Marshmallows!

I don't know if you've seen these yet, or not--giant camping "campfire" marshmallows!  Isabel did a test recently and we have a quick review:

Here's the bag.  Each marshmallow is easily twice the size of a normal marshmallow.  Seems like a great idea at first, but Isabel found a few drawbacks.

Here's the first test mallow.  As with most of her marshmallows, this one is in the very early stages of roasting (you can tell by the fact that it lacks the charred black color showing it's done)

Problem #1 - when the marshmallow does inevitably burst into flame it has enough fuel and surface area to continue burning for hours if left alone.  Isabel notes that it takes quite a bit of effort to put out the fire! She blows on this one for several seconds before it finally goes out.

Problem #2 - The marshmallow is too large to eat in one bite (though she tried).  Since the marshmallow is so big, the surface melts and cooks (burns), but the inside is still raw, hence the look on her face.  Most of what doesn't fit in your mouth ends up on your face.  She ended up "re-cooking" this mallow three times.

Big fires seemed to be the norm with this big mashmallow!

Isabel was only able to eat 2 of these new larger mallows!  At the end of the test, we've decided that more testing is necessary before we can really decide if these new marshmallows are better.  Next time, we'll make smores!

Memorial Day Weekend

The weather forecasters keep saying we're usually in the mid to upper 80's by now, but this year we've only seen a few days close to 80.  Memorial day weekend started out busy as every site was filled.  People started coming in Friday morning and we were packed by Friday night.  It rained Saturday for several hours and many of the tent campers decided by early Saturday evening to return to their dry homes for the remainder of the weekend.  One family actually left all their gear, drove home to sleep, then returned the next day.  The weather never really improved and we have cool temps and more rain in the forecast this week.  We worked the entire weekend and stayed busy, even after some left.

Just before the weekend we were able to tour the nearby gold mining town of Nevada City, California.  Spent a nice day walking the streets, eating, and window shopping.  Sadie did very well.

This is the Methodist Church:

This is one of two fire department engine companies in town:

Here is the local hotel, the oldest continually operating hotel in the country 

The white building is the second fire department

Here is one of many beautiful Victorian houses in town 

Isabel spent much of the weekend and the entire day yesterday fishing so the count is now:

Isabel - 3 (All small mouth bass)

Dad - 1 rb trout

Mom - still hanging back with 0

Monday, May 23, 2011 - Settling into a routine

We're settling into a work routine now as we've worked several shifts.  The work is divided into a few main categories and it seems like Diana is taking on certain tasks, I'm taking on others and we're overlapping on a few.  So far Diana is working in the gatehouse checking in guests and taking reservations.  She's also working in the camp store.  I am working the camp store as well on occasion, but for the most part I'm taking care of the camp sites, restrooms and doing odd jobs.  The work so far is easy for the most part.  We should have a few work pictures in a few days... In the mean time...

When we're not at work, we spend some of our spare time sitting around the campfire:

Isabel has taken to roasting hot dogs over the fire  and she's not too worried about waiting for hot dog buns:

And finally, an update on the summer fishing derby -- Isabel - 2 small mouth bass (here's the second one), Dad - 1 rainbow trout (jumped out of my hands on the dock before we could get a photo so you'll just have to trust me), and finally mom is currently in third place with zero fish (but she'll catch fire soon)...

Wednesday, May 18th 2011 - Thinking About Building an Ark!

We've been trailer-bound for the last two and a half days due to the deluge of rain!  It has been raining so much that they cancelled the first leg of the "Tour of California" bike race because just up the road at Lake Tahoe 6-12 inches of snow fell and they decided they couldn't ride in the snow.  Meanwhile, here's the sad view from the window of our trailer (note puddles in the foreground).

We didn't let the rain stop us totally, however, and during the breaks in downpours we were able to get Sadie out to one of the several coves to play her new favorite game, Frisbee catch!

During our walks we are finding some interesting things.  The pine cones here can get rather large.  This one is sitting on a picnic table with 6" wide slats (it's a keeper! and speaking of keepers...)

Finally, today, the clouds parted and we were able to get out for a brief fishing excursion on the point and Isabel caught the first fish of the trip!  This large mouth bass measures somewhere around 12"--we're not exactly sure since the measuring tape disappeared from the tackle box. Notice that Isabel isn't quite to the point of holding her own fish for pictures, but she pulled it in by herself none-the-less! Bass in this lake need to be over 12" to keep so we threw it back (which Isabel wanted to do anyway, no matter the size.  She is a catch and releaser since she thinks bass and trout taste "gross".  Had it been a salmon, it would have been a different story.).

Sunday, May 15th - Snow?!

Woke up to some wet snow on the ground this morning!  Rain pounded the roof of the fifth wheel all night as well so we all lost some sleep.  Hard to believe it was almost 80 two days ago--now snow.  Forecast is calling for  some scattered rain for the next few days, then clear skies and back into the 80's by next weekend.  We start work tomorrow.  Good thing since we've been settling in since Wednesday.  I think we're ready to get to work--too much downtime doesn't work for us.  Maybe we're just anxious to get started...

Last evening we were serenaded by a Tom turkey who seems to live here along with several hens.  Our wildlife count now includes turkeys, deer, lizards, geese, ducks and two resident cats.  We have yet to see black bears or cougars, but they say they're here somewhere.

We visited the Empire Gold Mine State Historic Park yesterday (http://www.empiremine.org/).  We had a good time and learned a lot about gold mining in the area.  The park is pet friendly so Sadie got to come along.  They even had a dish of water for her at the entrance.

and once again, we were able to satisfy Sadie's need to get plenty of exercise.  She seems to be settling in to this lifestyle rather nicely.

Wednesday, May 11th - Arrival!

Arrived at the campground at around 1 pm and met our new employers.  Peninsula Campground has three loops and we are staying in the "first loop" (Diana pointed out that we're in site #13).  The second loop is called the "upper loop" and is indeed uphill from us, then the third loop, which is called "The Point" since it's at the end of the peninsula (and downhill again).  We are in the mountains and it seems like everywhere we walk is uphill at this point.  We're hoping it will "flatten out" a bit as time goes on and we get used to the terrain.

Here is a post that Diana put on our TFQQS Blog and some photos from our first few walks around:

We have made it to Peninsula Resort in Grass Valley, California. We arrived last Wednesday and are very glad we left early. We had beautiful weather on our trip down. This is Rollins Lake. 


This is the campground area. We are in a more wooded area. This is just down the path from us.


We finally found out how to wear out Sadie! She is loving the long walks and being outside with us all day.
She still needs some training in manners as she still doesn't like anyone else petting her.

Tuesday, 10 May - We're off! Glenns Ferry to Reno NV

We left the house around 10:00 am after convincing ourselves that we couldn't have possibly forgotten anything (which we would later find was a wrong assumption). Made our way down to Reno and stopped at Boomtown (exit 4) for the night.  We stayed at the KOA and went to the casino briefly.  Unfortunately the big family arcade was closed so we had to settle for a few games of pool and a few video games for Isabel.  We were going to visit the adult side for slots and blackjack the next morning, but didn't make it back since we were expected in Grass Valley early the next day.  I have a photo on my phone that memorializes our time at Reno but I can't get it transfered to the right computer--yet.  We're still working out our technology limitations.  I'll post the picture of Reno once all of our computers are communicating.

Wednesday, May 18 2011 - Update

I took this picture in Reno with my cell phone, transfered it to my computer via blue tooth, saved it onto an SD card, transfered it to Diana's computer and posted it here!  Ah, technology. (and as it turns out, the quality of the photo isn't all that great!)

48 hrs...

Well,

We've gone and done it now.  We've moth-balled the quilt shop, I've withdrawn from classes and we're taking a sabbatical of sorts to do some work camping this summer and fall.  I've set up this blog to keep a log of our activities and adventures along the way.  I'd like to say we'll make regular entries but I'm not sure if that is correct as we haven't done this before. Time will tell.

Our philosophy behind this adventure is that we need to take the opportunity to get out and see things while we can.  We hear too many stories of people who plan for years to get out and do this or that, only to find that they can't for one reason or another -- illness, lack of funds, loss of will, etc.  We don't want to miss our opportunity.  Our military experience has also instilled in us a sense of adventure that seems to re-emerge each 5 or 6 years.  We've been running the quilt shop for 5 years now, so I guess it's time.

Today is Sunday, Mother's Day, and we leave Tuesday.  I'm pacing around looking for anything we may have forgotten...  The trailer is already hooked up. Our episodes of waking up at 4 am wondering what on earth we've done are over for the most part.  Reality is setting in...