Party Time for Shannon and Bill

This is the first time in a long while that we’ve been in California on March 26, which happens to be Shannon and Bill’s birthday. We had to party. 

Carl started the ribs cooking in the oven early and Drew finished them on the grill along with brats. Erin and I made salads and pies from Ikedas in Auburn. Good food and lots of their friends came to help celebrate. Fun time reconnecting with their friends that we haven’t talked to in several years. 

Isaac, Terry and Matt









A big bonfire from some of the limbs that feel during the storm. 

Kaitlin and Erin

Lots of dogs. This is Ruby and Dennis playing. 

Brewery, Winery and Visiting with a Neighbor

To catch you all up on our last few days, after a fence project, another garden box, a little landscaping, and a visit from their next door neighbors, Corrine and Benny, we hit a brewery near Drew and Erin’s. 

That’s Benny on the left and Lenny on the right. If Winnie were there, we’d have Benny, Lenny and Winnie!



Great way to end Thursday!

On Friday, Erin had the day off so we headed to Turley  Winery for a very relaxing day tasting wine and having a picnic. 

Wine tasting sure is tiring!

Back at Erin and Drew’s, Erin works in her garden. They have an olive tree that has already produced 3 times. They cure them and they are ready to eat. Real treat. 

Saturday is Shannon and Bill’s birthday so we’ll head to Nevada City for a cookout. 

Spring is definitely here in Sacramento

Love this time in sunny, warm California. Trees are leafing and budding and flowers are blooming. Walking in Drew and Erin’s neighborhood is awash with so much color and smells. 

California poppies are popping. 

Drew and Erin’s house has roses blooming, too

On to Nevada City

Projects at Shan and Carl’s place are all outside. In December, they had a Snowmagedon, as they called it. Several feet of heavy snow fell, bringing down trees and power lines over the whole county. They were without power for 2 weeks. Good thing they had bought a generator the year before. So the downed trees and limbs need to be cleaned up and wood split. 

They will have a lot of firewood for this winter. 

We took some time for a hike along the Champion Mine ditch trail. This was a new one for us. 

A little down time is always good for everyone, even bandit. 

Made it to California

We have been on the road for about 1 month and are about a month earlier than we usually drive west. Since we weren’t sure of the weather, we decided to take the northern route on I80 into California. There was still a lot of snow on the Sierra Nevada mountains as we drove. 

Made it to Loomis last Wednesday where we will spend the next 2 weeks. We like the town, especially because they have a brew pub that’s within walking distance. Shannon and Carl met us for dinner. Was so excited that I forgot to take any pictures. 

On Thursday, we drove to Drew and Erin’s to watch the NCAA Wrestling Championships, meet the new grand dog, Dennis and for Bill to do some projects. The first project drew a little blood but he kept working through it. They had purchased a new stove/oven but when the installers came to install it, they found the previous owners had hardwired it in., no plug. So Bill needed to install a new box. 

This is Winnie

And this is Dennis. 

When we got to Drew’s to watch the Final Wrestling Championship, here’s what we found. Not sure who did it but Dennis was sniffing around it. 

Of course, you know who these three are!!

More fun and projects to come, I’m sure. Sorry it took so long for me to post, Aunt Kay. Hope you don’t need to worry anymore. I’ll try to post more often. Appreciate your reading and commenting. Love to hear from all 4 of my readers 😜. 

Best Harvest Host yet - Sawdust Alpaca Farm

Left Tonopah to head to our next adventure in Fallon, NV. 

Not too much difference in the scenery but we could see the eastern Sierra Nevada range with snow. 

 One of Fallon’s claim to fames is the Top Gun Naval Academy. For us, the excitement was Glen and Caroline’s Alpaca farm. Forty-six well loved alpacas and all had names and different personalities. They were such gracious hosts. We learned a lot from Glen about the alpacas and their fiber from Caroline. Of course, I had to get some pics of the cuties. 

I think that’s a smile on Rosie’s face, don’t you. 

This is Thunder, the loveable one. 


Caroline’s store had a little bit of everything from sweaters to socks, hats and yarn. The yarn is named by the Alpaca’s fiber. Mine was called Zahir, below. 

After a very peaceful night, we got up and watched Glen feed the alpacas. Then off to Loomis CA. 

North to Tonopah, NV

Driving north on route 95, the landscape was more desert and a lot of nothing!  

Our route took us through Las Vegas. Saw the Strip and the Space Needle as we motored through. 

Here’s a short video of our ride. 

https://youtu.be/oNpEhx8smZQ

If you look on a map, Tonopah, NV, is in the middle of NOWHERE!  But their little western town has a brewery and a coffee shop plus a hardware store. 

We boondocked on some BLM land, just off of Route 95. Lots of open land for a little walk. There was even a little snow left. 

A little glimpse of the town:

There was even a world famous Clown Motel !

We had another colorful sunrise to get us started on our way. 

On to Fallon, NV, just west of Carson City. Stayed at a Harvest Host site, Sawdust Alpacas.