Hiking the Truckee & Fishing the Walker - CA

Truckee, CA

Alpine Meadows CG 

We're heading out for some family camping weekends with hiking and fishing.

As we drive up I-80, we leave the heat and head into some mountain thunderstorms that can be typical at the end of summer.  We drove through a short bit of rain and were treated to a wonderful rainbow welcoming us as we drove.

As if that weren't beautiful enough, the skies lit up like the Aurora Borealis on fire.

Really incredible!  It distracted us from the horrible, rutted, cement lanes thanks to all the 18-wheeler traffic with snow chains. We're supposed to drive in the far right lane, but the ruts make it a nightmare pulling us around even with the duallies so we usually drive the middle.

Back to our favorite site #11.  $10 with our Sr. Pass.

We have a nice "yard" to go with it.

Alex (middle) and Brennan, the youngest son, (right) setting up their site.

We're here for a few days to camp with our son & DiL, Brennan & Alex.  Alex's Dad, Sebastian holds a huge group campout at Donner Lake each month in summer.  He invited us up again.

We always have a great time with Sebastian.  He and his group BBQ all kinds of meats and it's a feast going on here all weekend!  We arrived a few days early for some much needed down time.

I'm off to a good start!

Oh ya, the Mojito's are to die for!  I forgot his name, but there's something this guy swears by that makes all the difference.  It sure does!  I've never liked them but these are SO good!

BBQ is done.  Different types of Tri-Tip, Ribs, Mac-n-Cheese, fruit salad and veggies to name a few.

BBQ'd Oysters and Oysters on the Half Shell with all kinds of toppings grilled by Noel.

Some of the group.  Good thing there were plenty of Easy-Ups because it rained and thundered much of the time.  It was nice to sit by the fire when it wasn't and talk to all these wonderful people.  Including our kids!  At one point a microburst popped up and took Brennan & Alex's easy-up which was covering a table full of games and snacks and lifted it into the air despite my trying to pull it down.  I yelled for Steve and he and some others came over and put it all back in place and we cleaned up the mess.  All in all, lots of fun!

On our final day in the area, we wanted to hike The Tahoe-Pyramid Trail which runs along much of the Truckee River.  Even though there was some possible rain, off we went.

At first we stayed on the bike/walking trail, then we switched down to the hiking trail right along the bank of the river.  There were cute quotes painted on the trail here and there.

While some Fall color is sneaking in, there was still plenty of summer color leftover.

Wild Sweet Peas in pinks and purples.

Evening Primrose

Daisies

Plenty of pinecones on the trail.

We even saw a couple of guys flyfishing.  The river was perfect and we wished we brought our poles with us.

Goldenrod.

There was this old rusty buggy of sorts that was used to cross the river at one point.

Dark clouds shaped like a heart.  While the skies threatened to open up, they never did more than a sprinkle now and then.

Service Berries.

A new evergreen shoot growing next to a long dead, slowly decaying tree. Time marches on.

It was a peaceful 4+ mile hike along the river.  It always feels good to be back on a trail.

We stopped into The Good Wolf Brewing Company.  Steve tried a few and thankfully they had something non-beer for me.  A delicious homemade Sparkling Lemonade.  It was super good!

Hope Valley

Sno-Camp Pull-Out

A few days back down the hill and we were ready to return to the mountains for another family campout and some fishing.  We headed out before sunset for a less than 2 hour drive.

Inspiration Point on the way to Lake Tahoe.

Once again we just missed the rain but it made for a misty/foggy drive with a strange looking moon.

Normally we don't drive at night but we know these roads and where we are going.  We pulled into our favorite overnight spot so we would have a convenient place for Steve to work on the way. Free for up to 3 days.  There's a nice pond right here too.

Our other two sons would be joining us and since they'd be driving right by they dropped off the Meatball.  We kept very busy while Papa worked.  We built roads and explored all around the pond.

We walked on top of the rails and used them as roads for the cars.

Jaxon made bridges and parking garages and tunnels for his cars.

And there's always time to Stop and Smell the Flowers!  I showed him how to roll the leaves of Wild Sage and smell their aroma and the smell of pine needles.  He didn't care for either.

We dipped rocks in the water to see them change colors and threw plenty in to see them splash.

Walker, CA

Bootleg NF CG

Site #39, $12 with our Sr Pass.  

The boys brought a tent and we quickly set up so we could head to the river.  FINALLY, after all the snowmelt and rain, the water was calmer, and clearer and just now fishable.

Daddy (Ryan) and Jax with the fishing vest we bought him in Lassen.

We fished all day stopping only for a picnic lunch of our usual.  Salami, pepperoni, crackers, cheeses and fruit.

Happy Guy!

Jax holding the fishing pole.

Jaxon running to Papa.  Psyche!

Shane, our middle son.

The fishing was tough and we really had to work for them.  The boys caught a few each.

Ryan, the oldest.

Matt, our "other" son.  I met his Mom, Amy, when we were both pregnant with them.  They've remained best friends even when we lived in Upstate NY for several years.  They were college roommates too.  We say, they were wombmates. :-)

I lost a couple but redeemed myself with this nice Rainbow.  The fish were good sized, but not very plentiful.  The river will only be good fishing for another couple of weeks.  Too bad we won't have time to return once more as we'll be getting ready to head for Arizona.

Looking forward to seeing some RV friends along the way!