Rim Fire Cabin Trip

We just returned from a 24 hour trip to the cabin to check on the Rim fire.  It was a super interesting experience and well worth the effort.  We left SJ at about 4 am and could really start seeing the smoke as we headed out of Sonora.  The sun coming up was glowing orange.  We drove straight to Roy and Anna's cabin becuase they were in the mandatory evacuation area.   The police had the road closed but allowed us to walk into the closed area to Anna and Roy's place - which was just two lots in as they were on the edge of the evacuated zone.  We checked out their place, which was fine and headed to our place.  

Our place is across the lake and farther from the fire.  Our place was fine but the smoke was so thick throught the entire community that it actually made me feel claustrophobic and the dogs were totally sluggish from it.  We went to our house, fed the dogs, stretched our legs, ate some apple pie and then headed out.

We spent until 4 pm driving around checking out the fire from all different perspectives.  We even tried to go down a dirt road to get into the closed area - not unsafely into it - just on the edge.  The smoke was awe inspiring.  Watching the helicopters was so cool.

We took a break to eat some Cochina Michocana for lunch and listened to the locals and the waitress who had been evacuated from their homes.  And a group of the local high school students came in because school was cancelled.

At 7 pm, we went to the local elementary school for a briefing from the incident commander.  Boy, was that interesting!   Here were the highlights:

*  The guy heading the operation is from the Southern part of the US and he manages the biggest and baddest fires in the whole country.

*  As of last nite, they had lost 9 structures and saved 6000 (that number changed to 23 structures lost today)

*  This fire is highly unusual in its behavior and is one of the fastest growing fires they have seen.

*  Flames were 100 to 200 feet high

*  They were down at the river taking rafts across to the other side to fight the fire.  They lost the fight and had to retreat.  That led the fire to climb quickly up the canyon and head into Buck Meadows where they had a "hell of a fire fight" but saved the community!

*  Some jackass got all angry because they were knocking on doors to do the evacuation - he thought they should just rely on the reverse 911 system!?!?!  The Sheriff responded and said, I can answer that simply by saying, "you are too important to rely on a phone system for evacuation"!

*  People who live in super remote areas with no infrastructure (i.e. fire hydrants) want to know why they are not getting priority!!!  Let's see.....protect one house that has no resources around it or protect 2600 that have fire hydrants, did fire abatement and have a lake full of water for fire drops????  Really????  What is wrong with people????  When you made the decision to live in a remote area, that is part of the deal.

*  They turn off power so that power lines don't fall on fire fighters and kill or injure them.  Sounds reasonable - right?  NOPE - some of the people were complaining about it!

*  They are setting up another base camp in Sonora that will house 1400 fire fighters in the next two days.

*  Our community has been pretty well protected and they are currently doing mop up.  If that goes well in the next couple days, the evacuation order could be lifted.

*  120 will be closed for at least 5 days due to the damage and the number of personnel in the area

We really enjoyed the meeting until it was time for questions and answers and the hillbilly trash came out of the woodwork.  People wanted power back on, evacuation orders lifted, the evacuation procedure changed.....  We finally got up and left.  These firefighters are risking their lives saving our community and these jackasses are whining about being inconvenienced!

After the meeting, we got pizza and went home.  We stayed the night and woke up to thick smoke again.  We felt that things were stable so we packed up and headed home at 7:30 this morning.  We took all our important papers....just in case!

We are heading back next weekend and hope to be able to drive around to see the damage. 

It will be a very sad day when we get out to see Cherry Lake....

Dirt road we went down trying to sneak onto Ferretti Road - the evacuated area.

Don Pedro this morning covered with smoke

Our street when we were driving out this morning

Fire trucks coming down 120 this morning

View from Cresthaven yesterday afternoon

View from up on Merrill Road yesterday afternoon

Helicopter drops

Info station at fire department in town..  Some jackass tried to tell them they were not using their resources right!

Smoke from Marina yesterday afternoon

Going to the Marina in the morning - you could not see across the lake!

Smoke heading out of Oakdale and up to the cabin at 6:45 am

Just a little bit of ash on the Pontoon Mama

Walking up the road to Jim's folks house

Closed road in front of Jim's folk's place

View of smoke from our driveway

View of smoke from the Marina in the afternoon

Ahi was not impressed with the event!

Tre

I forgot to post this after our trip to Uncle B's.  This is "Tre", Sam's Bearded Dragon.  Brian took him out and let us feed him apples and then let him run around the house.  He is super cool by freaks me out a little.  Of course Grace wants one.....I don't think I do!

Breakaway

Today the 8th grade went to Breakaway Camp until tomorrow afternoon.  This camp is to bond the 8th graders and set the expectation for leadership in the Jr High.  The kids all get put on color team and spend most of today playing games.  Can't wait to hear about it.

Busy Day

It has been a very busy day today.  I have been following the Rim Fire at the cabin.  At about noon today the fire jumped the containment line and they started evacuating the community our cabin is in.  We confirmed about an hour ago that they are evacuating our section of the community.  The fire is currently 5% contained.  Here are some recent pics:

This is our airport - they are using it for fueling planes

This is the ranger station we always go to

While I was monitoring the fire, the dalmatian (and eyebrow) fairy stopped by our house.....  I think I need to go back to work....I am started to do crazy stuff with my free time!

And then... as I was walking in from the grocery store, I heard a scream coming from across the street.  I ran over there to find that the sister of one of our neighbors took a header on the side walk and her glasses broke into her face.  She also lost consciousness so I called 911.  Our neighbor was absolutely hysterical so I had to take control of the situation.  Drew came out to help and immediately asked if she was breathing....he actually sounded disappointed when I said "yes"!  He wanted to try out his CPR skills!  She ended up needing stitches and an xray of her head but will be ok.

I hope tomorrow will be quieter.  AND I hope our cabin is ok.

Check

On my list for my sabbatical was to re-line the fountain in the backyard and put in new plants -- check  -- done!  I love it!

Blueberry Gallete

Made this delicious blueberry gallete last nite.  It had a layer of cream cheese and then two cups of blueberries topped with  more cream cheese.

Beets!

This last week of my sabbatical has been all about cooking.  Today I made this yummy beet salad with dill and pine nuts.  I used two different types of beets and roasted them.  So yummy!

FIRE!

There is a big, out of control fire near the cabin.  School closed, highway closed because the fire jumped it and our local high school is the evacuation site for those forced out of their homes.

So scary.

Click here for up to date info

Assistant Coach

Grace and I went to my brother's house for a quick visit and while there, Grace helped coach Mimi's soccer team during practice.  It was super fun to watch.  One of the girls walked up, saw Grace and said, "look mom we have a girl teacher!".  My nephew, Sam, helped too so he could earn community service hours.  I was fun to see Sam and Grace hip checking each other on the field!

Morning Brain Excercises

I like to give the dogs their kongs full of food because it keeps them busy and exercises their brains trying to figure out how to get their treat.  This morning Jim put left over chicken in them and off they went.  Here is how the super smart Labrador gets hers.  She doesn't need thumbs!

Painted Dogs

This is what happens when we have too much time on our hands!

Draft senior pic

Another sneak preview of Drew's senior pics.  Looking forward to seeing them all.

Pismo Tourney

These are pics from the tourney in Pismo.  Drew is # 8.

Shoe Day

Drew got his custom cleats in the mail today and Grace and I went shopping for school shoes and got her a pair of cowboy boots and a pair of combat boots!

Shoezapallosa!

LOVE the cowboy boots - I plan to wear them!  Grace is 6 feet tall in them and looks like a cowboy magnet wearing them with short denim shorts and a lace top!

Good Dog Morning

Ahi sunning her belly this morning!  Feels good!!

Cousins

This is a picture of Jim's cousin, Eric and his beautiful wife, Susan.  They live in Alaska.  Eric and Jim could be brothers -- they look a like, act alike and love the same stuff -- fishing, hiking, the outdoors....and cute blond wives!

Senior Year

First day of Drew's senior year of high school.  WOW - how time flies!

UP Update

I have been wearing the UP band since Aug 1 and it has been tracking all my exercise.  Here are my stats on day 12:

*  I have walked/biked 67.79 miles (it is actually much more because the biking isn't really counted mile for mile)
*  To meet the goal of 100 miles in this month, I need to maintain a pace of 2.21 miles a day....which is easy peasy lemon squeezy!
*  I am on pace to do 162 miles this month....but I have no intention of keeping this pace all month!

Stay tuned!

Snack Time

At about 8 pm Grace and I decided we needed some cereal!  We walked to the store with the dogs and came back with these giant boxes of cereal.  YUM!

Sneak Peek

Here is a sneak peek of Drew's senior pics.  He and Amanda went yesterday afternoon to have them taken.  Since Amanda was with him, the guy taking the pics wanted to take some with both of them.  I can't wait to see all the proofs because the sneak peek pics are super cute.

Real Life

Drew and a group of his friends all met at our house this morning to caravan to a funeral for the mother of one of their close friends.  The mom died last week unexpectedly.  The kids all got dressed in their nicest clothes (which for some of them was black pants, black shirt, black high top vans and a camo hat) and went off to face a harsh reality of life.

I supported them the best I could -- I ironed shirts and sent them off with a box of tissues.

Newlyweds!

It has been a big week for our TNDC family!  First it was baby news and then the Tias got married!

Tia Connie and Tia Tracy have been together for 15 years and were happy to take advantage of the ability to marry in California!  They got married at the courthouse yesterday morning and after making the announcement to TNDC we had planned an impromptu wedding reception in 10 minutes!  About 25 of us showed up with food and gifts -- ready to celebrate love, acceptance and diversity! 

The highlight was a surprise homemade rainbow cake!

Congratulations to the Tias and thank you for letting us share in your happiness!

A rainbow cake!

Wander Woman Tour 2013 - Pismo Trip

Avila Beach Pier

After a month in the mountains, we spent a long weekend at Pismo Beach for Drew's soccer tournament. Sand and sea water was a nice change from the dirt and trees!

We really liked Pismo and will go back again. 

We squeezed in as much as possible in a weekend:

*  3 soccer games (2 wins and 1 loss)
*  Driving on the beach
*  Bonfire on the beach
*  Tide pooling
*  Surfing
*  General sightseeing - we loved watching the sea lions at Avila Beach!

Tina and Marty joined us and we stayed in a hotel right on the beach.  We spent a lot of time sitting on our patio watching the people and dogs going by.

All three dogs were with us - it was their first time in a hotel.  They adjusted just fine and spent time sleeping on the beds and watching dogs going by!  They were all perfect hotel guests.

Daisy Mae waiting for her next walk

Avila Beach

Our hotel - RIGHT on the beach!

Ahi is not a big fan of sand!

Watching Grace surf

These pelicans just hung around waiting for  fish from a fisherman

Cool rock on the beach

Shell Beach

We were about 10 minutes from the fields

My truck sure has been around this summer

View from our room

Surfer Girl

Grace has been wanting to take surfing lessons for years and we finally found the time to do it when in Pismo this weekend.  She took a two hour lesson from a professional surfer and was standing and riding waves within 15 minutes in the water.  The instructor called her "a natural"!

We rented a board the next day so she could get some practice, but the waves were much bigger and a little intimidating!

BIG Announcement

Almost a year to the day after the wedding, we finally got the big announcement....Mari and Kyle are expecting a baby!  Baby Choch 14 is due in early March.

Mari told us at TNDC by telling us that her TNDC shirt is too small, so she got a new one....and pulled this onesie out of her pocket!  Next came lots of cheering, hugs and a toast by Marty.

Congrats to Mari and Kyle.  We are all so happy for you....and for us!

Book Review - Beyond the Bear by Dan Bigley

This book takes a place at the top of my all time favorites list.  Well, well, well worth the time to read it.  It will make you think about the purpose of life, how good your life is and how much good there is in the world.

Here is my review on Amazon:


I want to carry cases of these books around and hand them out to people who are negative and complain about their lives that are NOT hard.  This book is an easy to read, heart warming lesson on how to live your life - with humility, humor and love.  A nurse who worked with Dan shortly after the attack called him an inspiration -- she had no idea how truly inspirational he would become in the years following the mauling.  Thank you to Dan for telling this compelling and moving story.

UP band

I got an UP band thru work that tracks all your work outs, your food and your sleep.  This is day two and its interesting to see and great motivation.  Plus it's tracking all the employees who are participating so you don't want to look like a shmuck!  So it keeps you moving!


Learn more about the UP band

More to come!

Goose Patrol

I signed my dogs up to be Geese Patrol dogs at the cabin.  They get to wear orange vests and chase the geese off the beach.  It is the PERFECT job for them!