WOW...Nice to Get ABOVE the Smoke

 

 

We LOVE Granite Flat Campground, two miles south of Truckee along the Truckee River.  It is a mere 90 miles or so from Sandy and Arny's place, but is just below 6,000 feet in elevation, while Citrus Heights is a mere 172 feet.  It does require a climb over Donner Summit, elevation 7,050 feet, but it is all Interstate and well worth the drive.  So while Citrus Heights reached a temp of 90 degrees today, Truckee only reached 77 degrees, and it is now 73 degrees at 5 pm.  Also, at nearly 6,000 feet, the sky is blue, and the smell of the devastating fires is nil.

This is Indy's first RV trip, and she was a bit 'shook up' over it for the first 30-45 minutes.  I had to go by Sam's Club to get gas, and try to fix our tow car lights because the passenger side light just wasn't working all the time.  By the time we got up to Auburn, she settled down, and she enjoyed her first 'REST AREA' at Gold Run where I took her and Bubba for a quick potty break walk.  The picture above, taken with my cell phone, was their walk here at Granite Flat...you can just see the Truckee River in the shadows to the right above that big rock.  Their walk went real good, except I have to learn to not let them tie me up with the leash cords...I was 'fit to be tied' by the time we got back, that's for sure.

This picture shows the river which I took from a distance from where we are parked, but with our camera.  We have stayed and written about this campground many times, and I have included some nice river shots in those postings, along with other campground pictures.  Today the campground is about 10% filled, but with many reservations for this weekend.  The entire Tahoe National Forest, including Granite Flat, was shut down until this past Saturday due to fire danger.  I can see a few reservations which were for that time period up through this week...and those sites are all empty.  The National Forest website says that all camping is on a first come, first serve basis now...but the sign at the registration area says differently.  Oh, how the world has become so dis-organized these past six to eight months!

Our camping spot ($11 with the National Park Senior Pass) is close to Highway 89, but we never have minded the traffic.  At night, the traffic falls to nearly nothing...unless there is a big night club act or concert in Lake Tahoe.  Unfortunately, US 50 is shut down coming east into Lake Tahoe for a few weeks due to bridge work, so we 'might' get more traffic today than normal.

It really is nice to be back up in the mountains, that is for sure.  We also love Sandy and Arny's backyard...but with temps hitting over 100 again on Monday, we made a good time to escape.  Of course, Bubba does not think so...he thinks we should stay there ALL THE TIME!

Went into Truckee shortly after we got here and picked up a new set of tow car lights.  I had taken the old ones apart, and the bulb was still good, and I saw no sign of rust or corrosion.  Put some electrical grease on it, and before I hit I-80 leaving Sam's it stopped working again.  But by the time I got to Rockland, it started working, and kept on working all the way here.  I do not want to take a chance of getting another ticket (YES, got busted for doing a California Stop in California!), so I went to ACE Hardware in Truckee and found this pair of lights, and they work just great.  I am keeping the old ones as a backup, and perhaps at home I can figure out what is wrong with them.

Tomorrow we are not sure how far we will travel into Nevada...might only be to Winnemucca, might be all the way to Jackpot just shy of the Idaho boarder.  In Fernley there is a Blue Beacon Truck and RV Wash, and our poor baby needs it so much...even 55 mph (towing speed limit in California) could not blow off all that ash and dust from the California Fires that have been falling on it the past 4-6 weeks.  Depending on how long washing takes will probably determine how far we end up going.

Granite Flat NF Campground – 2018

Granite Flat National Forest Campground, Truckee CA

We first found Granite Flat Campground back in 2015…we stayed there four different times that year.  We had just bought the 2014 the Dynamax Isata due to a RV Storage fire taking out our Jayco, and hoped to go to Alaska in 2015…but ran into some problems with the Dynamax that needed to be addressed, including the rebuilding of our slideout.  Since Sacramento is hot, and Truckee is mild during the Summer, we came up here to test it out, went over to Tahoe, came back.  We came back two more times that year, sometimes staying a day or two, other times staying up to a week.  We did go to Alaska in 2016, and skipped Truckee, but came back last year for a visit on our way to Sacramento.  We just LOVE this park...

Site 54 is our favorite site because as a ADA site, it is flat while some of the others are not.  Many of the sites can be reserved, but they have some that are first come, first serve. 

   

This time of year, everything is first come, first serve, but reservations start this weekend…and today is like we have the park to ourselves.  The campground opened on May 17th this year, and during parts of the summer, especially weekends, it can be full.  Price is still $11 per night with the lifetime senior discount card that you get through the National Parks for $80 if you are 62 or older…we are lucky in that we got our card back in 2012 when it was only $10 (advantages of marrying a gal just a wee bit older than you)

The campground is right along the Truckee River with access to the water at a number of locations.  Normally we cannot see the river from our campsite, but it is so high this time of year, I got this shot right from outside the front door. 

   

Only thing about today….too much overcast, even a few showers, so the solar is not putting out as much as we need…but that is why we have a generator, and I doubt we will get any complaints since there is virtually no one around.

Back in Citrus Heights tomorrow…it has been a great three weeks, and we plan to head out from Citrus Heights again around June 11, three weeks from today, for around five weeks in Southwest Oregon, ending up near Santa Rosa California for my oldest son’s wedding.  In the mean time, we have my parents 70th wedding anniversary to celebrate in early June. 

Granite Flat Campground, along Truckee River, California

I don’t know what it is that brings us to Granite Flat just about year after year since we first found it back in 2013…or was it 2014.  It is right next to fairly busy, busy at times, highway 89 to Lake Tahoe.  On the other side is the Truckee River, which can be running real high, like this year, or real low, like it did the first year we were here.  But we get use to the car and trucks…the trucks are the loudest, passing by, and many times when we use it we have few neighbors.  Also, the $11 per night (golden pass rate) is real nice, but other then water spigots where you can fill your tanks, there are not other services…no dump station, pit toilets (we always use our own toilet anyway) and no  showers (again, we always use our own showers too).  I think what we like about it is that the weather, in the summer, is so nice.  Today, while Sacramento is at 107, giver or take a degree…we are at 89.  By 8 pm we will be at 78 while Sacramento will still be at 100.  Mind you, we will have to face those hot temperatures tomorrow…but for tonight, we will bask in the cooler temps, and with lows in the 40’s, close windows and use blankets.

    

June 26, 2015 above, June 22, 2017 below

    

WOW, the Truckee River is really high this year!   I read a news report about a month ago that said that by Federal Court Order, dating back nearly 100 years ago, that Lake Tahoe could only reach a certain height, and that they ‘had’ to release water at the dam into the Truckee River (only river that exits Lake Tahoe) to bring it down to that level.  Well, they have been releasing lots of water for nearly two months now, after Lake Tahoe finally filled up after the drought conditions over the past few years.  Perhaps they need to have the Federal Courts re-exam that court order issued so long ago….

    

Every year we have been here they have had signs about bears in the area…but unfortunately we have never seen one.  This year they have added Bear Proof containers at many of the camp sites.  Although motorhomes, campers and trailers don’t need them, tent people sure do.  Now in Lake Tahoe there are MANY cases where a bear had gotten into a car in the middle of the night just to get to a candy bar, or grocery bag which has been left in it.  The results are ‘not good’, to say the least.  (Sometimes these break-ins are in the day time too!)  However, most RVers will awaken and scare the bear off if they try to get into a motorhome, trailer or camper.  A good honk of the horn, or a barking dog, normally does the trick.  Good thing they have installed these bear proof containers, unless it makes RVers a more likely target now….

We did not get site 54, our favorite site…it is a handicap only site, but some else had it today.  So I picked this “first come-first serve” site along the road for two reasons….don’t have to unhook the car, and it has had shade the entire time we have been here.  For one night, it is very doable…better than a Walmart or even a Cracker Barrel…although the later we are able to go inside and get a good meal at.   Tomorrow, before it gets too hot down in the valley, we will make our way to Sandy and Arny’s house…I am sure “someone”, namely Bubba, will be very happy about that!

Granite Flat Campground

I don’t think we have we ever gone back to the same campground during the same trip, but this time we did.  We escaped the crowd at Zephyr Cove before 10 am, and pulled into the campground here around 11:15.  Construction still going on, but traffic was lighter, and we had more downhill too.  At 6 pm I took down the solar panel, and took a quick stroll around the park.  There are twice as many campers in the park now than on Monday when we arrived, but it is still quiet (so far).

   

Although there are six or seven campers behind us, there is nothing next door on either side, but in the next loop down there are a lot more campers, but they are so far away this should not cause problems.  However, the site next to us on he driver’s door is reserved starting tomorrow until July 2nd, I just hope they too are a quiet group.

The Truckee River runs along the entire eastern side of this campground.  The level as you see today (June 26th) is what it would normally look like in late August or early September.  The Truckee is the only outlet river for Lake Tahoe, and they do have it damned to time the release of water through the long hot summer and into fall.  I wonder if it is going to dry up this year before the next winter storms replenish Lake Tahoe to get it high enough for the Truckee to run again.

I really like this picture…it kind of reminds me of a Bob Ross painting.  I can see him color the canvas blue, then add the happy little clouds, then cut in the hill to the right, the water, the land to the left, then the smaller trees.  After that he would say, “Let’s see, I think one lives right here”…an proceeds to place the large trees into the picture.  The only thing missing is his trademark little cabin.

There we go…something like that.  (wonders of photoshop).

One thing about a river, you go down stream or up stream a bit and the picture changes.  Only wish the sky was blue, I think the Washington Fire smoke is reaching even over her near Truckee.

Another thing about rivers is you usually see wildlife around…all I saw was a few of these giant Robins.

I do like the layout of the park…had it not been so close to highway 89, it would be a great campground.  Looked for other NF Parks, but with the weekend, this looked like the best bet, so that is why we are back.  Three days of no electrical hookups will give me a good idea of what we are capable of doing.  I figure the generator will run first thing in the morning (after 7:30 that is) and again before we go to sleep for 30-45 minutes each.  That should keep us charged about the 50% level, which is our goal.  Tomorrow we are going to see the sites of Truckee.