Salmon Lake
After five torturous hours at the Sacramento train station, we finally boarded the California Zephyr to Truckee, CA. Initially, we settled in on the regular train car, but I took a little walk and found that the observation car was almost empty. So, we moved our things to the row of rotating seats to enjoy the scenic ride. It was quite stunning and I really enjoyed the first 2 hours of the ride. Somehow, it took the train an extra hour to get to our destination and I was feeling antsy - wondering how many more vistas of mountains and lakes I could tolerate. Oh, and I hadn't showered in over 24 hours, so the whole romantic notion of travelling by train was wearing thin. By the time we reached Truckee, I was ready to be on solid ground. 
We had dinner at Jesse's aunt's house and then drove out to Salmon Lake. This is the 20th year that Jesse's family (and his good friend Kyoko's family) have vacationed there. The cabin they stay in is very civilized with a bathroom and kitchen, but there isn't a phone, or internet, or television. Also, there are very few clocks, so it's easy to let 3 or 4 hours slip by and not really care. I visited Salmon Lake about 4 years ago with Jesse and forgot how beautiful it is there. The air is crisp and dry and all is quiet...until nature attacks.
My first morning there, I woke up and decided to have coffee on the front porch. I was sitting in a little patch of shade near the cabin, just gazing out at the mountains and lake. I felt a weird sensation on my foot and looked down to find this little guy perched on my ankle staring up at me. My first reaction was to yelp and then kick and I sent this poor chipmunk sailing across the deck. It landed on his feet (arms splayed) and scrambled away. As you can see, the incident didn't discourage it from coming back (with friends). Maybe it has a very short memory. I certainly don't - every time they would come near the deck I would lift my feet up on my chair. They're cute, but incredibly ballsy.
The rest of the trip was spent swimming in the lake, eating delicious food, and taking naps both inside and outside. In addition to relaxing in general, I finished an entire book and worked on my cathedral windows quilt. It was so nice to not have to think about moving plans or work. However, I have to admit that I was happy when we finally arrived in Santa Cruz. It felt good to sleep in a familiar bed and wake up in a familiar house. Today, I look forward to putting my clothes in a drawer and zipping up the suitcases (at least for a couple of weeks).
After five torturous hours at the Sacramento train station, we finally boarded the California Zephyr to Truckee, CA. Initially, we settled in on the regular train car, but I took a little walk and found that the observation car was almost empty. So, we moved our things to the row of rotating seats to enjoy the scenic ride. It was quite stunning and I really enjoyed the first 2 hours of the ride. Somehow, it took the train an extra hour to get to our destination and I was feeling antsy - wondering how many more vistas of mountains and lakes I could tolerate. Oh, and I hadn't showered in over 24 hours, so the whole romantic notion of travelling by train was wearing thin. By the time we reached Truckee, I was ready to be on solid ground. 
We had dinner at Jesse's aunt's house and then drove out to Salmon Lake. This is the 20th year that Jesse's family (and his good friend Kyoko's family) have vacationed there. The cabin they stay in is very civilized with a bathroom and kitchen, but there isn't a phone, or internet, or television. Also, there are very few clocks, so it's easy to let 3 or 4 hours slip by and not really care. I visited Salmon Lake about 4 years ago with Jesse and forgot how beautiful it is there. The air is crisp and dry and all is quiet...until nature attacks.
My first morning there, I woke up and decided to have coffee on the front porch. I was sitting in a little patch of shade near the cabin, just gazing out at the mountains and lake. I felt a weird sensation on my foot and looked down to find this little guy perched on my ankle staring up at me. My first reaction was to yelp and then kick and I sent this poor chipmunk sailing across the deck. It landed on his feet (arms splayed) and scrambled away. As you can see, the incident didn't discourage it from coming back (with friends). Maybe it has a very short memory. I certainly don't - every time they would come near the deck I would lift my feet up on my chair. They're cute, but incredibly ballsy.
The rest of the trip was spent swimming in the lake, eating delicious food, and taking naps both inside and outside. In addition to relaxing in general, I finished an entire book and worked on my cathedral windows quilt. It was so nice to not have to think about moving plans or work. However, I have to admit that I was happy when we finally arrived in Santa Cruz. It felt good to sleep in a familiar bed and wake up in a familiar house. Today, I look forward to putting my clothes in a drawer and zipping up the suitcases (at least for a couple of weeks). 
2 comments:
Yes, you are working on those Cathedral Windows. We now have 248out of 288.
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