Wildfires, A Bear and Plague

After 3 days and 1222 miles across Western Colorado, Utah and Nevada, with 578 of those miles on 

The Loneliest Road in America

the “bubble” landed at Camp Richardson in South Lake Tahoe.

Greeting us at the campsite were permanent residents,

Mr. Steller's Jay and his rather large, noisy family

Mr. and Mrs. Marmot

A large family of begging Golden Mantled Ground Squirrels

Even though they were persistent, we refrained from feeding.

We don’t think this gal/fella is a permanent resident but maybe a frequent guest that sauntered through our campsite as though it was familiar territory.

Linda was quietly reading when a person on a bike called out that there was a bear behind her. She screamed and ran to her door. The rest of us were inside; photos were taken from the door. 

The critters were cute and quite entertaining but after seeing this sign

we were constantly on guard that they did not crawl on our feet or legs. There were LOTS of them running around, so guard duty kept us pretty busy and after awhile they became pretty annoying.

Disappointingly, the beauty of Lake Tahoe 

Photo from 2012

Photo from this year.

was diminished due to smoke from wildfires.

The smoke was noticeable but tolerable where we were camped but pretty dense as we drove to the Truckee River in Tahoe City on the north side of Lake Tahoe.

With poor air quality, strenuous outdoor activity was not advised (not to mention a few minor injuries in the bubble), so we decided easy hikes were in order.

Upper Truckee River 

Upper Truckee River Trail

Fallen Leaf Lake

If there is a garden to be found, Linda and ABN will find it! 

This one was found at Tallac Historical Estate next to Camp Richardson. (Love these boxes!)

In spite of COVID-19 and the wildfires, lots of people are spending time at Lake Tahoe, especially at the beaches.

Most were wearing masks as there are posted signs in South Lake Tahoe warning of $100 fines for those not wearing masks. Apparently the locals are not happy with the masses, especially those attending large events.  We understand a protest is being organized for Sunday. Fortunately we left on Saturday!

The “bubble” is moving toward Oregon, hoping the wildfires do not follow. Plans are changing as the fires are active in areas we had planned to visit. It’s all part of the adventure. 

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Greetings from the Bubble

If you read our last post then you know we were self-isolating in preparation to join our friends, Linda and Chuck, from the state of Washington. We met at Boyd Lake State Park in Loveland, CO 

and the “bubble” was formed. Okay, time to ‘fess up; within 24 hours we had stepped out of our bubble. But this was part of the plan. The reason for meeting in Loveland was to reconnect with a former co-worker and mentor of Captain and Chuck from their days at Texas Utilities. (Did we mention there is another nuclear engineer in our bubble?) Since we were already out of the bubble, it seemed like a short drive to Evergreen to visit another former TU co-worker was reasonable. While out of the bubble we practiced social distancing as memories, stories and laughs were shared from 30+ years ago. (Nuclear engineers can be much more fun than one might think.) And then we stepped back into our bubble.

Look what we found in Fort Collins!

 

From Loveland, the bubble floated over to Estes Park and the Rocky Mountain National Park.

(Don’t worry, we restrained ourselves and posted only a few photos.)

Thanks goes to the following for sharing their trails with us.

Even with masks and other safety measures

Shuttle from "Park and Ride" to trail head

we didn’t feel too restricted as we hiked and took in the majestic views.

As we entered Colorado we saw signs stating face coverings were mandatory in public spaces throughout the state. We noted this was pretty much observed but not strictly enforced.

Currently the bubble is moving toward Lake Tahoe, dodging wildfires as we go.

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Last month, while we were in Texas, we had an explosion

 of blooms in the garden.

This is how we left it 10 days earlier.

The garden has been alive with birds and bees, 

including this strange looking fellow.

Goldfinches are so much fun to watch, we spoiled them a little;

for the rest of the summer, they will have to survive on Nature's food.

Over the summer we had a few butterflies stop by, 

Monarch

Painted Lady

but they moved on.

Earlier this week,  the Black Swallowtail and Eastern Tiger Swallowtail appeared. 

We are calling this our COVID garden as the pandemic isolation has provided more time to spend developing, creating, maintaining and enjoying the garden. This year has been the best gardening year since retirement and the purchase of The Wanderer.

Now that it is in tip top shape and the butterflies are starting to appear, what do we do next? Load up The Wanderer and hit the road, of course. The cooler and dryer weather of the Northwest is calling us.

This could be the most adventurous trip yet as there are so many unknowns. With plans to meet up with friends from Washington state, we have been self-isolating for the past couple of weeks.  Being extra cautious, we took advantage of the free COVID test at Walmart. That went pretty smooth; not much of a line, simple detailed instructions and not at all uncomfortable. Two days later we received our negative results.  The only glitch was the lack of information in disassembling and reassembling the car door. Not everyone will need this step, only those who follow the instructions to place their I.D. against the window for the attendant to see, AND let it slip down the window and into the door. No worries, if you find yourself in this situation, there is a YouTube video that will give detailed instructions.

While we are with our friends, we will form a bubble, with all our activities being in the great outdoors. We will follow all the safety measures that we do at home with the consideration of others as a top priority.

On our  return in October we will self- quarantine as we,  once again, start the process of removing weeds and spent plants and preparing the garden for our winter absence. Does anyone see a pattern here?

Stay positive, friends, this too shall pass.

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