Hi all, Dianne here. After we left Vacaville, we headed north through more beautiful golden hills for two nights off the grid at Black Butte Lake in Northern California.
Our good friends Mike and Brenda are in charge of two campgrounds at this
Corps of Engineers lake, and we knew we’d be able to visit them and enjoy some Retama-style happy hours. As we pulled up to the booth, we saw Mike’s smiling face to
welcome us.
They helped us find a perfect site with a beautiful lake view...
Roger especially liked the way the reflected bands in the water looked gold like the surrounding hills:
It was so peaceful and quiet that I tried to read on our patio area, but fell sound asleep,
with my pal Bandido by my side.
After a very relaxing afternoon, we brought some wine and snacks to Mike and Brenda’s site for happy hour. Brenda had told me ahead of time that she was fixing supper for us, but wow, I sure wasn’t expecting a spread like this!
Pot roast, potatoes, perfectly-skillet-roasted vegetables, cauliflower salad, artisan bread. Not pictured was the awesome warm dessert made with sauteed pineapple, bananas and Italian mascarpone cheese. I knew Brenda was known for her cooking, but wow!
It gets very hot at Black Butte Lake in the summer (100s), and it was 96 the second day we were there. With no electricity for air conditioning, that was an issue!
We stayed comfortable in the shade with a breeze until late afternoon. Roger took Bandido and Tequila swimming in the lake several times. The dogs loved it, and it cooled them off. (Wish we had pictures...)
When we went back to Mike and Brenda’s for happy hour and dinner (yes, she cooked two meals for us, lasagna this time!), we took all three animals with us, because it was just too hot to leave them behind. Mike and Brenda have a very shady patio area, and it was always cool and pleasant with a wonderful breeze while we were there.
Charlie was in heaven, relaxing in the soft, Indiana-style grass. Our dogs enjoyed seeing Lucky and Lucy, Mike and Brenda’s two little dogs. Lucky was interested in Charlie (they both weigh about 15 pounds), but Charlie twitched his tail, flattened his ears, and Lucky got the message and steered clear!
It was great to meet up with our friends and catch up on the latest news since we all left Retama Village in Texas earlier this spring. All too soon it was time to say good-bye, but we know we'll see them again in Texas next fall.
There are a series of pet photos of the day this time, because we took some good photos of Bandido and Tequila playing together in the nice dog run at the Vineyard RV park before we left Vacaville. They LOVED it there! Here are some photos, with captions:
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| Catch Me if You Can! |
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| Can you still catch the ball with a cattle dog hanging from your neck?? |
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| Oh, Boy! Dad threw the ball! Here it comes!! |
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| Caught it!! |
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| Way to go, Bandido! You're my hero!! |
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2 comments:
Those COE gate keepers are great hosts. Do they have 18 hour days the way Evin and I do?
@Steve.... Yes they do. Their rig is parked right next to the entrance booth. Several times while we were eating dinner, Mike got up to register new arrivals or to talk with rangers.
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