7/12 - Madness in Reno

HI again friends and family!

We've left the fantasyland of Mono City, but not before an all-time favorite hike out of the Virginia Lakes basin with Elin. Unbelievable weather, great company, no mosquitoes, low snow, and we even got to see a detonation east across the valley from Hawthorne, NV (as if on cue with Elin's explanation of the occasional rumbles and bomb-blasts heard in Lee Vining).

Hiking with Elin, looking down into the Virginia Lakes basin. If you zoom in like a hawk, there's a smoke column rising from the far (far far) ridge. That's the blast from Hawthorne. 

The view from a very special Laughing Place, looking down on Burro Lake and the east side of Lundy Canyon. 

Mattie and I left Lee Vining - already with plans to be back soon - in late afternoon on Monday and made our way up the 395 through Walker Canyon to Reno under a bright evening sky. Since, we've been hanging out with Scott, Tiff, Sid and Anni at their new house just a couple miles from the Truckee River. Tuesday we made a few trips to get some essentials at Sierra Trading Post (yaaaay) and Cabela's (#oh #my #God), including: Chaco's, a new fly pole and reel, a nice new jacket for Mattie (for those cold mountain nights), and the sweetest base-layer pants of all time. Here's a sneak preview:

Duh DOI

That evening we took a quick drive, and a picnic, down to the river for a couple hours of floating, fly-fishing, and spacing out. Sid and Anni both hopped in the river in some superstar floaties:

Duck and "dragon." 

...and with Scott's help, we even caught a pretty nice Mountain Whitefish. 

Caught. Released. Scott's outfit:STRAIGHT RENO.

Mattie gets in on some fly-fishing. She's getting brave in the water!

The crazies warm up after floating down the river.

Yesterday, and today, Scott and I woke up early to go fish the Truckee - ending with me being super pumped this morning after catching a 13" healthy rainbow on a nymph. Having taken a solid 7-8 year break from fishing altogether, I'm really jumping back on the wagon pretty quickly. Thanks Scott!

Today, Tiffani and I decorated Sidney and Anni's room. I painted some cherry blossoms (Tiff's idea), then we all put up some glow-in-the-dark butterflies and dragonflies around the branches. 

Arts & Crafts

Now we're hanging out for the afternoon before Scott leaves for work, watching a storm roll in outside while we sit on cozy couches inside with the Little Mermaid on. Mattie is curled up next to me. It might be a hot chocolate kind of night. Things are perfect in Reno. 

Tomorrow we'll be headed south a bit to see the Kaffers! 

Love,

Allison & Mattie