An American River Trip

Tate had his first trip to the American River yesterday. We drove up and over Luther Pass along the West Fork of the Carson River, along Highway 88, and around Highway 50 past the Angora Fire burn area. Once over the pass, we dropped into the watershed of the North Fork of the American River to get to our friend Ann's cabin. The American River is pretty amazing. Perfectly clear, and cold. It's flowing reasonably well yet, despite the fact that we're in a pretty serious drought year. The forest fire danger is already "extreme" everywhere in the Tahoe Basin. Further to the east 60,000-70,000 acres are on fire near Winnemucca. But July 7, 2007 was a beautiful day in the mountains, bright and warm, with a nice breeze. We had a great time hanging out with friends from the museum, and enjoyed temperatures 10-20 degrees cooler than they are down here in Reno. Tate even kept his sunglasses on!