My new raft came with a pump, but I stopped at a gas station and made life easy
on myself.
A little air for my bicycle tires, too.
I left the bike at the bottom, and we drove to the top of the river. My plan was to
ride back up for the van when we finished floating. But there was a rafting company
bus, so I hopped on as though I belonged and I got a ride to the top.
The new yaught looks good, and an intertube in tow serves as a good place for a cooler.
Off we go from Tahoe City, floating down towards Truckee.
Dogs with life jackets.
Gail navigates some minor rapids up ahead.
We went to the Nevada State Fair specifically to see the dog diving.
The dogs were very excited and seemed to love the event.
Fires are an almost daily occurance around here. It hasn't rained for 90 days, and
no sign of rain in the future.
People in Reno, Lake Tahoe and especially Downieville told us of problems with
bears -- breaking into cars and even houses on occasion. A guy in Downieville told
me about the "shoot, shovel and shut up" policy. He told me that in the 70s it was
a treat to see a bear. But now they are everywhere. On the Reno news last night,
they showed a bear being tranquilized in town and taken back to the woods.
It's nice to know there are some liberals in the West. I'm looking forward to
seeing a lot more of them at Burning Man.
For dinner we had the famous "awful, awful sandwich." They've been serving them
at the Nugget Casino for 50 years -- awful good and awful big.
And I finished the evening by winning a new hat at Fitzgeralds.
Reno with Gail
We did a longer float on the Truckee River this year -- about three miles. It took a little over two hours.