Tag Archives: Donner State Park

Friday things…

Posted in California, camping, cancer, Lake tahoe, Myeloma, travel, Uncategorized by

We are back home from our ‘maiden voyage’ and it did have some snafus.

So here we are leaving the driveway. Up ahead on the left is one of our big ponderosas and B didn’t take the turn wide enough so he hit the corner of the awning and snapped off the cover. Fortunately, it didn’t damage anything except the plastic cover which can be taped or replace. The awning worked fine in camp. The drive up to Tahoe was perfect. Not a lot of traffic and we went 55-60 most of the time and the Santa Fe did great. Controlling the steering is something to pay attention to probably because of the weight on the hitch. I don’t know if having a truck resolves that or what but we can’t really entertain the idea of a truck at this point. We have anti sway bars but it’s still something to pay attention to. B did a great job driving though.

So we got up there early and asked if we could check in and Yes, we could. So, here is our spot.

We’ve stayed in this spot before and like it as it is across from the bathrooms.

The campground had way more people than when we were there 2 years ago. I’m guessing pandemic fatigue and everyone wants to be out doing something. Of course, there has to be the one group of campers that are noisy, loud, obnoxious with too many kids running around. Sorry, but I do think one needs to be respectful of Other campers!!! They were certainly not and they moved picnic tables that are NOT meant to be moved together, and were hacking at tree stumps for firewood. Geez, I’m glad they were far enough away that I couldn’t see all there crap. I would not want to be there this weekend with them blaring music.:(

The first night we did a Lodge dinner of stuffed peppers.

I love Lodge cooking and forgot how fun it is to just put the food in and sit back and relax.

The second night we used the Hibachi and I cooked some chicken for me and a Dr. Praeger burger for B. We had potato salad as our side. Quite yummy.

So the second snafu was concerning the battery charge. We were under the impression that the battery and the solar charging would last easily 2-5 days. Well, we were running the frridge all day and by 7pm the battery charge was low and we turned off the fridge. No lights or water pump either. So the next morning we hooked the Santa Fe back up and charged the battery. Then we ran the fridge 2 hours in the morning and 2 in the afternoon. Then we used the water pump as necessary. That seemed to do the trick and the battery held the charge overnight. It was frustrating to have it happen and like I said, we were told the battery was fine for days. Nope. So we are going to have to buy a second battery and they are not cheap. But it should make a difference.

We hooked up Thursday and left by mid morning and had a lovely ride home. I 80 was not too busy so we did fine. Trailering is quite different with this as opposed to the tent trailer and I’m leaving it open till next year whether it is for us at all. I think the difference would be getting a used truck early next year and then seeing how the trailering feels. The SF can do it and it was fine but I think the uptake is a bigger vehicle with a V-8 will make the difference.

Here’s the bed. Comfy and great windows to look out of. That front window is tinted and you can’t see in at all.

Here’s the totally cool kitchen. We can’t use the microwave unless we’re hooked up to a 30 amp( I guess, not too sure of that).

On our way out we stopped at the Donner Party Memorial.

She was a survivor, I think.

So, today(Friday) I went for my first shot of Velcade in this final round. How long it will keep in remission is anyone’s guess but I hope for a while at least.

WEll, I’m off to take DEX and probably rest.

Simple Sunday

Posted in books, camping, cooking, Flylady, simple foods, Uncategorized by

We’re busy getting the Rubicon set up for camping at Donner State park this week. I have most of what I need in there at this point.

I still need to prep some food as I plan on using the Lodge this time to make stuffed peppers with a tomato sauce. I might do a mac and cheese in the Lodge the 2nd night but still undecided. I like to use the small hibachi for BBQing so I might do that instead. We went thru all the stuff from the tent trailer and whittled it down to what we want in the new trailer. We have the white corelle dishes, bowls, and a serving platter, 2 pots, and 2 fry pans. I’m not sure I need 2 fry pans so when we’re up there I’ll see what we’re using.

This is a very quick trip and I’m not sure if we’ll be able to really tell what we need or don’t need. We’re hoping to find some place with hook ups in the next month so we can try out the things that run with power and the sewer hookup.

The kittens are growing and are now annoying tweens running around the barn. We are pretty sure we are not going to bring them in the house. The main reason is my daughter( who is really the one taking care of them) is actually allergic to cats so she has to wear a mask out in the barn. They are really cute though. MamaKat is quite friendly and we’re planning on her spay next week after we’re back from camping. Hopefully, we can get her in the cat carrier.

We had a nice BBQ of burgers, chicken and a veggie burger for my daughter’s birthday with a fruit tart for dessert. It was all yummy. I bought the Dr. Praeger burgers this time and I think they are way better the the processed Beyond meat stuff.

This week Flylady’s zones are the entry way and the kitchen. Our entryways are fine and maybe just need a spruce up but i’m not sure I’ll get to the kitchen zone till later in the week. It seemed like I just did it as the same thing happened last month when the week had 2 zones.

It’s supposed to be quite hot tomorrow with temperatures hitting 100. It’s way too early for such hot weather but I guess global warming is to be blamed. We are watering a lot so our water bill is going to go up.

I’m working on an idea for a series of posts about cooking. What I want to do is pick one or two recipes from every cookbook I own. If it passes the test of tastes good, ease of making, etc, I’ll keep the cookbook, if not, I’ll donate it back to the pet bookstore. I just feel I have way too many cookbooks that I’ve never made a recipe from. I like to look at them but not cook from them so that’s the challenge.

Vecade,Round 5, shot #2

Posted in California, camping, cooking, home stuff, Myeloma, travel, Uncategorized by

I’m heading down to Rocklin for my shot. I’m planning on taking the 8 mg of Dex and compare that to the 12mg last week. 12mg was WAY easier and I pretty much breezed thru it. But for comparisons I thought it’d be interesting to try the 8mg.

Then I’m going to go to Walmart for a pickup. It’s not a big order and there isn’t that much ‘dinner’ stuff in the order but more like things such as yogurts, salad stuff, chips, bread, oh, I added some organic chicken, bananas, bubbly water, and some other things. I love doing the pickup as I’d never get thru Walmart as a store. I never really shopped there so I don’t know the layout and it would probably take me an hour just to get thru. Pickup is a breeze.

I managed to stain most of the new fence and just have around the corner to do or until the stain is gone. I don’t plan on buying another gallon for a bit.

We are still in waiting mode on the RV and actually haven’t heard a word from them. I’m guessing the RV hasn’t come in yet so there’s not much to do. We did decide to break up signing the papers, taking the RV class, and having the hitch put on into 3 separate visits. I just cannot sit thru all that at once. I realized that it’s just sensory overload for me and it’s better for me to take control and do it this way.

I managed to reserve a camp spot up at Donner Lake for 2 nights just to get out and try the trailer. Donner SP is not one of my favorite places but it’s pretty and close to lots of walking trails.

I pulled all kinds of leftovers from the freezer so dinner will be a choice of that. Most are single servings of things like pulled pork, mac and cheese, beans, rice, so whoever wants what can get it. We ended up doing just the black beans and pulled pork and made burritos with avocado and cheese.

Exciting….. my Ooni pizza oven showed up so when I get home from Rocklin I will set it up. I don’t plan on doing a pizza tonight though as the dough isn’t made and I want to get some tile for underneath it. Very Excited though!!!!

Camping at Donner State Park

Posted in camping, Lake tahoe, Uncategorized by

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The Donner State Park is located in Truckee, Ca.  There is a quite large campground with 3 loops. Two are closed right now as the season hasn’t really started.  We are in a lovely spot and there is almost no one here camping. The bathrooms are new and the showers look nice. We have another night here and then home. But except the fact that you can hear I -80 it is really nice.  I probably wouldn’t want to be here in the high season but still the camp spots are really spaced nicely.

B is actually working and seeing some accounts, so that’s kinda cool. We are in Tahoe City right now and then need to hit the grocery store for some dinner stuff. Also B had traded out for a new propane tank but last night we went to turn on the heater and there was nothing. So we need to stop and have it checked or buy a new one. It’s going to quite chilly tomorrow morning and so we will need some heat.

We also brought the bikes, soI’m going to bike around some this afternoon.  We’re heading down to another account in King’s Beach and then going to get some lunch ( I think). We might stop at one of the Lake Tahoe beaches for pebbles. There’s one I remember that had black ones but can’t quite remember where it was.

We leave tomorrow but another day would have been nice to as tomorrow suppose to be 71 degrees.