Fish Stories

When on Tranquila, trout is our thing.

Spark and I love trout, so Darrell gets 'em for us.

Lake Davis

But when aboard El Tiburon, we go for the Big Boys.

Darrell snags a 40 lb Wahoo with a hand line and a cedar plug.

Thanksgiving Dinner in the Sea of Cortez, Baja!

Always on our minds......

We may be a thousand miles from our beloved Tranquila, but Airstreams are always on our minds.  Here are a couple of 'Streams we ran across in San Jose del Cabo, Baja, Mexico.

A convenient location right down town.

And its next door neighbor!

Darrell so wants to turn one into a bacon-wrapped-hotdog stand....

(one of our favorite Baja treats).

Nighty Night. Sleep Tight Tranquila.

Tranquila has been put to bed, safe and snug, and tucked away undercover. We have migrated south and are onboard El Tiburon in Ensenada. November 4th we will sail about 1,000 miles south to La Paz, then across the Sea of Cortez to spend most of the winter in Puerto Vallarta and points south.  In the meantime, you can follow our Mexico travels at www.sveltiburon.blogspot.com until we return back home in the Spring.

El Tiburon anchored at San Evaristo, Sea of Cortez

El Tiburon anchored peacefully at Los Gatos, Sea of Cortez.

Sparky and El Tiburon berthed at Marina La Cruz in Banderas Bay, Mexico

Whether on land or sea, life is pretty simple and sweet with plenty of fresh air.

See ya all next spring and summer, when we once again will be reunited with Tranquila.

Happy Days aboard Tranquila will start up next Spring.

Airstreams to Antelope Lake

Antelope Lake

The approach to Antelope was promising despite the enormous evidence of scorched land charred from two forest fires, one four years before and the other nearly a decade. We were stunned at how long it takes a forest to rejuvenate after being ravaged by fire. 

Charred forest to the left.

Charred forest to the right.

 Airstreams tucked into the trees.

All settled in, with plenty of space and an aft view of the lake...minus a few feet of water. Turns out that the lake is drained about 5 to 6 feet after Memorial Day. The good news was that on a Thursday after Labor Day not many folks are out there, with the kids back at school it was mostly us Old Farts. 

Our friend's Stream in the background, in the foreground, 

curious Sparky tries to identify past visitors.
A short attention span sends Sparky next door in search of his friend Ginger.

Can Ginger come out and play?

It didn't take the boys long to get the kayaks out on the water in pursuit of trout. Our friend, Richard, is a catch-and-release-kind-of-fly-fisherman, while Darrell brings home his catch for Spark and me. Brown trout smoked to perfection is pretty darn tasty.

Our orange kayak is pretty easy to spot.

The green grass is usually under water. Not sure where the water goes, but surrounding cattle and horse farmlands were looking pretty fertile.

Hard and honest work looks pretty appealing.

Extremely appealing.........could there by a horse in my future?

Oh Baby, Oh Baby.

Can transportation get any better?

Or can life get any better? 
Simple. Good. Clean. Swinging on a tire.

Hints of Fall.

Time to Winterize Our Girl.

MY BOYS

My Boys at Our Private Beach - Campsite at Granite Flat, Truckee

Another TIME OUT

 Wetlands

We are starting to really like our time outs from remodeling, besides the guest bath is just about done. SO....we decided to take Tranquila to another close by lake for a couple of days. After surveying 3 campgrounds on the lake, we found our spot, and it was  so VERY GOOD that we felt obligated to sign up for the maximum 14 days. We are only 17 miles from our front door, an easy back and forth drive to continue work on the house and still manage to hike and fish.

Who could say "NO" to 14 days here?

The June wild flowers were W I L D. We went a hike and I collected a few to take home and identify using my most excellent John Muir Laws Sierra guide book. Highly Recommended to anyone coming to the Sierra. I am also learning to identify birds. So far we have seen Sierra Blue Birds, Woodpeckers, White Pelicans, Seagulls, Robins, Sierra Blackbirds, and way too many other songbirds to remember.

Just the start of the June wild flower extravaganza in the Sierra.

Today's Treasures

Sparky checks out 3 white pelicans waiting for leftover trout-treats from fisherman.

Speaking of trout, Darrell went fishing while Spark and I lazed around the campsite.

Kiss the Fish!
Spark and I ate trout, Darrell BBQ-ed sausage for himself!

I wish I had a photo of the HUGE Strawberry Moon last night, a most perfect way to celebrate the Solstice, instead I will share this mornings sunrise.

A muted sunrise foreshadowing that rain is on the way.
Much needed rain, so we are happy to usher in summer with wet showers.

A lovely drive home past newly bundled hayfields.

This was not far from the spot I saw my first mama bear and baby cub. 
Unfortunately, I was just too darn excited to snap a picture.

TIME OUT!

After a week of house renos we needed a time out. Thankfully, 47 miles southwest we found a little slice of paradise.

"Hey, wait a minute! Didn't you forget someone? Moi? I won't scare the fish I promise"!

Faithfully waiting.

"Where's the fish"? I know, they call it fishing, not catching".

Guess it's Burgers Tonight!

So nice to get Tranquila back out on the road.

The view from our campsite.