I’ll be honest; this was one of the more stressful weekends I have had, but there were some bright spots. I went to Sacramento Wednesday and came home Thursday. Repacked, turned around, and went back to Sunday for the week.
It’s weird working in a hotel room, but this is nicer than any apartment I had in college: separate bedroom, living room, office space, and full kitchen. In addition, the bed is normal, not one that rolls into the wall cavity, like the morgue locker-style bed from my historic graduate school apartment.
I miss my office, reference material, and especially my colossal monitor. But, there is a Starbucks downstairs to make up for it. I prefer my local coffee shop, but this will do. Having Uber Eats has been pretty cool for both of us.
Saturday, I was happy to be in my happy place, Jeeping, to one of my favorite ghost towns, Pine Grove. Someone knocked down the Pine Grove sign so I propped it back up as I didn’t have the hardware to repair it.
I worked with a great group of people and archeologists from Las Vegas, marking the cemetery fence’s proposed location and checking the area for archeological evidence. We found a few obsidian flakes and a stone tool. No great finds like Egyptian pyramids, so the fence location is good. I learned a lot and had a fun afternoon.
While at the cemetery, I was surprised to see a group of neo nazis drive past. If the shaved heads left room for doubt, they had SS stickers on their vehicle and SS tats down their faces. We got lots of glares, but otherwise, they left us alone.
I came home to teenage drama. Again lots of glares, but otherwise, things weren’t as bad as expected.
Sunday, as I was checking into our hotel, multiple friends messaged, asking if I was OK. Unfortunately, there was a mass shooting not far from the hotel that morning. Six dead and a dozen wounded, likely hospitalized across the street from us. I plan on sticking close to the hotel and Shriner’s this week.
I missed the old Highway 50 bridge; I swear if you blink, you miss it. So we made a quick stop at Camp Sacramento. Firefighters saved much of the area. We found a Trails West marker for the Johnson Cutoff. The trail was established by John Calhoun Johnson in 1852. Compared to Carson Pass, it was 50 miles shorter, 2000′ lower at the highest point, and required only one river crossing. Emigrants described the pass between Tahoe Basin and Echo Summit as “Just like climbing a tree, only harder.”
As I don’t have my big beautiful monitor, I will spend the week double-checking my ghost towns list and map, researching new stories, and of course, planning spring trips. I also have several upcoming presentations to prepare. Then, if I have enough time, I want to start working on testing for my drone license, because what girl doesn’t want to become a commercial drone pilot?
4-4-2022
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