Ok, Energy. I'm waiting for ya!

I got another B-12 shot this morning, and hope this one will give me some energy for doing things.  The last one just made it so I didn't need a nap several times a day.

After getting the shot I went to Costco to get COQ10, which replaces what is lost when a person takes statin drugs.  I'm not sure what it is that's lost, but I'll try one capsule a day and see how it goes.  So far I haven't had any noticeable side effects from the Lipitor, maybe sore muscles and joints, but I think I had those before starting the Lipitor.

I got an email from the vascular guy's nurse yesterday telling me that the carotid scan showed no further deterioration.  That was really kind of her to email me - normally the results are read and sent to the doctor, and she in turn sends them on to me.  I would prefer to get them direct, but I guess I'm glad they deign to share them with me at all.

I'm really trying hard to do an attitude adjustment as this whole thing is taking over my life, and I find that death is too much on my mind.  I've heard so much grim news from specialists and it's hard to shake the negativity.  I'm still too young to do otherwise.

I watched my grandson (Liam) for a few hours yesterday.  He is a whirlwind of energy.  We were watching "Cars" when all of the sudden he turned the TV off and said "I'm done".  I was getting interested in it!  I have seen most of the movie already but there were some parts I missed, and it now makes more sense having watched the beginning of it.

Liam is good with the remote - he was quick to move through the commercials.  I counted the clicks of the remote, and every time there were eight commercials.  I checked it against the programs I watch at home and sure enough, eight commercials every few minutes.  Too bad I can't click through them, and as it is I often mute the obnoxious ones (catheters, the "I've fallen and I can't get up" one, anything with obnoxious kids and stupid parents, etc.); the trouble is that I forget to watch when it is muted and I miss a few minutes after the ads are over.

I have been really upset with DirecTV because of the Science channel thing, and then all of the sudden it showed up in my program list.  Yesterday I went through the whole list and found a number of channels I hadn't been able to access before now.  I wonder what they are doing now.  I have five days left and so far have had no emails or calls from DirecTV.  I don't know if I'll find another plan, but I absolutely won't enter into another 2-year contract.  It would have to be a good deal to even think about 1 year.
 

Who can figure?

I have about one week left until my cable tv is cancelled, and lo and behold I again have the Science Channel.  DirecTV removed it from my service, then told me it was in another package and I would have to pay additional to get it.  So I get a week of watching one of my favorite channels - at least I like to watch it when they present actual science programs, meaning to me, astronomy.  Mostly the tv is off and I don't want to get re-addicted to it.

I am going crazy waiting for the results of all those tests I have taken.   I also wrote my doctor about another B-12 shot.  I didn't jump up and down with energy after the last one, but I think I was able to stay awake more.  It's worth trying it again.

I'm starting to get more spam comments.  Fortunately, blogger catches them but I eventually have to go delete them from the spam folder.  What do you think these spammers get out of it?  They usually start out with a paragraph of nonsense and then a link to something, no doubt something they are trying to sell.  If they would work half as hard at a real job as they do trying to corrupt our blogs, society would be a lot better off.  And if blogger catches nearly all of it and it is never made public, what's the point?

I just went to the grocery to buy more 1/2 & 1/2.  The bill was $37+!  I did buy some dark chocolate and just a couple other items, but I should have gotten out of there for $10 or 15.

Now I'm tired and a short nap is what I need.  I just hope I remember to take my laundry off the clothesline in a couple of hours.  It's a damn shame when a load of laundry is my main accomplishment for one day.

Good cop, bad cop

I'm talking about the weed police, of course.  Actually they didn't write me up for weeds this time.  I didn't get dinged for much, but the few items on the list are those I just don't have the energy for.  I spoke to Mrs. Bad Cop this morning and explained my predicament, and she was very understanding and I'll have to revise my estimate of her.

She asked me how much longer I needed past the June 3 date set for re-inspection, and I told her a month.  She said that would be fine, and if I need further extensions just let her know.  That is a relief because with Donald's bad knee and upcoming surgery, and Steve buying a new house with all that entails, and Joe in the finals of his respiratory therapy program, I just can't count on assistance.

The guy next door has offered to help me with anything I need to do, but I hate to ask him for help.  After I had mentioned to his some of the health issues I'm facing, he came to my door with a paper on which he wrote his phone number in case I need help or anything at all.  That is a real neighbor and I sure am glad I live next to him.

I returned the heart monitor to UCD Med Center this morning - cost me $1 for half an hour parking when the trip inside only took me 5 minutes.  The gas and parking for my medical care sure adds up.

I was finally able to pick up the Lipitor Rx this morning.  It's a 10mg tablet, but I'm going to cut it in half and take one of those every day for the first few days.  If I start to get any negative effects from it I'll quit before it gets too bad.  Since the internet articles on Lipitor all say it depletes your CoQ10 levels (or whatever the heck it is), I'm wondering if I should get some of that.  I hate to take anything more than I need, but I sure prefer supplements and vitamins to prescription drugs.  I have always had more negative experience with Rx drugs than positive ones although I realize some of them are necessary. 

My new air mattress arrived today but I haven't had the energy to pull it out of the box yet.  I sometimes wonder why everything comes in boxes so sealed up and difficult to open, or else those horrible plastic cases you can hardly even cut with scissors or knife.  

I just realized I only have about a week of DirecTV left as it is cancelled on June 5.  I'm not watching as much as I did before I went camping back in the middle of May.  I will miss Science, NatGeo, and Public TV, but that's about it.

After a lovely week of temps in the 70's we are going to have several days in the 80's and then jump to triple digits by the weekend.  This is the worst thing about being in Sacramento or anywhere in the Central Valley of CA.  We do get a break here though, as evenings are cool, and the cool usually lasts up until at least Noon.  If there is a perfect spot on earth, I think it would be somewhere in Hawaii!  Aloha for now.

Travel Plans

I spent the afternoon with Jeannie to firm up our travel plans for the latter part of July.  That will be about 7 wks after Donald's knee surgery and he should be able to get around if he doesn't overdo it. 

We thought about mixing cabin stays with campground (tent) camping, but it just won't be good for someone recuperating from knee surgery to get up and down off an air mattress.  So we ended up making cabin and lodge reservations in several places along a route that looks to be exciting and scenic.  I'll write more about it as the time gets closer and when we are on the road.  It's good to have something definite.

I doubt if I will know what's happening with me until just before it happens.  So I don't intend to sit here at home with my life on hold.  If possible, I will try to schedule things around MY plans, and I think I can ride in a car and enjoy a week exploring in the vicinity of the CA/OR border.

I will return the heart monitor tomorrow, and then hope I start hearing some results of all last week's tests.  In the meantime I am very tired and will probably go to bed early tonight. 

Resting up from Saturday

Yesterday Jeannie brought the girls over to my house in the morning since Donald was working on a cake.  We went to the Farmers' Mkt. and then to Costco.  I can't believe how much two little girls can eat from all the samples available.  I spent my time getting napkins for them, more samples, and taking the used paper cups & napkins to the trash.  

After getting everything home and put away, we went to Mather Field to walk, and took along the kids' bikes.  It wasn't long when they didn't want to ride their bikes any more, so I was glad to quit walking and take them over to the kids' playground where I could sit under a canopy and stay cool.  I kept one eye on the kids and the other on the skateboarders who were practicing nearby.  A very elaborate concrete area has been built for the skateboarders with ramps and whatever.  The group out there was the second tier - not beginners, but in the process of becoming very good as well as confident.  I love watching them.  The real pros skate towards evening.

By the time we got back to my house where Jeannie and I tried to research camping cabins for a trip this summer, the girls began having a meltdown, and they soon left.  Jeanne called to tell me they were both asleep after they had only gone a mile.  I was exhausted after a day of walking around, shopping, being in the sun, and dealing with two little girls who sometimes like to annoy each other.  The younger one is usually the culprit.  They are absolute darlings though, and I love being with them.

The camping cabins will be necessary as Donald will be recuperating from knee surgery.  He will have to wear a brace for 6 weeks after which we wanted to make a trip up to Oregon.  At first we were confident we could spend a couple of days at Burney Falls in No.Cal., on to Oregon and Crater Lake, then head west to Ashland and see "Midsummer Night's Dream" and the Shakespearean theater, and then maybe to the coast.  Since Donald won't be able to deal with all the work of camping such as setting up the tent, carrying all the boxes of gear, food, etc., Jeannie and I would be doing it all.  But we realized he won't be able to deal with sleeping on an air mattress, which is a lot more difficult to get on and off than the regular height of a bed.  Thus, we are looking for cabins.  

Almost all of them are for four people - we will be a party of five.  Jeanne called the reservation people at Burney Falls and was told they really monitor the number of people, and 4 is the max.  In subsequent searches for just about all of southwestern Oregon I find that public and private campgrounds alike that have cabins, only allow 4 to a cabin (unless you rent one of the very expensive ones at private campgrounds).  I even looked at RV rentals but the cost is prohibitive.

I'm also finding how difficult it is to plan something in the summer at a popular National or State Park.  I believe Burney Falls is California's most popular state park, or close to the top of the bunch.  Crater Lake is the same for the National Parks.  

So I don't know what we will eventually do, and we also face the problem of not knowing if and when I'll ever be in surgery as well as the recuperation period.  I might not be able to deal with lifting heavy items and I won't let Jeannie do it on her own.

Today I will just have a quiet day at home.  It's a beautiful day in the 70's, and I might do some light work outside for an hour or so.  I hope everyone is having a great holiday weekend.

Whole lotta shakin' goin' on!

Earthquake, is what I'm talking about.  I have never felt the slightest tremor, even when I lived in CA back in the 1980's.  

Late yesterday afternoon I was sitting in my recliner reading a book, and all of the sudden I felt the chair shaking.  It was only felt in the seat of the chair, not on the arms, footrest, etc.  It felt like one of those vibrating chairs - Niagara chairs I believe they are called.  The vibrating sensation was felt twice in succession for a short duration, and I honestly had no clue what it was until I talked to my daughter a half hour later and she told me there had been an earthquake near Susanville, CA.

Susanville is about 50 miles from Butte Lake (Lassen) and I often drove there for supplies when I camphosted there in 2009.  Actually the epicenter of the quake was the eastern part of Lake Almanor which is southeast of Lassen NP, and those of you who read the journal of Howard and Linda Payne (of RV Dreams) might remember that they were also workcamping at Lake Almanor that year.

So now I've felt an earthquake, even though it wasn't close to the epicenter, and I'm done - don't want to feel another one.  Of all the natural disasters I have always feared earthquakes the most and wondered why anyone would live in an area that is prone to having them.  

On another subject, for those of you who enjoy the blog of Sherry & David, In the Direction of Our Dreams, I received an email from Sherry this morning saying that Blogger was giving her problems, and that her updates were not showing on the blogroll.  It looks like her last post was 2 days ago, but in fact she has a new one.  I hope her problem can be solved and that this isn't happening with others as well.

I didn't have any problem with the monitor last night as I thought I might.  At least I'm two thirds of the way through the 24 hour period and then I can take the thing off.  There are several errands I had planned to run this morning but realized I won't go out with this monitor bulging out and wires everywhere.  I can remove it at about 4 pm, but that is when the rush traffic starts, so it looks like I'm staying home today. 

I'm posting early this morning, but wanted to get the word out about Sherry's blog, and to say I hope those of you who live in Northern CA/Southern OR weren't affected by the 5.7 earthquake.  By the time I went to bed last night the newscasters were reporting there had been 20 or so aftershocks.  

I had been feeling uneasy about going to Lassen but thought it was mainly the fire danger that worried me.  When I think, the ranger cabin sits right next to a huge tank of propane and that seemed to be the biggest worry with yesterday's quake - most people have propane tanks in their yards.  

Well, it's time for my breakfast.  I have fresh blueberries on hand and think I will throw some in pancake batter and see how it turns out.  I've never eaten blueberry pancakes before.  See ya later.     

Got 3 Birds With One Stone

I was scheduled for a carotid artery scan this afternoon, so on the off chance I could get the echocardiogram done today as well, I called and got an appointment.  While waiting for that appointment I heard someone mention Holter monitor, and since the cardiologist wanted me to wear the monitor for 24 hours I asked for and got it before I left.  Three tests taken care of and out of the way.  I feel pretty good about that, in fact, I feel just like a spring chicken this afternoon (alas, no rooster in sight).

The park police made their way to my house this morning and the results weren't too bad.  I have to clean one of the awnings, brush away some cobwebs, and anyone who has ever spent time in Sacramento knows that cobwebs are everywhere.  Brush them away and they reappear overnight.  A few other small things were mentioned, but I'll do them when I get around to them.  I don't want to set off my monitor!

I hate clipping anything to my waistband (or a belt, if I wore a belt).  So now for 24 hours I have to clip a good-sized monitor to my waistband, and it's connected to a whole bunch of wires that are connected to things that are attached to my chest.  I won't get much decent sleep tonight - I normally turn from one side to another all night long.  If I stay too long on one side, that shoulder gives me trouble.  So I'll have to remember to keep switching the monitor from side to side.

I've decided that I have to see the humor in all this, and to keep my mind on the light side.  Otherwise I'd turn to drink - actually I'm enjoying a half glass of wine right now.  Why only a half glass?  That's the end of the bottle and if I switch to another variety it won't taste right.  I'll just have to enjoy a cold Miller Hi Life next!

My next door neighbor and I were chatting this morning, and he told me he had visitors over the weekend who brought two German Shepherd puppies along.  He said he nearly brought one over to me as the owners are trying to find homes for them.  It sounds great, but I'm in no position to deal with a puppy.  It would be fun though I owe it to myself to take care of me right now.  

I need a good cry!

I just saw the gastrointestinal Dr. who will do the bile duct procedure, but before he can do it there are a number of issues to be addressed.  Dang, I'm probably in worse shape than I thought.  The one good thing to come out of the visit was that he said they would definitely be knocking me out for the procedure.  I would have refused it otherwise - had already made up my mind.  There are some things I just can't do at this point in my life.

I guess he has to get the go-ahead from the vascular surgeon, a cardiologist, and who knows what else.  I explained that I have to be ready to travel by mid-August because I won't break a promise made to a 4 year old.  After that trip to NY I can die in peace.

So I have possible blood clots, aneurisms, bad heart, and other bad stuff to deal with.  I had made up my mind to just forget all about those things but they just won't let me forget.  And tomorrow I have a scan of my carotid artery scheduled.

I wonder if I'm just too old to live, but I sort of think I'm too young to die.  I need some good excitement in my life, although I really don't expect to meet him at this stage of the game!

I'd better get busy and come up with a plan to deep clean my house.  Don't want anyone saying "she sure was a lousy housekeeper".

About an hour later:
Ok, the pity part is over and I feel great!    

More carpet

Taking Steve at his word that he would put down new carpet on the front porch, I went to Lowe's this morning and bought more of the green carpet.  Steve had measured it for me yesterday but of course I couldn't find his measurements, so I did it again myself.  Never in my life have I been able to accurately measure a floor area, and I think I bought too much.  That's ok though because there might be enough to do some of the back steps that are visible from the street.

I didn't think when buying the stuff how I was going to fit it in the back of my Highlander.  I still have camping equipment that I haven't put away, but I managed to get the back seats down and space cleared for the rug.  It had to be angled from the left rear to the front right windshield, and one of the Lowe's people came out to load it for me.  It's still in my car because I am not sure I could even get it out much less carry it anywhere.  It will look great when finished, but it kind of bums me out that for the money I'm spending on outdoor carpet I could have replaced the walls of my shower which are desperately in need of rippping out.  

When I was RVing full time I made it a point to get postcards from wherever I traveled and sent them to all my grandchildren.  A few weeks back my grandson in NY told his dad he missed getting mail from me.  He said he really liked it when there was something in the mailbox with his name on it.  So I found two postcards at the convenience store near the campground and sent them to Joshua & Justin.  I've decided that I will continue to look for postcards at least every other week, or else write a short letter to each of the boys.

Those selling the technology of today have tried to convince us that email, texting, facebook, etc., are much quicker and easier than sending a letter or postcard via the USPS, or snail mail.  I think we've lost a lot when our grandchildren don't realize the wonderful feeling you get when you open the mailbox and find something addressed to you.  Even I notice my heart beats a little faster when I open my mailbox and see an envelope with an actual stamp and handwritten address.  Most of the time I find junk mail ads.

So here's hoping a few people reading this will give a child (or even an adult) the joy of finding a special letter or card in the mailbox.

A reader (Dorieanne) made the suggestion a few days back that I might look at one of the tents that attach to the back of an SUV,and she included a link to a site that carries them.  I don't know if it is an issue or not, but I am leery about leaving the hatch open.  The dome light comes on when you raise the hatch, so wouldn't you be running down the battery if you left it open all night?  I understand you can turn off the dome light, but would the electrical system still recognize that a door is open?  Even when I'm camping I unload a few items at a time and close the hatch while carrying them into the campsite.  Comments/suggestions?

Chip off the old block!

Steve and Liam came by this morning, and he offered to replace the carpeting on my steps.  When it really started to look good he offered to do the porch if I get more carpeting.

Liam came with his tool belt around his waist, and it so funny to watch him mirror every move his dad made.  When Steve would hammer a nail, Liam would find something to hammer with his own little "Black & Decker" hammer.  Before the new carpet could go on Steve had to replace the rotten wood in the steps, and it's now looking pretty good.
Click on the photos to enlarge.

Steve had a Sharpie behind his ear and when he set it down it wasn't long before Liam picked it up.

Break time!  Daddy was enjoying a cold one and we noticed that every time the can went up to his lips, Liam pretended he was doing the same thing.  I told Steve, "Boy, you'd better be careful what you do from now on!"

Here are the carpeted steps, and as soon as I can get to Lowe's I'll get more carpet for the porch.

 

Steve got payment for all the work he did when I showed him the offending camp cot.  He said "You're gonna hate me for this." and immediately inserted both sides of the leg into the slots.  I couldn't believe how easy he made it look.  Guys!!!  God love 'em.

I'm worn out from a day of work!

Camping

I am still thinking about the birds (raptors) that were soaring in the vicinity of my camp a few days ago.  An anonymous commenter mentioned condors, and I've tried to find some pictures and info since I don't know much about condors except for seeing videos of the huge CA condor in flight.  The bird I saw wasn't huge but it was a good size, and seemed to have a pinkish hue on its underside.  At first I wondered if it was the affect of the sun's rays, but that wouldn't affect the underside.  I wish I had my camera ready to shoot, but the bird was way out over the lake and I didn't realize it would go over my camp site.  If anyone knows about condors I'd like to hear from you.  As I said, my vision isn't good enough anymore to discriminate the pattern of the wing and tail feathers.

The campground at Black Butte Lake was spacious and laid out very nicely except it was a little too open for my tastes.  As I have said i the past, I love the shelter of big trees as well as mountains - I like to feel wrapped up in nature - not exposed to just sky and the expanse of land.

And then there is the lake.  I have also mentioned before that I went overboard in a canoe accident on a fast moving river about 35 years ago.  As time goes by I have developed a real aversion to being in water, so I don't swim any more and don't go on boats of any kind.  What I do love are creeks, especially water rushing over rocks, and don't mind being on the banks of a small river.  I love seeing the big rivers such as the Mississippi, Ohio, Snake, etc., but not too close, and I don't really care to be near the ocean.  Small lakes such as Butte Lake (Lassen) don't bother me too much but I'd never step in the water. 

The small campground I stayed at last year in the Tahoe National Forest had a creek (actually I think it was the North Fork of the American River) and I loved the sound of water rushing over rock day and night.  I may go back there soon for a couple of nights.

What I do know is that I'm not as happy camping alone an more.  I don't mind as long as there are friendly people walking by now and then - Lassen is a great place for that and of all the places I've ever camped at it is the easiest to find others to chat with.  I don't know if it's the environment, layout of the campground which encourages walking, or what, but I've always loved that about Lassen.

What I'd love to do is to find a small group of like minded women to meet up with occasionally for camping trips.  All the groups I know of are in the RV category, such as small trailers, teardrops, etc.  Surely there must be something for tent campers and I'm bound to find them.

The best thing about my recent experience was the fact that I tried to live in and enjoy the present, forget about the past, and not concentrate too much on the future.  I hope to continue doing just that.

By the way, my shoulders and upper arms are killing me from trying to set up that cot.  I didn't suffer for the first day or two but am making up for it now!  

Back Home

I woke up with the birds at 5 am, but since no bacon aroma could be detected I didn't get up right away.  I heard what I thought was the tent being blown by the wind, and then realized it was raindrops.  Not a real rain, but more like a heavy mist.  Since I hadn't put the rainfly on the tent I got up in a hurry and started getting ready to pack up.  But first, got my coffee going.

Here are several shots from my campsite:

 
And here are a couple of shots of the cot.  I never could get the last leg in place but I survived it anyway.  As far as asking for help, I have mentioned in numerous past blogs situations where I've asked someone for assistance, and accepted help from someone who offered though not asked.  In the situation with the cot, the two men drove a pickup truck packed with camping supplies (no tent) and hauling a boat.  They arrived just before dark and started taking things out of the bed of the pickup - lining up coolers and various boxes in the campsite.  They never set up a tent so maybe they just threw sleeping bags down on the ground or slept in the pickup.  I just couldn't try to claim what little daylight was left and ask them to fix the cot.  Besides, their site wasn't all that close to mine - if they had been in an adjacent site we may have exchanged a few words and I might have asked.  They ate  their dinner by the light of a lantern as it was.

On the way back to the campground I passed this ranch and got two photos of the sign.  Not a very friendly bunch, for sure.

I had a peaceful and relaxing two days of camping, and tried to think of good things.  I wouldn't want to spend more time at this campground unless I was camping with others.  I think my next short trip will be back to the Tahoe National Forest and the campground I visited last year.  Maybe I'll just go up for two days and can pack much lighter than I did this time.  And I will definitely be buying a good air mattress!

I came home to the light on my phone blinking that I had a message.  After several emails to my doctor and calls to the Med Center, I see they want to schedule me for the ERCP prior to gall bladder surgery.  Oh, but the request is "URGENT" and the earliest opening they have is July 8???  Fortunately the woman I talked to is going to see what can be arranged to get me something much sooner, even if it requires overbooking.  If I have to wait I will just reschedule it for later in the year as that would be putting the actual gallbladder surgery close to or in the beginning of August.  I'm leaving at the middle or end of August come hell or high water.  I made a promise to be in NY for my grandson's 5th birthday, and nothing is going to keep me from it.

I have a lot of unpacking to do and putting away camping gear, but I'll be back soon.  Thanks for all the wonderful comments of support. 

The good and the bad

I just finished my breakfast and enjoyed a cup of coffee that can only be appreciated when brewed and drunk (drank?) outdoors.  Now I can appreciate the birds in a way I didn't exactly at 5 am!  The mourning doves are the loudest, and you just can't get back to sleep when they start their mournful calls.

Two guys came in just before dark last night, and the smell of bacon frying wafted over to my site very early this morning.  The birds must have had them up early as well.  I finally gave up the idea of getting back to sleep and got up at 6:30.  

Now for the not-so-good part.  I couldn't get the fourth leg inserted into the cot.  There are four bent pieces of metal shaped sort of like a "W" that fit into little holes in the side bar of the cot.  It takes a lot of strength to bend them to fit.  I spent an entire hour working on the last one and my muscles were screaming and my hand was cut and bleeding.  Believe me I cussed quite a bit, and with no one nearby I really let go with some profanities that might make a sailor blush.

I gave up and slept on it with my legs slanted downward.  Not exactly comfortable.  I am surprised my shoulders and arms are ok this morning.

Also last night I heard about 30 minutes of a very loud domestic argument between a couple who had 3 or 4 small kids in tow.  I didn't try to make out what they were saying, but with all the violence going on everywhere I didn't like to hear this.  I hope they've calmed down by today, for the kids' sake at least.

I may post again later today depending on how the day goes.  For now, I can't say this has been a profoundly lovely experience, although it has been profound.  I'm coming to several conclusions that I've been wrestling with for some time, which is an accomplishment.  Now I don't know whether or not to wrestle with that cot today, leave it as it is, or go home and sleep in my own bed tonight.    

At Black Butte Lake

Since I didn't have to get the scan today I left home about 10:30 this morning, and arrived at the campsite at 2 pm.  It is hot and sunny, and the species of California oak here don't provide much good shade.  I've been here a couple of hours and still haven't set up my tent because I want to wait until the sun starts to go down.

I visited both campgrounds at this lake and while there are several campers already here, there are a lot of reservation slips for this weekend.  I found a spot that felt right to me but someone else has it reserved for the 16th, so I will just be here two nights, and will leave Thursday.

Not far from here is the Sacramento Wildlife Refuge and I'm thinking about visiting it on Thursday after I check out of camp.  I've never been to a wildlife refuge that I can remember, so I guess this is a good opportunity.

It is beautiful here and peaceful, in a high desert sort of beauty.  I can see a mountain range to the west that I think might be part of the Coastal range.  Mendocino Natl Forest is somewhere over there, but I have it on good advice that Mexican drug lords grow pot there so I will forego a visit to Mendocino NF.

I'm amazed at all the birds here, especially since I don't see or hear very many where I live.  There are raptors of some kind riding the thermals but I have no idea what they are - I can't see the wing and tail feather patterns well enough to distinguish one from another.

I took a few pictures but won't post them until I get home.  My mifi took a while searching for a 3G connection, and I'm running it and the ocmputer on battery power.

The campground bathrooms also have showers, which would really be nice for folks staying a while, swimming in the lake, etc.  I probably won't bother with it although I did bring a couple of towels.

More tomorrow.