Goose Lake

Since the smoky skies during the week of July 4 made landscape photography such a challenge, I drove around the area, investigating the many little lakes in the Lakes Basin region of the Plumas National Forest. The smoky sky made the light softer, so focusing on the near landscape in the water was rewarding. Goose Lake was one of the more delightful of the little lakes. It has a lovely shoreline, with 5 camp sites right on the water. Every camp was occupied. It was tricky to get a good shot on the tripod...the mosquitoes were everywhere, so holding still, even with insect repellant on, was a challenge. I felt rewarded when I looked in my computer to discover these two shots, capturing the evening reflections on the water.

Back from Plumas National Forest

Tracy and I spent the 4th of July long weekend up in the Plumas National Forest as guests of the couple we met last fall on Criagslist. They housesat for us for 3 weeks while we were in Europe, and they returned the favor by inviting us as guests in the Gold Mountain area, north of Truckee, off highway 89. They have a lovely home in the Nakoma Dragon Golf Resort near Portola. We stayed in their timeshare unit which you can see here. It was gorgeous!


Sadly, the hundreds of fires burning in the northern Sierras dampened any plans for many vigorous hikes and great photos, but we made the best of it, enjoying an old fashioned mountain 4th of July Parade and Fireworks in the nearby town of Greagle.


Here are some fishermen returning from a day on Gold Lake. You can see just how hazardous the air was. Here, also, is a sunset Gold Lake shot where I made the best of the smoke. What do you think? Making lemonade out of lemons....