Tuesday in Virginia City

Tuesday morning we dropped by the Dunns' to see a passel of puppies. Well, actually, there are 13 of them. They are spawn of Bella's sister, Zoe. The father was a chocolate lab and Zoe is golden, yet the puppies are all black: genetics are a mystery to me. After lunch at In-N-Out, we drove up the east mountains to Virginia City, a historic mining town in the heart of the Comstock Lode. We took an enlightening trolley tour conducted by a colorful old duffer. Returning home, Anna harvested a basket full of tomatoes that we chopped up so she could make oven-roasted tomato sauce. I was then coaxed on a twilight walk up the Thomas Creek Trail. It lightened my spirits and made my heart sing. (That's a bit hyperbolic, but it was really lovely.) We went to BJ's for supper where we suffered another horrible-service experience. It's fun to go out, nonetheless.

 13 new puppies

 Puppies like Grammy's neck

 Burgers at In-N-Out

 Lookout above Reno on the road to Virginia City

Binkers on the rocks

 Tucker gets a view

 Mount Rose

 These hills are full of wild horses

 St. Paul's and St. Mary's

The Italianate-style rectory at behind St. Mary's

 

 

St. Mary's in the Mountains Catholic Church

 

 Built in 1868, burned in 1875, rebuilt 1876

 I wish the Marmons did candles

 A really beautiful building

 Virginia City

 These covered wooden walkways with unexpected grade

changes are deadly with bifocals

 Typical 19th-century streetscape

 This is our tour guide

 St. Paul's Episcopal Church is a historic 

Carpenter Gothic-style building

 The cemetery on a hog's back below the town

 One of many mine heads in the Comstock Lode

 The defunct freight depot

 The start of roasted tomato sauce

 Twilight walk with Anna, Clara, and Bella

 View over the Arrowcreek bridge of Thomas Creek and Reno

 Thomas Creek with Mount Rose in the distance

 I love to go a'wandering

 Golden aspens in the twilight

 The skies are wonderful here

 Thanks for the beautiful walk girlies

 Homeward bound

BJ's 

This was a super day thanks to the Hastings. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Monday in Reno

Monday was a prosaic, but satisfying sort of day. Anna marched me about 5 miles along the paths and streets of the Saddlehorn community. It is a lovely place to walk. We shopped a bit and in the afternoon there was art all around. I made a banoffee pie, which has become a favorite here, and Anna made a killer turkey and zucchni chili to use up some of her wonderful garden produce. At dusk we headed to the park for the boys to work on their physical fitness merit badges requirements. The moon was up and it was a beautiful evening. Before going to bed, Roberto worked out all the reservations for the California trip.

 Anna and Bella lead the way

 The Kirkland Temple

 Cashews anyone?

 Going in for the tots

 One stop shopping and gambling, how convenient

 Banoffee pies are us

 Marie Cassatt, Henri Toulouse-Lautrec, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun, Pablo Picasso, Vincent van Gogh

 Up comes the moon

 KBT and ATH in the gloaming

The Hastings' home and Mount Rose at dusk

Nice day. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Off Again

Saturday morning we headed off to Reno for a visit with the kids during their fall break. We arrived late afternoon in time for some visiting and an introduction to Bella. We went downtown for supper at the Laughing Planet.

Bella gets some Grammy lovin'

 An Oregon hippy establishment

 Waiting for meals

This morning (Sunday) Anna led us on a death march up the foothills and back down through Arrow Creek. It was beautiful, but I am not in tip-top shape and tonight feel like I was beaten with a baseball bat. The hike was beautiful with fall beginning to appear.

 Up the fire road as we began our nearly eight-mile loop

Aspens along Thomas Creek are turning

 Thomas Creek is still running in spite of drought conditions

View of Reno from the foothills

 Mount Rose 

 Up to the Ponderosas

This afternoon we headed north and then west into Plumas County and the California Sierras. Our first stop was Frazier Falls. They drop 248 feet into a glacial canyon. Even though water has been scarce, they are still cascading over the steep cliff. We stopped at Gold Lake before driving on to Sand Pond and Lower Sardine Lake for a view of the spectacular Sierra Buttes, one of the tallest points in the Sierra Nevada chain. The drive home was beautiful and we finished the day with pho and bun at Pho Restaurant, a real favorite.

 Trail to Frazier Falls

 Frazier Falls

 A really beautiful spot

 Granite outcroppings in the Sierras

 Happy wanderers

 Gold Lake

 Up the trail to Lower Sardine Lake

 Lower Sardine Lake with the Sierra Buttes in the distance

 Clara ready for a video of her singing hits from Mary Poppins

 Grammy, mommy, and the pistol

 Best bun ever

This was a splendid day. Thanks to the Hastings for wonderful management. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Flood Repairs and More

The last couple of weeks of September included a flurry of activity to repair the damage done by the flooding while we were away in England and to make sure we will never flood again by re-contouring the back yard. In the midst of all that, fall arrived and we were treated to several more days of rain. Debra Sue flew in for a couple of days for a reunion with her "Boise Girls." Happily, she didn't seem to mind the mess and we had a good, if short, visit. The first few days of October brought an end to the repairs and changes, and as of today, everything is in order.

 Fall colors appear on Y Mountain

 Sheetrock goes up in anticipation of architectural trim and paint

 Trim and paint 

To the pictures with Debby

There is only one thing to do after seeing this:

 Dinner at Bombay House

A temporary fix to get us through the weekend storms

Sandbags for the storms on the weekend

 Carpet reinstalled and ready for cleaning

 A surprise discovery while repairing the back yard

 Luthien has found someone who likes to cuddle

 Rain sometimes means a rainbow

 After the weekend storm the serious rebuilding begins

 Laying new sod

 Finished: everything slopes away from the window well now

 Beautiful fall days with first snow on Timp

 Breakfast up the canyon with Hank and Colette

 All ship-shape and Bristol-fashion

Lovely to have it all back together

Tomorrow we are off to Reno and California for a few days and I will post from there. This is all for now, though.

OXO

D.