7/18 - Highway 88 and the Kaffer Cabin

Hi everyone! We're back on the grid for the evening.

The past five days have been relaxing and beautiful and delicious and productive and incredible. I left Reno after a great visit with Scott, Tiff, and the girls, following a short final trip to the Nevada Discovery Museum - which is the most awesome kids' museum anywhere, I think - where we did arts and crafts, made pinwheels, "fished" with magnets, and raced miniature sailboats in a model river. You're even allowed to paint on the windows. I KNOW.

Anni paints on windows in the Discovery Museum. 

Scott had to work that night, so Mattie and I took a walk with Sid, Anni, Tiff and Zoey (their new dog) around the trails behind their house. Sid took this picture of us during a little break from chasing jackrabbits and poking each other with sagebrush sticks. 

Little buddy. 

The next day I headed south - not far in miles, but still a long lesson in patience, thanks to the complete mess dubbed "highway renovations" surrounding Reno on all sides. I made it mid-day to Minden, NV, situated in a beautiful green little valley just over the eastern ridge of Lake Tahoe and the Sierras. I was lucky and grateful to eat a tostada feast with my Aunt Dianne, Uncle Dan, and cousin Selena (and Mattie, Mugi, and Zorro, of course) outside at dusk. That evening Dan gave me a tour of the Hope/Charity/Faith Valley scenes, and I fell into a comfy extra bed at their house with too many ideas for paintings and a full belly. Mattie had steak, and fell asleep easily next to me, dreaming of more steak.

I woke up early the next day (was that Saturday? I think it was Saturday...) to paint some of the ranches and cows and distant peaks.

Cows and Raymond Peak. 

We came back to the house, and with Selena's help, made some brownies (with toffee and peanut butter cups) and rainbow chip cupcakes (with rainbow chip frosting, duh) to take up to PCT hikers on the trail. Mattie and I headed up the 88 and found a great shady spot on the trail, and had constant thru-hiking visitors for the entire afternoon. Love.

In the evening we took a short trip over to a magical rock outcropping in Hope Valley that Uncle Dan had shown me the night before, and sat. For two hours, we just sat and stared at the valley, and listened to some birds saying "cheeseburger" - those are chickadees, I learned - and the creek running and aspens all around whispering and gently cracking. When the sun had gone down and the light was almost completely gone, we headed back to our campsite along the creek. We jumped straight into the tent, because the mosquitoes decided to pay us a visit (for the first time this summer) - and read a little before falling asleep to the sound of the stream. 

That feeling that you're being hunted.

We woke up early and headed up to Carson Pass for a few hours of painting. Not a bad place to work for the morning.

Carson Pass - looking southwest, or something like that.

After finishing the sketch, Mattie and I headed back to the PCT junction to hand out leftovers to hikers coming through, then drove down the 88 and through Markleeville to the Kaffer cabin in the woods. That night we had a great meal (salad and a portabello sandwich, courtesy of Uncle Dan) on the cabin deck - which has since been destroyed to make way for a NEW deck. After they went home, I had a couple of beers and read about the Donner Party while hanging out with the crew at the cabin. 

Makin' friends.

That night we slept on the deck under stars with a cool breeze, with only a brief (but for Mattie, distressing) interruption from some coyote songs in the middle of the night. Scott came up for his days off (since the girls and Tiff are now in San Diego with the rest of the family), so we helped do some cabin painting in between fly-fishing sessions. Scott caught a bunch. I freaked out with excitement every time I got a hit and lost most of them. Ahhh well - things could be worse, I suppose. 

On Monday, Scott, Uncle Dan and I headed up to Hope Valley to try our luck. I got horribly skunked, but the outing was still a success thanks to some secret bedrock mortars that Dan had found last month. Archaeologyyyyy yes. 

Mattie and I inspect grinding rocks in Hope Valley.

I took this video of Mattie running through the tall grass, which mostly cracked me up because it reminded me of the scene where Gandalf calls Shadowfax and he comes running all majestically through the grass in The Two Towers:

She was the happiest little girl (she says "HI FRIENDS").

Scott and Uncle Dan at Red Lake Creek in Hope Valley. 

That afternoon we were back at the cabin painting, then had some beer and spaghetti (also delicious, with amazing secret special herb salt made by Aunt Dianne and Selena) before an evening fly-fishing session at the East Fork of the Carson River. I caught a little guy, threw him back, and headed back up a scree field to the car where Dan was waiting for Scott and I with cold PBRs and a ride back to the cabin. We had some hot chocolate and passed out. 

This morning we woke up at 5am, which is stupid and insane, to try fishing Indian Creek Reservoir. There were lunkers jumping, but Mattie and I decided against wading into murky freezing water at the crack of dawn for fish that we wouldn't catch, and chose to watch Scott freeze from the shore. He didn't catch any either, but we DID see some fresh bear prints along the muddy shoreline:

Not a Mattie print. 

The sun came up as Canada Geese yelled and flapped over the lake, while Mattie took a little nap in the sagebrush (because she hates waking up early even more than I do). It was one of the best sunrises so far.

Indian Creek Reservoir, sunrise and bear paws.

This afternoon we destroyed the deck on the cabin so that a new one can be put in, and tonight I'll be re-packing the little truck to get ready for our trek to the west side of the Sierras for a weekend with friends in Gold Country. The quiet and mountains have been amazing so far - but we really can't wait to see the good people from SLO and SF and SB for some real post-doctoral stupidity. 

Mattie and I send a GIANT Thank You to Dan, Dianne, Selena, and Mugi (sp?) for their wonderful company, hospitality, and generosity - we had a great time and can't wait to get back!

Things keep getting better.

Love,

Allison & Mattie