07-09-10
Okay, we are back in Brookings after 10 days in California. We survived the trip and arrived here yesterday evening around 8:00.

Monday 06-28
When we got home to Santa Rosa Monday evening the TV didn't work.
We had a message on the screen stating that there was no satellite signal.
I went out to the back yard and noticed that the grape vine on the patio cover had grown over the satellite dish so I got on a ladder and cut them clear. I also pruned the rest of the vines and some ferns that were trying to take over the patio.

Tuesday 06-29 and Wednesday 06-30
We worked around the house and made preparations for our camping trip at Indian creek.

Thursday morning 07-01

Our grandson Harvey and I took off in the jeep heading for Indian creek around 9:00. Patti followed us in her car about an hour later because she had some errands to take care of.

I guess I should explain to those of you who don't know, what Indian Creek is. Indian Creek is a 1000 acre piece of property near Boonville CA that belongs to our friend Peter. This is where I am building a small cabin.

There are two major sights that we use on the property. The cabin sight which is an old logging flat and the Grove down on the creek where we do a lot of camping in the summer time. The grove is a beautiful camping area with a swimming hole in the creek


and an impressive stand of old growth Redwood trees.

Several weeks ago, I got an email from my niece Joanne telling me about their weekend at the cabin. In that email, she sent me a picture of a large bee hive that was under construction in the eaves of the cabin.


She also told me that Peter had been there and said he would take care of the nest.

When Harvey and I got up to the property we went directly to the Cabin to check it out.
I brought with us, a can of bee hive destroyer spray just in case Peter hadn't had a chance to take the hive out.
As it turned out someone had beat me to it and the hive was mostly destroyed already.
Also, the plastic windows on that side of the cabin near the nest had large holes torn in them. At the time I thought that maybe some one had sprayed the nest and gotten spray on the plastic, melting it.
There were some Yellow Jackets flying around the remains of the nest so I sprayed it to get rid of them.
While we where there I set out rat and mouse poison in and around the cabin.
The mice are trying to take over. Harvey and I went down to the grove and set up our camp. Patti arrived a couple of hours later.


Friday 07-02

The weather has been a little to cool to go swimming so we just hung out around camp and Harvey started building a rock dam to enlarge the swimming hole.
In the afternoon we went up to the old home sight to do some skeet shooting.
Harvey did pretty well seeing as this is his second attempt at wing shooting.
He hit about twenty five percent of the birds.



After he went through a couple of boxes of 20 gauge shells we took a break.
As we sat there drinking our soda pop we could hear a very lowed buzzing. looking down range we saw a huge swarm of bees. We must have disturbed their nest.
After a short discussion we decided to give up on the shooting for that day. Our friend Josie showed up at around 5:30.

Saturday 07-03

Around noon on Saturday, we left the grove to go to Ukiah for a party at the home of my niece Connie and her husband Bruce.
It was my nephew John and his wife Cindy's tenth wedding anniversary.


The party was great and we had a good time catching up with family news and meeting some new family members.
Baby's.


Saturday evening when we arrived back at camp The Johns family was there with there new baby/grandchild Anson Rafe Crain


Clare and Peter were there with their two boys and their two cousins.
I asked Peter if he was the one who took down the bee hive and he told me that they hadn't gotten a chance to come up to the property until today.
After some discussion we decided that it might have been a bear or some other critter that got to the nest.

Sunday 07-04.

The weather was very hot so we hung out at the creek all day.

Harvey was happy to have some other kids interact with.

Monday-07-05

Around noon on Sunday Joanne and Dave showed up and we spent another day sitting in the water.
We left IC around 7:00 in the evening and since we had taken the top off the jeep, Harvey and I froze our butts off on the way back to Santa Rosa.

Tuesday 07-06

At around 8:15 in the morning, the Direct TV guy showed up to check out our system. He ended up replacing the dish and all the wiring. Now the TV works.
Harvey and I cleaned up the back yard, picking up all the stuff that I had cut Monday evening.

Wednesday 07-07

My friend Bob and I went kayaking on the Russian River. I got to his place in Guerneville around 10:30 and we spent some time going over the modifications that he had done on his van (Pigpen 2. Now that he has retired he is fixing up the van for long range traveling.
We got to the river around 11:30 and put in at Monte Rio. We went up stream passed the Bohemian Grove Beach and had lunch on a beach just below there.


We were back at Monte Rio around 5:30.
I am not in the best shape for Kayaking so now my knees and wrists are sore as hell.

Thursday 07-08

We loaded the jeep and were on the road heading back to Brookings around 9:00. When we left Santa Rosa the weather was foggy and cold so we had the top on the jeep up. By the time we got to Willets it was hot so we put the top down. We stopped for a visit with Becky and Dennis at Meyers Flat around 1:00 and left there around 4:30. By the time we got to Eureka we were back in the fog so when we stopped to eat we put the top back up. It is sunny, windy and cool this morning in Brookings.

The jeep did just fine on the trip and got 18 to 20 MPG.