Wednesday May 13 2015  South Lake Tahoe  DAY

Another night of blogging without the internet.  I am at a new location now.  My cousin Paulette lives in Folsom California which is about an hour from my last stay.  Yesterday was a marvelous day.  Just the drive to Celio Ranch would have made the trip worth the trip to Meyers CA.  In the morning we had a leisurely breakfast at a local family restaurant and enjoying our hosts, Chris and Tom Celio.  I was up at 5:00 a.m. so I could be ready for the sunrise to hit the mountain peaks out back.  Well, it didn’t come up until after 6:00 a.m.  But my sleep was gone and boy am I feeling it now.

No internet available tonight due to the fact that I forgot to ask Paulette for the pass code.  So this may get posted tomorrow as Paulette is sleeping.

Becky and I drove up to Lake Tahoe after we left Chris and Tom’s place.  Again, my memory had failed me.  It was not like I remembered when we used to go visit my sister in Tahoe.  Of course it seemed more crowded because the population is more crowded, but it also seemed sort of run down and bedraggled.  It made me wonder if the tourist trade there has gone down, especially with the lake being so low.  I took some photos but don’t know how well you can see the receding waterline.  Perhaps just the building were aging or for that matter, just me aging.  I think I see things so much differently than I did as a kid.  I see things more clearly.

The lake seemed to rest in quiet repose as if the lake was in a resting time, tired and listless..  The colors of the water graduated to different color intensities as you looked further and further away from the shore.  Brown sand seemed austere and agressive as if it were on a quest reclaiming the depths of the lake.  A sadness came over me as I realized how low the water was in the lake.  It is May and there is barely any snow on any mountain.  This should be the time of spring thaw. The streams down below the mountains are running shallow and slow.  Very little water trickling from melting snow as there isn’t much left to melt.  This should be the time of white rapids.  I heard that there may be about a foot of snow expected tonight.  If today’s temperature is any indication I believe it could happen.  It was freezing at the Ranch today as we took a tour of all the outbuildings and surrounding acres.  Very cold!

I’ll post photos of the lake.  The lake still has a gentle beauty about it, but to me it seems old and tired; worn out from combatting four years of drought.  California is in need of moisture.  I was actually relieved as we left the mountain tops.  Everything seems so dry and powdery brittle that I was concerned about what it would be like to be caught in a fire storm there.  I pray for God’s protection over California’s dry lands and forests.   I prayed for rain and snow.

Arrived back at Becky’s by 5:00 and gone by 6:38 p.m. to my next destination.

And here I am at cousin Paulette’s house in Folsom California.  I can tell that Paulette is tired and run down.  She has a lot on her plate right now.  She works in a family owned business and must be away quite a bit.  She also is dealing with an ill family member and this is causing added responsibility to her already busy life.  And then, here I come!  I hope I can help her in some way while I am here.  Maybe just taking her mind off of all else that is going on.  Not much happened tonight except my laundry duty was accomplished and my writing this blog to be posted on Thursday. And it is another short blog due to my sleep schedule.    It is not that I don’t have lots to write about, but my body is in need of sleep again.  I hope no one calls me in the morning as I plan to sleep in!  Brilliant idea!  I’ll shut down my phone.

I hope to have this blog published tomorrow after I have the WiFi code.  Good night!  11:56 p.m.