Back during the 80’s, I flew from Westover ARB in Chicopee Massachusetts with a Lockheed C5-A, to Travis AFB to help with a maintenance inspection on that aircraft. On the weekend, a few of us rented a car and drove through some of the area’s landmarks such as Lake Tahoe and Yosemite NP. Somewhere along the way, we drove through Truckee, CA. Granted it was in the 80’s but boy have things changed! Mostly, there are a lot more people, loads more.
"Torre" getting some daily grooming. Never got tired of the view!
Wash day!
The house-sit itself here in Truckee was located about 12 miles out of town in a fairly large, but certainly not dense, gated community. Large homes, usually lots of acreage. Nothing I could ever afford and frankly these homes are overpriced for the most part in terms of quality and square footage. Where we stayed, it was a fairly nice 2800 square foot home of modest quality that sold for about 1.4 million about 8 years ago. As a comparison, a similar house int the Amherst (MA) or East Haddam (CT) area would sell for about 600k depending on exact location. It’s reported that the average price of a home in the Truckee area is now just over 1 million dollars. Ridiculous! Not to mention the fact that fuel was almost $5 gallon! But it was nice to ba bale to have a comfortable place to catch up on some things.
Made a few videos while we were here. Check them out by on clicking them.
Thank god for the dog. She was an absolute peach! A 2-year-old Golden Retriever with a great disposition, we could hardly have asked for a better companion for 4 weeks. We did some exploring in Tahoe and a road trip to Reno. But I have to say…again…too many people.
Lots of work done on the rig. Replaced and repaired a few parts, washed the truck and trailer, organized storage units, finished fixing the awning on the trailer and several other projects kept Yvette and I occupied while we were there.
I like to keep my hands busy. Tinkering and fixing things take care of that need to a certain extent. But I've always loved working with balsa.
Got to do a little model building. Finished or semi-finished models are mailed home to be put in storage. I belong to a group called The Flying Aces Club who build flying model aircraft from the 1940's. Scale models are judged for accuracy in appearance and for flight times. Sometimes referred to as "Free Flight Models." Yes, that's a swastika, it is a scale model of a German Messerschmitt BF-109.
Had just enough time to finish and test flight the model before it was packed up and shipped home.
We took full advantage of the homeowners weekly CSA share which contained 2 boxes fresh fruits and vegetables...every week! Very tasty indeed!
Torre really liked the furniture, especially when we were in it!
Always on the move looking for Chipmunks, it was tough to get her to sit for a photo.
Interesting topography and geology here (eastern view) . Lots of these rock fields. Some of those rocks are almost the size of a small car!
Looking west over the Truckee Tahoe Airport and the town of Truckee, CA.
Even though Yvette and I took a day to go to Reno for supplies, it didn't really seem worth the trip. The traffic was pretty crazy and we could get most of our groceries and other necessities in town, though a bit more expensive. When you cross back into California (from Reno for instance) there is this very expensive complex that looks like a high security tool booth.
As you pull up to it, you're supposed to be stopped so the guards (sorry, that might not be politically correct)...I mean "monitors" and asked if you have any fruit or firewood on board. But, we always seemed to look innocent because we were always waved through.
Though we will miss “Torre”, it’s off to the Oregon coast!