I went out to lunch with mom, Mary, Pattie and Annie.  We were lucky that Annie was here for her youngest daughter's wedding and was able to stay an additional week to visit with us.  We went out to lunch in Auburn and a pretty nice bar and grill. It was fun to laugh and talk and be together again.

I also ran a trip to Home Depot for supplies for Jim, got the trailer tire replaced and went to the grocery to get us some food - we had brought very little up from home this time.

Sunday, we put the tire on the trailer and pulled it up the hill to return it home. It is our spare trailer that has been stored at the lodge for a year.  We are going to convert it to a flatbed for use with the Polaris we are getting this week.

We also managed to work on the BBQ Hut. This year we decided that it was too hard to get the BBQ into the Snow Shed each year so, I purchased some culls at Home Depot and rustled up some metal roofing to be able to build a storage hut for it.  It will be housed on the lodge deck and will be strong enough to weather the snow during our long winters.

We also started cutting down some of the dead cedars (the ones that are closest to the road by the school for easy hauling up to the firewood stack.  We cut down about 5 trees, some small, some a bit bigger.  All pretty much dead from the beetle blight we are suffering in the sierra.

Don was up at his cabin getting it ready for guests and we spent a very small time with him (he had to get back to Sacramento - so no dinner guest).   I got to see our friendly neighborhood dogs (Brandy and Lucky) and the kids who own them.

Quincy spent most of his time running about the yard, hoping for sticks to be thrown for retrieval.

All in all, it was a pretty productive work weekend. We plan to return the first weekend of November to continue work on the sauna and hut and to split some of the firewood that we cut.

September 22 Work Weekend

Went up to the lodge for the last day of summer (weekend) with my mom.  My goal was to put away the summer portable garage (ala screened in deck), lawn furniture and BBQ.  Also wanted to get all the loose firewood carried up from the back yard to the front and stack for winter.  And put folding chairs in attic, rearrange living room chairs around the fireplace and start building a "lean too hut" to store the BBQ for the winter.   Mission accomplished on those goals.

Since it was raining pretty heavily Saturday, Karen, Larry and Rodger had to cancel their motorcycle ride up to the lodge. Mom and I decided it was a perfect day to head over to Reno for a bit of thrift store shopping.  Reno has some of the best thrift stores!

We found some miscellaneous items that made the trip a success and went out to lunch at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  We were sad to see that the Mexican store we buy our Lime Salt at had closed.  Now to find a new store for that great stuff.

After lunch, the weather kept getting colder and and more windy, so by 3:30 pm we decided it was time to head back home.  As usual, we were talking all the way to Truckee.  As soon as we passed through the border check, I noticed that the raindrops seemed to be a bit more solid and fluffy.  By the time we reached Truckee, we were seeing large snowflakes, and lots of them.

Since the road looked pretty clear, I thought we would have no issues with the summit.  My rule - take it slow in snowy weather and you will reach your destination.  Boy was I wrong.  At Donner Lake, the highway patrol had set up a road block and had stopped all traffic from continuing westward.

There were no chain monkeys out (due to the fact it was September 22nd) and I did not have my chains with me anyway.  We headed back down to Truckee to get some coffee and decide on our next steps.

The Red Cherry Coffee Shop was just about to close (5:30 pm) and they were kind enough to supply us with free coffee.  We filled up our cups and headed back to the truck.  I tried to find the Cal Trans radio snow station - but that was not transmitting yet (ah - did I say it was September 22), so I searched for info on my cell phone.

I called Katie and she advised that it was raining buckets in Davis (and hailing and lightning and thunder), so I thought our chances of getting back to the lodge were getting slim.  I suggested that she might need to ride up to the lodge (a 1 hour trip from Davis) and rescue Quincy.   Then I decided to check to see if Mary Beth would like to drive up from Chico for the night.  Mary Beth agreed (a 1 1/2 hour drive for her) so I canceled Katie's trek (she would have missed a birthday party).

We sat is the truck, deciding if we should get a hotel or wait to see if the storm would pass.  about 1 1/2 hours later, Cal Trans opened the highway and took down the chain controls.  The weather at Davis had headed south to I 50 so we had a moment's notice to get on the road and head over the pass.

Cal Trans was metering traffic and allowing about 20 cars over at a time.  We all followed a Highway Patrol car and a snow blower up and over the pass.  They left us at Yuba Gap, and we went the last 2 miles home without escort.

We actually beat Mary Beth to the lodge, found neighbors Art and Don had been stuck in the same highway shutdown (just on the reverse side of the pass).  Quincy was really happy to see us and really hungry.

All and all a very eventful weekend at the Gap. Record rain and snow in the bay area and the northern sierra on September 22, 2013.  Let's hope it is an early Jack Frost warning for a wet and snowy winter for us!

Sept 2013 Labor Day

Just back from Emigrant Gap Labor Day weekend. As usual we had a great time. Shelia and Clay came up Saturday and Sunday.  We took a short walk (hike) on the nature trail at the Bear River and finally got to see the falls there.  The falls are not anywhere near as tall as our North Fork, but still nice to see.  We did a bit of car touring at Rucker Lake. As usual, the lake was calm and beautiful. 

Sunday Clay and Shelia took a trip to Truckee (shopping and lunch), then headed home. It was so great to have them finally visit and we hope they will do so often!

Pattie, Mom, Mary Beth, Katie and John came up on Saturday and Jim on Sunday. It was also John's first visit to the lodge.  He brought us a coleman emergency light (which will come in very handy this winter).

Pattie, Katie, John, Jim and I did the hike on the back side of Lake Valley Reservoir on Sunday (somehow we lost the trail and mostly hiked at the water's edge). We were lucky to see one of the nesting bald eagles during the hike. It was perched in one of the cedar trees by the shore and looked to be a yearling.  We also stumbled across what appeared to be an old steam donkey (steam donkeys were used as a way to move large timber through the forest).  They would cable the logs and pull them using the steam monkey gears.  This one still had its cables and large round gears.  Would love to have those gears for the lodge - but alas - they are not for sale.   We also got to walk through Sky Mountain Summer Camp (great camp with lots of outbuildings on the shore of the lake) and the Lodgepole Campground.

Monday morning we woke to rain, thunder and lightning. Wow! nature can put on a great show in the Sierras. It rained almost all of Monday - but we get a brief break in the weather and were able to take Pattie over to see Emerald Pools (on the Yuba River) - our new favorite swimming hole.

No swimming Labor Day weekend as the sierras are moving into fall (can't wait to see the Aspen trees  in fall color). The American Fire was probably extinguished by the deluge of rain and we are all praying that the storm moved south to the Yosemite Rim fire.

The lodge is great in fall. Firewood cutting in September, Bonfires in October and snow (we hope) by November. Also hiking goes into full force at this time, and of course shopping the thrift stores in Reno. We hope our family and friends will be able to come up, take a break and see us.

When we arrived home, we found that we had received an email from one of the descendants of the Allen Family (Allens owned the hotel around the turn of the century).  He is the grandson of one of the Allen girls.  He sent us some pictures of the old hotel (great!).  I hope to be corresponding with him (and of course Eleanor - descendant of the Cortopassi family) in the future. 

August 21st Visit With Eleanor

Such an exciting day. I drove to the lodge on August 21st because Eleanor Richardson (the daughter of Joe Cortopassi who built the Emigrant Gap Annex - our lodge) was going to stop for a visit with her daughter Terri and son in law. It was a wonderful visit. 

Eleanor shared some additional information with me about her time at the lodge that I have added to the 1900 - 1950 section.  For example, when she was at the lodge, there was no snow shed enclosure on the side of the building.  Also, when she was little, since she was not allowed in the bar and dining hall, she spent a lot of her time with the cook in the kitchen.  The first cook she mentioned was a big burly man who once worked at the sawmill.  He made marble cake in a very big bowl.  The other cook was Yick, who cooked chinese dinner for the guests once a week.  She also mentioned that her dad put on a prime rib dinner each week and people would drive for miles to have dinner at the Emigrant Gap Hotel.  We talked about the fact that the lodge (once annex) had no kitchen and had multiple showers in the back bathrooms.  Eleanor's dad offered showers for a small fee to people who were in the sierra - but not staying at the hotel (one of these people was Eleanor's future husband - a game warden at the time).  

At one time the old hotel had a barber shop, a butcher and a homemade item store.  
There used to be a road behind the hotel that went to Fulda Creek (our current road was not there) And her father put in a tow rope in the back of the hotel for winter skiers.  

I took Eleanor and family on a tour of the building. She was happy to see what we are doing with the place and said her dad would be very happy that we saved the hotel from ruin. What a very nice person she is and I hope she is able to come for a longer visit some time in the future.

While at the lodge, I was able to make sure that all was well (our neighbor's cabin got broken into August 20). Of course it was fine - but I did see that one of the downstairs bedrooms had a window left open (which I closed). 

Finally I talked with some of the fire people about the Americon River fire across the Royal Gorge - they were driving around notifying camp grounds and hotels about the poor air conditions due to smoke - and they told me that the fire has been halted from moving our way so - no way it will get close to the lodge. 

August 2013

Wow, it has been a while since I have posted  (other than updating the history pages).  It may be because our eldest daughter started looking for a house in May, purchased a house in July and we have been working on it ever since.  Or it could be that there has not been much done on the lodge for a bit - not really.

This summer we were able to re-enforce the deck foundation and re-top the deck with TREX.  My hope was that Jim would keep going and finally put a roof over the deck so that we could use it all 4 seasons - but no such luck.

Jim also worked on the lodge foundation, re-enforcing it.  Though the building still feels like a roller coaster as you walk from the front to the back, it is a strong roller coaster now.

He also started to build the "casita".  It is a little building that will house our swedish sauna (is casita the right term - I do not think they speak much spanish in Sweden). At this point the casita is framed, sided, and roofed.  It is now waiting to be insulated (that's Jim)  floored (that's me), and finally interior sided (back to Jim again).   Then we need to add a small deck and stairs and we are ready to go.

I worked on trim for the hallway doors upstairs (got those in just in time for the mini reunion),  The trim, believe it or not, is fir from Scandinavia that was used to built crates for springs for Telsa motors.  These crates were 12 feet by 3 feet by one foot.  Out of each crate I got 7 12 foot 1 by 4s of lovely wood.  Of course, I had to plane and sand the stuff - but it was worth it not to buy the warped and junky wood at Home Depot.  So - now all the bedroom entries on the main floor have door trim.  Soon, I will add floor trim and we will be looking snazzy.

I also painted the side wall of the exterior of the cabin (so the new deck would have a painted backdrop).  We are staying with forest service green for now until we reside.  Then who knows.  We may just stay that color forever.

I also continued in my annual quest to clear the property of debris.  I have stacks of branches and weeds just waiting for the first fall rain so that I can start burning. I also weed mowed all 3 1/2 acres (less the forest area which does not require mowing).

Speaking of burning, there is a nasty forest fire ablaze across the Royal Gorge that luckily will not reach Emigrant Gap.  It is southeast of Foresthill on Deadwood Ridge.  That may not seem too close - but as the crow flies, it is in the vicinity and these fires can quickly just from ridge to ridge.  Good news - it is about 60% contained as of today.  However, it is giving us a lot of smoke and will not be completely out until September 1.  Alas - the drought continues to plague us.

We have not spent every moment at the lodge working though.  We found a lovely floating hole (I would not call it a swimming hole as the water is SO COLD).  It is on the Yuba River on the way to Rucker Lake and is called Emerald Pool.  It has become a favorite tube floating spot this summer.

We also discovered that we have a small wading hole near the bridge at Fulda Creek right down the hill.  Quincy loves to go swimming there and it allows us the opportunity to cool off without driving too far.  We took the Kayaks out of Lake Valley Reservoir for an afternoon which was nice.  Have to say we have the most beautiful lakes in our region.

Mom has made it up to the lodge many times this summer and we have had fun traveling to Reno thrift store shopping and traveling to Grass Valley to the Habitat store.

This summer's mini reunion on the 4th of July was fun.  Adam, Leah, Carter and Carol (Jim's sister) came up from the south and we attended the 4th of July parade in Dutch Flat and watched the fireworks from the Summit.  What fun that was.  We also were joined by Mary and Lynn and with Carol went over to Emerald Pool for a wade.  Mary Beth and Katie joined us for part of the weekend. Fun, fun holiday.

We were happy to see Art and Don quite a bit this summer (though not as much now that we have so much smoke in the air) and had them over for dinner a few times.  We love their new model train display in their cabin.  It is extreme!

We are hoping for a wet fall and snowy winter.  This is a Tahoe Christmas year (we need to change that name) so the Jacobs Girls and their progeny will be in the sierra in full force.

We also had a visit from John Miller, the grandson of one of the Allen Hotel daughters (our Emigrant Gap Hotel and now lodge was the Allen Hotel in the early 1900s).  And we were so very lucky to have a visit from Eleanor Richardson, daughter of Joe Cortopassi who owned the hotel in from the 1920s to the 1950s.

That's it for now.  Enjoy the rest of summer.  School is starting soon!

April 2013 Lodge Trips

Odd weather at the lodge this year.  The weather for April is more like the weather we see in June.  No snow on the ground around the lodge and warmer weather in the daytime (though nights are still cold enough to require a fire in the Lopi).

Since our debris burning opportunity will probably be short this season (with all the warm weather), I have been trying to do at least one pit burn per visit.  On the weekend of April 13th, Mary and I built something more like a campfire in the upper stone-edged fire pit while Jim and Lynn framed out the new Swedish Sauna building.

The Sauna is on a raised platform (about four feet off the ground) and is located directly behind the foundation of the old restaurant and bar area (what we call the future garage).  It will have about 6 steps to climb to enter it in the non-snow months. During the winter, it may be just about at snow level.  The interior dimensions of the building are about 6 1/2 by 9 1/2 feet and will accommodate 3 - 5 people.  It will have a single paned french door to enter and though the roof is pitched, it will have a drop ceiling to trap the steam.  No windows, of course, but it will have a louvered vent of some sort.  Jim has planned an L shaped bench and an upper bench for seating.

The sauna machine is made by sauna-tech and is the kind that you pour water on to get the steam going (very swedish).  It was one of my great finds from a thrift store.  I had a coupon and it was already very low priced due to the fact that it could not be tested (220 hard wiring).  I purchased it and Jim wired it and tested it at home in Orinda - and it worked!

Though the sauna machine was quite a deal, the building is not quite as inexpensive.  That is okay though, since it is our first venture at snow building. My hope is that we will learn enough off this experience to allow us to pitch a roof over the deck.  That way we will have a 3 season room that can be used in winter to watch the kids sled down the hillside.

Next weekend we will be enclosing the sauna structure.  Then cedar paneling to follow.  Lots more work planned for that little building and I will be posting pictures as we go.

March 2013 Weekends at the Lodge

This March we were able to get two weekends in at the lodge.  The first included a visit from our cousin, Rita.  Jim had planned to work on the foundation that weekend, but I convinced him that we should actually enjoy ourselves and our time with Rita.

Thursday, Rita and I did some light site seeing. We headed up to Hampshire Rocks and Big Bend for some photos.  The Yuba River is running - but we will not have a great snowmelt this year due to the lack of a snow pack.  We also did the drive from the Summit area to Donner Lake (highway 40) and a drive around Serene Lake for some photos.

Friday, Rita and I took a trip to Truckee to window-shop with an accidental side trip to Reno.  Reno came about because we were so busy catching up that I missed the Truckee exit and did not realize it until we were at the border checkpoint.

In Reno, we hit a couple favorite thrift stores, then headed back to Truckee.  The Truckee shops were fun to browse and Rita managed to find a heavy doorstop there.  We had a nice lunch at Jacks by the Tracks (a Truckee diner), then, after hitting all the stores on Main Street, headed over to our Truckee Ace Hardware (LOVE THAT STORE), then home.  For more photos, we walked over to the first little falls on the top of Fulda Creek.  Again, water running - but no major blast.

Saturday,  Jim, Rita and I headed up the summit again and down 89 to Lake Tahoe.  We hiked around Sugar Pine Point.  There was still a bit of snow there.  From the dock, the water was perfect turquoise from the glacier silt. I believe all the Keep Tahoe Blue bumper stickers are working, because the lake looked perfectly clear and blue.

We hiked over to the old mansion (which was closed for the season) and hiked around the park before heading up to Emerald Bay for more photos.  We stopped at the scenic overlook, then headed over to the parking area by the falls.  Jim and Rita hiked out to a boulder point to get a better photo there (I opted to hang out at the road since I did not have great shoes).  Then off to a nice restaurant across the street from Homewood for lunch.  The architecture was nice and the decor very pretty.  The restaurant had large picture windows that looked out over the lake.  

We hike down Emigrant Gap Road through the snow to look at an old "off the grid" cabin that was recently for sale.  Not sure if it sold yet - but there was no for sale sign on it - so assuming it either sold or was pulled off the market.  That hike took us through a bit of ice snow and was a challenge to manage.

In all, a very nice weekend. We hope that Rita can make it to the 4th of July with her hubby this summer.

Last weekend, the guys across the street were up.  We had a wonderful dinner with them Saturday night.  They supplied the chicken enchiladas (yum) and we made the salad and desert.

Also on Saturday, one of Jim's coworkers stopped by with his wife and friends who have a cabin in Blue Canyon.  They were up for a ski weekend at Sugar Bowl.  We gave them a tour of the lodge, then had lunch and hung out in front of the fireplace chatting.  Their kids enjoyed the shuffle board and some of the toys.

Jose was also up, so Jim and he worked on the foundation for the swedish sauna and cleared out some of the construction debris from the basement.  On Sunday, I had planned to cut up all the firewood from our downed trees, but the chainsaw would not cooperate.  So I gathered and stacked downed branches and did some general property clean up (stacked so of the broken concrete from the swedish sauna area to make a small retaining wall by the creek area and pulled weeds).

Our hope is to get some flowers in this year (shasta daisies?), put in some pine and fir trees that we have rooted and possibly put in a new apple tree. But all of that will have to be on our next visit.

The weather was way too warm for March and we spent most of Sunday working in our shirtsleeves. Quincy had a blast playing in the back with his best buddy, Lucky.  our little seasonal creek was running.  I spent a lot of time throwing sticks to the dogs to fetch, then picking up the sticks to re-stack on the fire pile.

I am hoping to have the chainsaw operational for our next visit since I have about 4 trees to cut and stack (including a large oak tree that split in half over the winter).  I guess we are getting an early start on next seasons firewood with all the downed trees.  In the fall, we will take down some of the standing firewood (dead trees) and do the splitting then.

The cedars continue to die off and are being replaced by oak saplings.  I am hoping that this change is based on the beetle issue and not global warming.  I am also hoping for more rain to avoid a major fire threat this season.  We still have to acquire a water tank for the property to allow for firefighting water in the event of an emergency.

Jim and I discussed the new door he is adding to the lower basement area.  It will require some steps and possibly a small deck to be accessed.  I am hoping he decides to incorporate the decking into the fire escape and give us an option for a deck on the back of the house.

We will keep the other two door entries that are already in place (replacing the actual doors) and we need to add some windows for light.  Then, at some point, Jim will add a concrete floor and put his workroom down there.  So much to do, so little time.

Anyway, that is it for our March post. Next post - April.

January 2013 - Finally skiing at the lodge

Last weekend was finally a true ski weekend for us at the Lodge.  Though it has not snowed much since New Year's, there was still about 3 feet at the Lodge and much more up at Sugar Bowl ski area.  Saturday was a perfect day for skiing.

I relegated myself to the easier intermediate slopes, while Jim and Katie took some runs on the advanced slopes.  In a few years, Jim and I will qualify for senior rates there (not sure if that is good or bad news).

This was my first time downhill skiing in about 4 years.  I needed some ankle surgery to enable me to fit back in my boots and even with that, I had to buy larger boots, and subsequently longer skis, to be able to ski this year.  Longer equals faster - and hence the intermediate slopes.

We all got comments about our vintage straight skis.  I can't see moving to the new fat skis or even parabolics at this point.  And our skis are rather retro cool.

Sunday was spent watching the 49ers beat Atlanta and Monday was spent in Reno at the thrift shops - no great finds this time but Katie and I had a lot of fun.

Mary Beth spent most of her weekend working up at Truckee.  She loves her job there and loves the extra money she makes for school.  She also had a band performance and music coaching at a high school in North Lake Tahoe on Tuesday, so I stayed a bit longer to keep her company (and to clean up after the long weekend).

We saw a few of our Emigrant Gap neighbors this weekend.  Art was up working on his cabin and another neighbor snowshoed into one of the summer cabins.

We did have one pipe burst due to the frigid weather we experienced over the last 3 weeks but Jim and Art were able to fix that on Sunday and then Art went off to fix some of his burst pipes as well.

And we had some stranded travelers on Monday.  Some guys thought they could take their 4 wheel drive ford truck down Texas Hill road (which is covered with 2 feet of icy snow).  They made it about 50 feet before they got stuck.  Jim and I tried to pull them out with the Dakota - but it was not strong enough (and we did not have a good come along for the job).  So we loaned them some shovels and they were just about done digging out with another neighbor with four wheel came along and gave them a pull out.

These guys only had one home depot cotton rope, no come alongs, no shovels and they were alone.  Don't know what they were thinking when they took off down the road!  I did ask if they had AAA road service (another candidate for Hell on the Highway TV show).