Out of the Snow and Into the Family

We awoke Wednesday morning to find that the snowman had come and taken back all of the low lying snow he'd left two days before. Gone. It was all gone.

And soon so were we. It was time to move our traveling show 113 miles north to Carson City where our family awaited. But first we had to take a few more pictures. In this one you see a small blue boat on the lake. That was one of three fishing boats that were staying with their owners in our camp loop.



We liked the reflection in the water.

We drove separately from the camp up to Bridgeport, so that Rosie (our motorhome, if you are a new reader) wouldn't have to struggle up the steep climb to Conway Summit (8,143 feet of steady climbing from Lee Vining, at just under 7,000 feet).  When we stopped in Bridgeport to hook up, I told Suzy that it appeared that Rosie was laughing all the way up that grade. She was holding steady at 45 mph and never broke a sweat.

After Bridgeport we made it through Devil's Gate Summit, at 7,519 feet, as if it were nothing. Good old Rosie!

Just north of the small town of Walker, we stopped for a break in a roadside pullout, in which there was a small monument and a string of raggedy tee shirts strung out on a barbed wire fence. I had to take a closer look. The monument's plaque stated: "In loving and grateful memory to the C-130 crew, Steve Wass, Craig Labare, and Mike Davis, who gave their lives to save our community on June 17, 2002."


We had seen shoes in trees, but never shirts on fences!

Many of the tee shirts bore firefighting logos, and there were firefighting related pins, decals, and patches attached around the monument. In addition, there were a few dollars in coins carefully placed on the plaque, and assorted mementos scattered about.

I recalled hearing something about a fire crew's plane that was lost fighting a fire in this part of the Sierra, and I knew that this would have a special meaning for daughter Kathie who, just a few years ago, took firefighter and EMT training, and was successfully made a volunteer firefighter in her town of Minden, NV.

We met up with our family this evening for dinner at a casino next to our RV park in Carson City. Today is great grandson Darren's year and a half celebration, and he charmed everyone at the table. Especially his GeeGee (Great Grandmother Suzy's assigned name).

That's all for tonight. See you next time as we continue to celebrate ... Our Life on Wheels.