Placerville, CA
Elk Lodge
Elk Lodge
The huge pines make Rufus look tiny.
The creek was flowing nicely and there was still some fall color out.
Me, Ron & Rene. Unfortunately Steve was working but he'll join us for pizza after the hike.
Rufus having a blast!
No water at this end of the lake at all! What I like is that the trail follows right along the lakeshore. But not at the moment. It's not just drought. They release a lot of water for the snow melt in the Spring.
The Dogwoods are still showing some red.
After our wonderful hike we went to Whitewater Pizza. One of our new favorites!
I brought cupcakes to celebrate Ron's birthday.
This is his huge, sweet dog. A large Italian breed.
With the river flowing right in front of us we can do short hikes along the water.
Snowflower RV Resort
Since we didn't get a chance to stay at this Thousand Trails Park last year, I thought I'd make a 10 day reservation to check it out. This park sits at over 5000' elevation and closes the end of October before the snow hits. Since the holiday weekend is over and the temperatures are dropping this gave us plenty of sites to choose from. It's so nice to be back in mountains!
I've read about the tunnel hike up here for years and always wanted to try it. Fellow RV friends, John & Tina, were here in the Summer and they said it was fantastic.
Mutual friends, Tim & Leslie Muchow came back up to hike it with us. You need headlamps and/or flashlights as some of these tunnels are long and totally dark. The 4 1/2 mile trail takes you through parts of the original Transcontinental Railway which was completed in 1868. The Donner Party had come through this area in 1846 and didn't fare so well due to an early brutal snowfall that left some to cannibalism to survive. These tunnels were used until 1993 when a longer, taller tunnel was built that was more reliable. It runs very close by.
When you pop out of the tunnels there are some great views of the surrounding mountains and some of the tunnels up head.
At this junction the new railway section crosses the trail if you hike a bit further than the tunnels. You can stand on top of it and if you're lucky you can watch the train go underneath you.
We snagged a nice long pull-through. Our friends Rick and Angie will join us in a few days.
These old tunnels are now popular for hiking and for some gritty urban graffiti.
Here we go!
Looking through one of the tunnels ahead to one after that.
Here comes one of the longest tunnels.
Some have "windows" with views and some are pitch black.
This one had a bit of a creepy look to it.
At one point you get a nice view of Donner Lake below.
Two trains came by but we missed them both.
Painted on top of the bridge. We agree. This was a great hike.
There were still some patches of snow left from a storm that came by a couple of weeks ago.
After a nice snack stop we headed back.
You can see the rock climbers above. This is a must-do if you're in the area! Afterward we stopped in Truckee had lunch, walked around a bit and finished with a couple of chocolates.
We had some critter nibbling on our pumpkin decorations and figured it was a raccoon.
Turns out it was the cubs that are still hanging around the area. We had heard they were here in the summer but thought with the colder weather they might have gone off to hibernate. We made sure to throw them out since you're not supposed to have any type of food out for them.
Our neighbor took this cute video and sent it to us.
We were looking forward to Rick and Angie arriving but there was a sudden snowstorm predicted to roll in overnight, so they thought they'd wait and see. Good call as it really came down and snowed through the next day. Since we still had a few days left we didn't care as it would melt pretty quickly. We were there to just relax.
Wow, that was a lot of snow!
Icicles!
Nice and warm inside! I love it when we can catch the first and last snowstorm of the year.
We walked around the lake and Hurley loved playing in the snow.
Well after a couple days the park decided to close their season early as more stormy weather was predicted for the next week and we'd all have to evacuate. Rick called to check on the roads and they told him this before we knew. Staff spent the day plowing and making sure we could all get out safely by the next day. Many left today but we figured we wait for more melt for the next day.
The cubs stopped over to say goodbye.
More of it did melt the next day as the sun came out. We were very bummed we had to leave early. 
Well, it was beautiful while it lasted.
Coloma, California
Ponderosa RV Resort
Placerville, CA
Elks Lodge
We snuck in a quick meet up for dinner with RV friends Ruth and Dale before they head to sunny Arizona.
On one of the few sunny, warm days left I got up on the roof and finally replaced the old attic mushroom vents. They were so brittle and starting to crack. I watched some YouTube videos and replaced them both. I learned what Butyl tape is. Gotta say I did a pretty good job. I also checked the rest of the roof, vents, gutters, skylights, etc but all looked good.
Our county was having a fundraiser for the Caldor Fire and John was one of the cooks. We enjoyed the food and friends once again. Our county is a tight knit bunch. A lot of money was raised that night.
So much happening these last few days in October. We celebrated our youngest son turning 30!
So shiny white. Now the roof needs a good cleaning.
We celebrated Dia de Muertos at our favorite Mexican place with Doug & Deanna.
And we always end our meal with a round of Turantula!
Kevin, Me, Steve, John, Judy & Tina
A day spent at Apple Hill with our daughter, Kaylee. Gotta pick up apple donuts, fritters and pies!
Ron was getting inducted into the Elks and since we all sponsored them, we met up at Tim & Leslie's house for wine and a very filling charcuterie board to celebrate.
And we wrap up our busy October with a picture of Jaxon dressed as a UPS delivery person! He had a lot of fun this Halloween. I sure hope November is a little quieter.
