Squaw Valley (plus geocaching, hiking, cutting, trimming, raking & hauling)

Don and I managed a get-away between yard work, hiking, pickleball & geocaching as we made a day trip to Squaw Valley (home of the 1960 Winter Olympic Games) to attend a meeting for my upcoming Conference of Northern California Handweavers, which will be held May 31-June 2...more about that in a later blog. After the meeting I took a few photos of the area while waiting for Don to return from a day of geocaching in the area. He found 11.

After cutting, trimming, raking, hauling for 3 weeks, plus last years left-overs, Don got out the can of gas and lit 2 of our 3 burn piles on fire, since it was a burn day today!!! The photos tell the story. Things are looking better, but we still have a lot to do. This 3 acre “yard” looks like a park when we’re finished and the leaves, on the 20 deciduous trees we planted, are out in full force, mixed between the native pine, cedar, fir and oaks...watch for an upcoming photo.

A few days later I hiked one of my favorite spring hikes from Eagles Nest Rd in Auburn to Rattlesnake Bar boat launch...7.5 miles, along the Pioneer Express Trail. Fabulous wildflowers, and we’ll be chasing wildflowers from now on as we head to a higher elevations week after week after week, peaking out at over 9000 feet. Stay tuned!!!

At Squaw Valley looking west...you can
take the tram to the peak on the right. We've
hiked to the top of that snow capped one
on the left Granite Chief!!!

Snows gone - time to swim???

The rear of the Resort at Squaw Creek.

No, it's not Squaw Valley, it's what our son Eric
found at home in Eagle River AK after he and
his wife Susan returned from their condo
in Kona Hawaii...

On our way home from Squaw, we were delighted to
see that the main road "Grandview" was paved all the way to
our street "Moonrise Lane" after 20 years of potholes. YIPPEE!!!

Don guards the "burn pile" to the North

While Nancy continues to rake pine needles to

add fuel to the "fire" to the East.

That "pile" is actually farther away from the house
than it seemed in the previous photo.

Miscellaneous... daughter Kristine buys a
2011 black Mustang convertible, while

son-in-law Richard chose
a 2010 Ford 150, and

Nancy enjoyed a hike along the North Fork
of the American River to Rattlesnake Bar...

and the lupine grew as high as Marilyn's eye...

and the "caterpillar" plant was starting to curl,

while the "twining snake lily" wandered wherever it wanted!!!

And Margie gathered specimens
for her "pond". (Fortunately we saw the
park ranger on horseback heading our way,
so I wrapped my sweatshirt around her waist to
cover the crime!!!