Third Curtain.... Rain Forest Wild-Clickers, Unite! 3 Clicks

953 38.060 acres
+ me (who couldn't click twice today --- guess I was overanxious and didn't wait long enough)

Stradee -- I love your story! I don't know which is best... that you had three acres while you were growing up and had chicks & ducks & raccoons! Or that you kept in touch with the Rierdans and had a wonderful reunion with them, OR that like Frances Elizabeth, you met your husband early on. And maybe the very best... your husband knows how to ride horses!!!!!

All good things! Give that guy a hug for me!

Warboy? Reminds me of the film, PowWow Highway, and War Pony -- the Protector.

As for that Auburn (there must be a Scottish brook somewhere)... I haven't been to Lake Tahoe in a while, but we had a family reunion about ten years ago in Grayeagle... you get to Bassett Store and turn north. Pretty, pretty countryside.

piffka, our neighborhood of San Francisco was (and still is) culturally diversified, and when I was young - there were rural areas where kids could ride horses, or fly over hilly streets riding coasters, visit the ocean,
and still be only a few hours from lakes and vacation areas. We had a cabin in Lake County and spent summers there, my dad built a CrisCraft
<14 ft. wooden hull - inboard motor> and learned how to water ski soon as we could fit in a life jacket. Do you remember those life jakets we wore as kids? My sibs and I looked like three orange stick figures on planks!

The boy and I no longer married, but I will certainly give him a big hug he and his families next visit with our daughter and her hubby.

Oh, glad you're still friends, Stradee. Sounds like a good part of San Francisco. Yes, I know those orange kapok things well, but am glad to use the foam vests now as they're safer.

I'll bet it was great summer weather at the cabin. Did you go in the winter, too?

Nice stories!
ebeth - I'm glad you told us that #2 is hot on our heels - we really have to keep up our clicking. Who's not on the clicking team( that 41% of wildclickers?)
And ebeth - that has to be the GREATEST backpack I've ever seen.

aktbird57 -
You and your 282 friends have supported 1,658,320.4 square feet!

Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 53,207.3 square feet.
You have supported: (33,666.9)
Your 282 friends have supported: (19,540.5)

American Prairie habitat supported: 32,019.0 square feet.
You have supported: (9,129.5)
Your 282 friends have supported: (22,889.5)

Rainforest habitat supported: 1,573,094.0 square feet.
You have supported: (158,100.9)
Your 282 friends have supported: (1,414,993.1)[/color][/size]

1 Aktbird57 .. 953 38.064 acres
2 936 35.990 acres

Piffka, yep - once we learned how to water ski, my parents couldn't keep me or my sibs away from the lake. Before the sun was up - we'd go fishing with my dad - then water ski till noon. Mom prepared the noon meal, and we'd sit on the pier with my parents, then waited the hour before going back into the water <my mom was certain we'd all get cramps and die if we didn't wait the entire hour before heading out with orange life vests>. I can tell you, by the end of each day, my parents didn't have a problem sending their kids to bed. We were exhausted little suntanned prunes.

When we were a bit older, there was a skating rink where the local kids and summer visitors met for socializing. Also a place for teens to meet was a recreational area called Austin's Beach. During the day we'd water ski, meet new vacationers and local people, then on Saturday evenings, Austins hosted a dance for teens. Great summers.

I visited the lake a few years ago, and where our cabin once stood sits a new resort/hotel. The pier's still there, and also a one-room house my dad and his friends built for family and friends dinners, bar b q's, etc.

The Lake hasn't changed much except now the local indian tribes opened two gaming houses - one in Lakeport and the other in Nice <sounds like neece>. Across the Lake from Austins is Mt. Kanacti where a trades union built Mt. Kanacti Inn. A really lovely resort with boat docks, cabins, dinner houses, plus individual cabins for rent during the summer months.

My favorite place on the planet is Lake Tahoe though. Is Grayeagle a town?

OK, ladies and MA too!! We are pushing 40!!!! Acres that is............... LOL Come to think of it, I'd love to be pushing 40 again!!

We all know that's "over the hill" so after that it's all down hill clicking!!!! Easy stuff.

Hey, we had some great stories going didn't we? I have always liked history stuff. It's interesting and has a bearing on everything we do in the present.

I'm making another Snapfish album with some Atlanta stuff in it if anyone is interested. I have to go take some more pictures first. So far I've some photos of the Frank Lloyd Wright house and some of my house. I'll sneak up their driveway and take a picture of the French Chateau maybe.

Look out...the paparazzi is on the loose in Atlanta,Texas!!!

The pictures should be a lot of fun to look at, danon! Can't wait!


Have also really enjoyed reading all of the stories/family memories posted here.

Thanks again for the leaderboard update, ehBeth. Wish they'd fix that thing once and for all.

Well OK !!! I'll go ahead and get it online.....

Stories? You like stories? Like=
- Having an oilwell blow in like on the old western movies, except I was up in the derrick!! True story.

- Sitting under the Bohdi tree. The one that Buddha sat under for all those years. True story.

- Riding 'Red Devil' in a rodeo for 8 seconds after hearing over the loudspeaker that he hadn't been ridden once in three years.

- Standing in front of a bunch of strangers and saying "This day I have the opportunity of leading you men to survive your next year in the Army - and, my son was born this morning" (Upon assuming command of my first company in the Army)

- Looking outside my airplane in combat and trying to figure out where all those tracers were coming from.

- Thinking, finally, war is insane - as I walked into the O-club with a loaded pistol strapped to my belt, past four officers standing on their heads with feet propped against the wall, drinking flaming brandies while upside down - and I did not think anything was out of the ordinary............................

- A lot more unusual stuff - - - LOL grin...!!!

Well, Danon... those are teasers... we want all the details! Please! Those are just amazing little bits, too.

Stradee -- I couldn't find Grayeagle on a map but I found it on this restaurant listing, one that includes Auburn. Maybe we stayed at the Grayeagle lodge? I dunno -- somebody else in the family made all the arrangements, all we had to do was show up, renta a car and follow someone there. Does any of this look familiar?

http://www.gv.net/entertan/dining.htm

And all this is close to Grass Valley? Gee whiz, I'm all turned around. When I was taking care of my friend's dog last weekend, it was because she was headed to Grass Valley -- but she said it was near Sacremento (I thought).

I'd love to know more about Lake Tahoe... anytime you feel like telling stories. Sounds like you had a good water-soaked childhood. Mine was similar except we lived on the beach full-time and it was a salt-water beach and in a chillier climate. Every kid I knew had his or her own little row boat -- we made quite a flotilla and none of us were supposed to go out in "the Big Bay." Even now, I feel guilty when I do and look around to see if the towel is hanging on the dock which was our signal to Come Home Now.

Piffka, promise me you will never visit Graeagle again!!! Scary

Graeagle CA is at the 4000 foot level in Plumas Co. <population 831; Females - 395 Males - 436; Land area - 11.1 sq miles> National Holdiay - Sadie Hawkins Day. Median resident age - 56.9 yrs. <where the ".9" derives from anyones guess> My God - Circle the Wagons!

http://www.city-data.com/city/Graeagle-California.html

Graeagle is the "Red" portion of the "Blue" state of CA.

<my bad>

Danon, and you're still relatively sane. <grin> More stories!

Piffka, how wonderful you lived oceanside! East or West coast? The towel story hilarious! Parents are innovative without doubt

Tahoe's where my family skied during the winter months.
Not sure if you're familiar with Homewood <Hwy 89 Tahoe City> That's where the house located. We had some great times skiing, friends and family gatherings, and also spent Christmas in Tahoe. Northstar my favorite ski area <Kings Beach> Hubby would leave the house at 5:00 a.m. - buy the day's ski lift tickets <Northstar has a skier limit> then drive home, eat breakfast, and we'd head out for Northstar for the day.

The only accident I can recall was when my daughter and I - after aliting from the summit lift - collided with two other skiiers that had fallen half way down the path to the wider ski area. Daughter and I landed in a creek, and if that wearn't bad enough, our skis were tangled! After a few minutes of hilarious laughter and a bit of maneuvering, we managed freeing ourselves from the water - and freezing - skied the slope <moguls and all> in record time - finally finding warmth at the resort lodge. Donna broke her clavical on the last run of the day <poor girl was placed in a rescue sled> and my son was injured when we were shoveling the driveway, and Dan ran smack into a shovel when we were clearing snow. He required four stitches. Felt so bad for the kids that day - but with lots of smooches and TLC, <plus two sets of new skis> they recovered nicely <and thankfully skied for years unscathed>

http://www.skilaketahoe.com/
http://www.northstarattahoe.com/

Stradee -- LOL -- Okay, I promise! It sounds bad!

I wish I were a better snow skier. I didn't start early enough or something... I dunno. Heights scare me, though those looked like gentle hills at NorthStar. I'd like that. Here in the Cascades we have some scary steep hills and hard snow...

Crystal Mountain is the closest. (It has a run called "Exterminator.")

and here's Snoqualmie with the steep Alpental runs and the gentler, short slopes of Snoqualmie basin. Note however that neither place has much snow... thank you, El Niño.

I sent my kids when they were young to learn how to ski on the ski buses; they've switched to snow-boarding. Mr.P and I still stretch out the old bods and occasionally go out on our X-country skis. Our favorite places are gentle and flat and on the east side -- like Lake Wenatchee.

CLICK!

I'm perfectly happy doing cross-country. The slopes hold no thrill for this old-timer.

Me too Merry Andrew... I found the 'fall line' in 1970 and have not been on it since. lol

All clicked in..

aktbird57 -
You and your 282 friends have supported 1,658,858.9 square feet!

Marine Wetlands habitat supported: 53,394.7 square feet.
You have supported: (33,713.7)
Your 282 friends have supported: (19,681.0)

American Prairie habitat supported: 32,019.0 square feet.
You have supported: (9,129.5)
Your 282 friends have supported: (22,889.5)

Rainforest habitat supported: 1,573,445.2 square feet.
You have supported: (158,100.9)
Your 282 friends have supported: (1,415,344.3)[/color][/size]

1 Aktbird57 .. 953 38.075 acres
2 936 35.990 acres
3 887 22.555 acres
4 806 22.017 acres
5 1034 14.887 acres


weird weird looking leaderboard, but we're still doing our thing

and let's not forget to click over here as well






this is where to click (I haven't figured out how to make that button a live link yet)

ahhhhh, cross country skiing

it was a real passion of mine. i'd like to get back out more often, but the dogs don't take too kindly to the skiis yet. working on it - working on it.

i should try to find an ancient photo of me on my cross country skiis - with my stunning 'proper' wool knickers from Germany (and scarves wrapped around my entire head!)

Fall line? haha

I take it all back... gentle hills and all... the first North Star photo looked mild & meek, but the stats themselves tell a different story... I'm sure those runs would scare the willies out of me.

I waited long enough to click twice. Who taught me that clever trick? Must have been Beth.

Here's a short but true story of a cross-country skiing adventure. We four were skiing at L. Wenatchee one snowy afternoon and I'd stopped to catch my breath. All of a sudden, a pine tree nearby dropped its entire load of snow on my head. In seconds, I went from feeling fine to stunned and almost hit the ground (except I was propped up by snow). Gallons and gallons (and gallons) of snow had been dumped on my like a giant snow waterfall. My kids saw it happen and thought it looked so funny (It did and it felt funny, too.) that they tried all sorts of ways to make the trees drop snow on themselves and then each other. It was an afternoon of giggling hysterically deep in the woods near an otherwise quiet frozen lake with perfect, fluffy conditions with that wonderful dampening sound-effect of heavily falling snow. I love that kind of snow -- beautifully light but very determined to drop down from the sky in huge, feathery flakes.

That's the kind of afternoon where, when you get home, it feels great to have a cup of chocolate. We often stayed just a few miles away, at this place, Coocoochin, our favorite of the cabins at Natapoc.