Day 47 - Gold Panning 101

Howdy folks!

Here we are at day 47 and still finding fun things to do in Reno.

Gold Panning 101

1. First thing you need.....a Gold Pan.

Experts (like us) use black pans so that the GOLD is easier to spot.

2.  A good shovel with pick - $9.99 at the local Gold Panning Store.  Perfect for digging in the sand or gravel AND for protecting the "mother lode" from bandits!

3.  Location, location, location.

Just outside Virginia City - a sluice box and evidence of a historical find.

A discerning group of prospectors.  Cruising Nevada, looking for the perfect spot!

Oh good - a method for carrying our treasure to "Big City" markets.

The committee chose a mostly secret location on the other side of this bridge.

4.  Technique.  Swirling the sand & treasure in the gold pan. 

We may not have managed to find our retirement "lode" but had SO MUCH FUN playing in the sand.  I'm sure our fortune is here, somewhere, and we're committed to finding it on this trip!

Some of the locals - they're very friendly!

More adventures to come!  Lookin' for Gold, Lookin' for Sparkle!

Good Luck!
S&S

Day 43 - Wild Fire Nearby & U.S. Thanksgiving

Hello Friends and Family!

Here it is, Day 43 and for the 3rd time this season, we are thankful!  You  may recall, we celebrated Canadian Thanksgiving last month in Vancouver, U.S. Thanksgiving accidentally last week (when I bought turkey and mixed up the dates), and here we are again today....Thanksgiving #3. 

Wild Fire Nearby

Truthfully, we are very thankful. Yesterday afternoon, and throughout the evening, we were in the vicinity of a crazy wild fire.  Our RV Park is located in a suburb of Reno called Sparks (ironically).  It's just a 10 minute drive to downtown Reno from here.  During the afternoon dog bathroom break, I could smell hot caramel corn in the air (weird).  And, the wind was whipping around like crazy.  Somehow, I didn't even notice that the top of the big hill just outside our area was on fire.  Later in the afternoon, I put the TV on and news flashes were going across the screen that there was a fire in the Sparks area.  They said it was in the hills exactly where Steve and I have been walking our dogs for the past 5 weeks.  I decided to take the dogs around the block for a walk and lo-and-behold the top of the hill beside our park was absolutely black with soot and firetrucks could just barely be spotted near the top.  It was still daylight so it was hard to see the fire as it was burning on the other side of the ridge.

The black band along the top of the hill is all burnt land from the still burning fire.  The trees in the foreground and the blue fence are 150' from our trailer.  That's how close the fire is to our RV Park.  Scary.

Loki, Klio and I went for a walk around the area at approx 4pm and according to the news it was 0% contained and burning approx 2400 acres.  So sad.  I was worrying about the jack rabbits, horses, etc. up in the hills.

The wind started to die down and the air turned from a sweet smell to a sooty smell.  Not nice.  As darkness fell, the eery glow of the fire still burning on the other side of the hill was more pronounced. 

This is a photo of OUR TRAILER on the left, the fence straight ahead and part of the fire.  It actually continues further to the left as well.

Needless to say, we were prepared to pack up and move out at a moment's notice.

Because the temperature dropped, the wind died down, and the fire crews were finally able to get close to the fire....it was extinguished during the night and is no longer burning.  Not sure yet what started it and very glad that it's out.

Two HUGE Owls & More Wild Horses

Today's dog walk was just past the wild fire area.  We went to our "usual" walk spot and found our gang of wild horses again!  They watched us with keen, cautious eyes. Once we carried on our way, they came out onto the road and started walking where we had just been.  So cool.

And, towards the end of our walk it was becoming dark outside.  We heard an owl in the distance hoo-hooing so we decided to go and investigate.  A couple of weeks ago, a big owl swooped by our dog watering hole and was gone in a flash.  This time, I spotted the owl (remember, I'm a bit of a "Bird of Prey Whisperer") on the top of a distant tree.  After jumping in the truck and zipping over a little bridge, we stopped at almost the exact spot where we saw the horses at the start of our walk.  And WAY up in the tree was this gigantic owl twirling his head around like Chucky and shouting at us to go away.  Steve noticed that the hoo-hooing sound seemed too distant, so we glanced in the direction from which we just came.  A SECOND OWL!  A dark blob on the top of another tree with his head twirling around!

Owl #2 swooped out of his tree and headed for us (huge wings, huge body - so awesome) then flew up to the top of the other guy's tree.  We were standing right underneath it!  In awe, we watched the two of them chastising us for being in their desert and decided to leave them in peace.  These birds were huge.  I tried to figure out what type of owls they are but haven't definitively determined their species yet.  White chests and light brown feathers.  Yes, I left the camera at home today.  No cool pictures of the owls to show you. 

Driving back from our walk we stopped into the local mall to see if any crazy people were camped outside for tonight/tomorrow's huge Black Friday sales.  Walmart opens at 10pm tonight, Best Buy at midnight, Target at 3am (who goes to Target at 3am - seriously??) and most other retailers open at midnight. The local mall has a Best Buy location and there were at least 10 tents and a huge line of people outside - apparently some of them have been there since last night. 

U.S. Thanksgiving at the Reno Atlantis Casino

Today the RV Park was very quiet.  Well, except for the family of people who started drinking at noon wearing Green Bay Packers jerseys and one guy with a huge foam block of cheese on his head (cheese-head).  The other people were either cooking up a storm in their trailers or out visiting friends and neighbours.  Convenience stores & gas stations are open today, but that's about it.  Felt a lot like Christmas Day in Vancouver.  So, we did what any normal person would do when celebrating our 3rd Thanksgiving this season, had a buffet feast at the local casino and didn't have any turkey.  Dungeness crab legs, salad bar, deep fried prawns, Mongolie grill vegetables, freshly tossed caesar salad, ice cream with chocolate fudge, caramel AND peanuts on top.......and that was just me!  Steve didn't have seafood .....but a healthy serving (or two) of prime rib.  Yum yum! 

Hopefully we're not at that age (yet) where the highlight of our day is talking about what we ate.  So, enough about our buffet busting......we also went into the casino tonight and did a wee bit of gambling.  The place was super busy.  Apparently A LOT of people celebrate the holidays by heading to the casino rather than spending $200 buying turkey, ham, side dishes, pumpkin pie supplies and wine.  They don't spend all day cooking up a family feast, sitting down and eating it for 10 short minutes, then kiss another 2 hours goodbye while packaging up left-overs and doing dishes!  Ah ha!  I think this "new tradition" is fantastic.  It's the Thanksgiving casino for us from now on!

Lots for which to be thankful!  Hope your day was happy too!

Gobble gobble!
S&S

Day 39 - Crazy Weather - Dogs and Desert - Beautiful Scenery

Hello!!!!!

Crazy weather has found us here in Reno.  Upon arriving a month ago, we were bragging about wearing flip-flops and t-shirts.....now, we are in fleece layers, touques, gloves and boots.  I've even caught myself carrying Kleenex tissues for my cold runny nose, while walking the dogs each day, and stuffing them up my sleeve cuff like an old lady.  What's up with that?? 

Crazy Weather

Hurricane force winds blasted through Reno this past weekend, starting on Friday and holding through most of Saturday.  Over 60 mph were clocked in the area.  And since trailer parks are typically "storm magnets", we did not escape the wild weather. The trailer was pitching to-and-fro all day and night, and when we woke on Saturday morning, it was blustery.  Steve did what any (in)sane person would do on a hurricane gusty day, headed up to one of his ROOFTOP locations to check on his service.

Did I mention it was super windy that day???  (No, this isn't an actual picture of him - but gives you a visual....right?)

Anyway, turns out an arcing power line caught fire and suddenly a huge portion of Reno was under threat of wild fire.  Luckily for us, the fire was on the other side of the city from our park.  We could see the smoke from here though, and it was the talk of the town.  The fire burned recklessly until the snow showers started to fall, and the wind died down, on Saturday night. 

 

Over 10,000 people were evacuated, 32 homes lost, over 40 more damaged.  All over Reno/Sparks, this weekend, were fundraisers and drop-centers for blankets, clothing, etc.

Ironically, I mixed up the date of Thanksgiving and thought it was THIS weekend.  Turns out it's NEXT weekend.  Of course, I bought some previously frozen turkey, brussel sprouts, yams, carrots, potatoes, and stuffing supplies before we learned that we had the wrong date.  Ha!  So, Steve and I had our U.S. Thanksgiving dinner on Friday evening during the winter storm.  And, because Thanksgiving is actually this coming weekend, thankfully most of the evacuated families are back home and able to enjoy the coming holiday weekend. I however, have decided that Steve will take me out for dinner this Thursday on Thanksgiving Day #3.  I can't bring myself to cook a third Turkey dinner in 2 months!

Dogs and Desert

Our Dogs LOVE the desert.  Steve and I continuously debate whether they prefer the lush rainforest walks/hikes at home, or the critter-infested romps out here in the desert.  For miles and miles, Loki and Klio are free to run, jump, sniff, dig, chase, play and pant to their hearts' content.  It's awesome!

Freedom!

Klio and I sittin' in the snow.  Crisp, cold, fresh air in California.  This area is just outside Bordertown - you guessed it, a town on the border of Nevada & California.

Steve took this artistic photo near Bordertown - reminds us of Alberta!

Klio......

Loki......

Loki, Klio, Sue and Steve - I think they went "thatta-way."

After the Bordertown walk, we headed back to Reno in the truck.  Loki loves to have his head out the window (rain, snow, sleet, 100 km/hr, bring it on.....)

And, Klio prefers the comfort of the extended-cab.

As usual, we happened upon an amazing wonder of nature.....a shoe tree......

Awwww - declarations of love written on old sneakers, how romantic!

Scott, I found you some "new" Converse!

I decided to climb the tree, shoeless, and experience the excitement for myself.  I'm not sure I'd recommend this to anyone as my toes are freezing on this cold tree trunk, but I do feel a wee bit rebellious as I sit, traffic flying by on the highway, in a tree full of old shoes. 

My nerdy side took over from the adventurous side and checked to see what Wikipedia says about the act of shoe flinging (aka "shoefiti").  Turns out it's a North American phenom that is somewhat unexplained but may be a way to advertise a location to buy drugs, a way for bullies to dispose of their victim's shoes, a way to commemorate the end of a school year or an upcoming marriage.  Seriously??  I don't know......it's a big tree in the middle of nowhere - we may have to set up a stakeout and get to the bottom of this (no pun intended)!

Beautiful Scenery

Today it was snowing quite heavily, but not sticking, then became sunny, so we headed out to the desert for "family day."  Drove to beautiful Pyramid Lake and went for a walk.  Gorgeous scenery.

Photo doesn't show it well, but this area looked like one of those futuristic paintings that those spray can sidewalk guys create for tourists in the summer.

All kinds of animals to see in the desert, and it turns out that I'm a "Bird of Prey Whisperer."  So far, we've seen hawks, vultures, eagles and an owl.  Today, we saw at least 5 birds of prey.....this hawk was WAY up on a rock staring down at us people, dogs and jackrabbits.  Scary!

Hawk Rock.  This is actually a cliff WAY overhead....and the photo is blurry because the bird is so far away that the magnification is almost impossibly far to shoot without a tripod.  Cool!

In such a beautiful location, a bullet-hole ridden sign saying "To Disturb This Monument is Punishable by Law."  Only in Bordertown........

Wishing you all happy times too!  Miss you lots!
xoxoxo S&S