Wednesday, July 21, 2021

July 4th - Visitors as the Pandemic Softens

 For the 4th of July (and prior) we had a few guests visit us in Emigrant Gap.  And now that we all have our COVID shots, we are feeling a bit safer venturing out.  First, my mom (who is almost 92) came up for a week.  She has now decided that she will most likely not visit the cabin in winter - but likes it in spring, summer and fall (as long as there is not any snow on the ground).  Luckily for her, and unluckily for us, California is back in an epic drought, so I think it will be easy to accommodate her wishes.  

Jim's sister, Carol was driving back from a visit to Utah and stopped off for several days.  She and Jim took a drive over to visit Jim and Laura at their Lakeside cabin at Lake Tahoe. I stayed home with Taylor the terrible dog and my mom.  They spent the afternoon at one of the beaches on the east shore.

Carol left the day before the 4th of July and Katie, Mary Beth, my sister Mary and her husband Lynn came in for the holiday.  On July 3rd, Mary, Katie and I drove down to Colfax and went to one of my favorite small thrift stores.  I found some items we needed for the camper and the cabin - but Mary found a wonderful sewing machine that works perfectly!!!!! Later that evening, Katie, Mary and I went to Colfax for their fireworks.  We watched from the upper hill (where we always watch) and then headed back to the cabin.    Lynn, Mary, Katie and Jim went to the 4th of July parade in Dutch Flat (always a soaking experience) while I stayed home with mom, Mary Beth, Clinton and Taylor.  Then the night of the 4th, Lynn, Katie, Jim and I drove up to the summit to watch the fireworks over Donner Lake.  It was a beautiful evening and the sunset was lovely - but little known to us, the fireworks over Donner were canceled  due to COVID and fire danger.  So we drove back down the summit and called it a night.  Luckily no one started any fires in our area over the 4th and most of the campers where pretty respectful with their driving speed and no littering. 

A couple of things that did happen prior to the holiday.  On the 28th of June, a car was driving back to North Fork Campground and said they saw a deer, went off the the side of the road, and hit a tree (and a bit down the cliff).  Sheriff Taylor was out walking with Jim and found it necessary to investigate the scene (see photo). On the 29th  just after Mom and I returned from a quick trip up to Truckee,  and Carol arrived from Utah, a semi truck slammed into a pickup that was parked on the side of freeway by Laing Road (changing a tire).  The chain reaction resulted in another semi crashing and spilling 300 gallons of diesel fuel which caught on fire and started a small grass fire on the side of the freeway.  They had to close down I 80 westbound for a few hours as they cleaned up the mess. Since things usually happen in 3s we are counting the freeway mess as two incidences.  Luckily no one was injured in these accidents. 





And on another note, one of the Fulda Creek homes went up for sale recently and it is currently in escrow.  We are hoping the new neighbors (Mark and Amy) love Emigrant Gap as much as we do. 

Finally, we had a brief visit with Jim White, the current sierra photographer and former game warden near Emigrant Gap. Jim and his wife were dating in 1943.  Jim's wife is a young 96 while he is a bit older (we are guessing 98). He is still driving up to Emigrant Gap to photograph the wild flowers. He shared some of his memories about the Monumental Lumber Mill Railroad on Texas Hill Road and how people used to take the train up from Auburn to ride the railroad to a tram that took them up to Big Valley Bluff to view the Royal Gorge.  He and his wife have also hiked down into the gorge (from Big Vally Bluff) and back in one day.  He talked a bit about the train that derailed at the MLMR (which is supposed to still be back there) and how he removed some of the steel rails from the old railroad later for the war effort in WW2.  We hope his next visit will be longer so that we can capture more of his history on the upslope. 

Mary Beth is using the cabin with her friends the week of her birthday.  Jim and I will return to the cabin after her departure.  We are still working on sealing the siding (prior to priming and painting) and getting the window trim ready for installation.  August is a busy month, but we are hoping to get this project (residing the east side of the cabin) done soon. 





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