Rainy, Windy Beginning to February

Wondering what I'm up to I guess.

This was on of three or four raccoons in this group of trees who greeted me as I walked through the campground one evening when the campground was closed due to a storm on February 4. That storm was not the first one of the month though. On February 1, we had the single highest 24 hour rainfall since we've been recording it.

4.1" of rain, February 1, 2024

Looking downstream at high flowing Lagunitas Creek.

And looking upstream.

Closeup of water coming out of a pipe in the back of the previous picture.

Wild Cat Canyon Creek and its West Fork, February 1.

This is the water that eventually goes through that pipe.

February 1, 2024

Wild Cat Canyon Creek waterfall by my morning bench.

The prettiest water fall in the park on February 1.

Measured at over six feet at the old dam site on Lagunitas Creek.

The weather forecast for pretty much all of California for February 4th was pretty ominous, and though we didn't get as much rain as the February 1st storm, we got lots of damaging wind! At 3:15 on Sunday, February 4, our power went out completely after flickering on and off several times. I had just come in from working on a jigsaw puzzle in our screened tent before it went off. There were a couple of really good gusts while I was out there and I could see the wind whipping the trees around. I figured the motor home would be at least a little safer than the tent if one of those trees were to come down. Shortly after the power went out Ranger Nick called us to be sure we were OK, and told us that three Douglas Fir trees had come down near the Maintenance shed and Ranger Office about 1/2 mile from us. The trees fell on two park maintenance trucks and took out power lines. Fortunately no one was injured, and there was only very minor damage to one building.

Power lines down, February 4.

Downed lines coming across Lagunitas Creek.

One totaled truck.

Second damaged, probably totaled, truck.

About 5:00 PM Ranger Nick called back to say they were evacuating the park. I asked if that meant us too. He said that it was up to us, and that the residents in the park were not leaving. With it getting dark and the storm still raging we chose to stay because we didn't think going out on the roads was a good choice. The winds continued to blow through the night, and fortunately nothing big landed on us!

Lots of Redwood debris on the car Monday morning.

Lots of debris all around.

A small tree down on the Orchard Hill Campground road.

No other trees came down, just lots of small branches and needles.

PG&E came to restore our power on Wednesday, February 7, three days after we had lost power. I have heard lots of complaints about PG&E, including response time to power outages, but this particular storm caused massive power outages all over northern California, and I think those repairing the damage did an incredible job getting us back on power. I thanked every worker I saw for their hard work. We talked some with the foreman of the crew working at Samuel P Taylor State Park and learned that this crew was from Ukiah. They had been deployed to San Rafael before the storm hit, anticipating where they would be most needed. I think that the only way to prevent wide spread power outages from storms, and to eliminate power delivery being a cause of wild fires, our utility lines would have to be all underground. Who is willing and able to pay for that? Thank you PG&E workers for your hard work!

At the entrance to Samuel P Taylor State Park, February 7.

While at the Kiosk entry on Wednesday morning a park aide and I heard a loud noise that could have been an accident on the road or a tree falling. We went to investigate and this is what we found. The turned over trailer and the truck belonging to a contractor working with PG&E, I think, was blocking both lanes of traffic on Sir Francis Drake Blvd., but it was quickly cleared when a PG&E truck dragged it off the road.

Workers putting the downed lines back up.

Hazard Tree cut down.

This Douglas Fir tree in the campground was scheduled to be cut down February 7, but because of the temporary closure of the campground it was moved up a bit to take advantage of no park visitors near the site. The tree was showing signs of disease and leaned in a funny way, so that is why it was deemed a hazard. We wondered during the high winds of the February 4th storm if it might come down on its own, but it withstood the storm. The tree was 5 feet in diameter at its base and 200 feet tall. It was amazing that they managed to fall it exactly where they planned to fall it avoiding damaging any campsites, and not in the direction the tree was leaning.

Rob using his little tiny chainsaw to cut a tree across South Creek Trail.

Smokey Puzzle complete in the tent.

Love the Smokey the Bear art.

On Sunday, February 11, we did the noon camp check a bit early so we could get to Roseville in time for the Super Bowl kickoff. It was certainly a good and competitive game, but sad for us 49er fans, especially Rob when Kansas City made the winning touch down in overtime.

Before the game started Avi and I had time to go to the park.

She convinced me I could ride this zipline and I did.

Ruth, Jody and Rob watching the game.

After the sad ending to the game we headed to Colfax so I could have another root canal on Monday morning. The worst part of this procedure was that the endodontist couldn't complete the root canal, so I had to reschedule to do the last canal. Wish me luck! Please! Monday afternoon we picked up Avi after school to take her to buy Valentines and to her gymnastics class. We ended up with time to spare in between so we headed to the Regional Park in north Auburn and while Avi played in the playground I got to go walking, making up for some of the time in the dentist's chair.

Beautiful late afternoon sky across the lake in the park.

Perfectly reflected Canada Geese.

A tree full of Cormorants.

Two Cormorants.

A mural in the park.

Back at Samuel P Taylor on the Pioneer Tree Trail.

What do you think this powdering substance is?

It took me awhile, but I realized it was cremains.

After the rain they pretty much disappeared.

And What is this?

It's what I saw looking in this "window."

Same tree, further away, at my morning bench.

Look what my Valentine gave me!

Yum! And I got to eat them all.

Rob doesn't like strawberries, but I shared the marshmallows with him.

Our West Virginia friend, Janie, who now lives in Washington State, and whom we met years ago in Colfax was in Placer County visiting friends and family so we met her in Roseville for brunch on Monday, February 19, and then joined her for a visit to our mutual friend Myrtle who is 104 years old! On Tuesday I went on an adventure with granddaughter Avi searching for the perfect cat mask while Rob worked on our 2023 taxes. We didn't find the mask, but I'm happy to report Rob completed the tax return and filed it. Record early filing for us I think!

Rob, Janie and me on a blustery day.

Myrtle's pretty great for 104!

A rainbow leading the way in Sacramento.

Manzanita in full bloom near our Colfax property.

No, Avi didn't buy this one, but it was fun to try on.

After searching multiple stores in multiple towns for the perfect cat mask we gave up, ordered one online and had Frozen Yogurt before heading back to the house.