Paper-work once More...

Nothing worth reporting after I finished work, the drive home on the I-880 Overpass towards Emeryville is always a great view to enjoy.

Container cranes form the Port of Oakland, water-treatment-plant in the foreground...

Diving down to get back to I-80 with a great view to Emeryville's commercial growth!!!

July 22nd, 2009 it's a Wednesday!!! A Solar-Eclipse somewhere but not here!!!

This morning I got captured by the computer again... it is always the same... If I don't get out of the house by 9 it might never happen at all, for work that is!!!
So I get busy writing a e-mail for the August First Celebration that I end up organizing the ast few years, that's easy, I made a Facebook Event and mailed it to all Swiss or wanna be Swiss I know in the Bay Area. The uploading the photos form the Camping-trip and other useless things.
I been meaning to go to Costco for some time, I think it is today... off I go, I got the list and I'm already drooling for the hot-dog there.
After that it's time for an official lunch at home... whatever cavity the hot-dog hasn't filled gets filled now!!!

Where am I gonna go with all this paper???

The paper-work for lots of shitty jobs ahead!!!

Wired-up...

Worked until 6 PM in San Leandro, yes you did read it right... I can work if I really have to!!!
After that I had to get Diesel for my van, $2.72 per gallon and I needed 16.5 of them, this is adding up, but I've been making some good money today, and more tomorrow!!!

After making plans with my friend Karen back in New Orleans, I had to book a flight there for Oct. 7th to the 20th, a very special plan it will be!!!

Then I biked over to Tom's house in Piedmont so we can go out together and catch-up on life. We decided to have a few beers and a bite to eat at the verily new bar near his house. Adesso, Italian for "now", a slick place in the bottom of a new building. Their specialty is home-made salami and some cheese, very good.

Beers and a Salami-Sampler at Adesso's on Piedmont Ave. ...

Always a great time hanging out with Tom, making plans for a possible back-packing trip!!!

Tuesday, July 21st ...more work!!!

First thing in the morning was to meet an "old" client of mine, here in Berkeley, they are ready to relight their once modern house. Not an easy job, I can feel it, but interesting, have to find a lot of creative light-fixtures and a guy who can fix sheet-rock and paint to look like the existing stuff to blend the new work in.
Then I had to go back to the San Leandro job, more conduit and then some wires needed to be pulled through them to get the power where it's needed. Had lunch with Mr. Streichsbier again, he knew exactly where to go... the Brazilien B.B.Q. place not far away from here!!! Biggies, is it, and you'd never expect a place like this here in San Leandro, at least not in that part of this town, very good food and a hot looking waitress or even two!!! Depending on taste or time when you go there...

At 3 PM I'm up on a ladder again and struggling with getting wires pulled without any help... but it's getting close to done this project.

Electricians conduit Better...

Leaving the Chili Bar was not easy, just another soak into the cod water of the American River, the weather is gorgeous and probably over a 100°F, ohh well one more time sliding into the freshness of the river, yet after a few minutes I feel like frozen to the bone. Time for another defrost cycle and then hit the road again. Stefan Menzi is my driver and he makes pretty good time to get me back to Berkeley.

Monday the 20th of July Nothing but another Monday!!!

I've lost my trail to the blog here... have to find a faster way to stay on top of it, work and social actions take over the blog!!!

Of to work I go, in San Leandro I'm working for a commercial client, installing more stuff to a test-lab I wired-up earlier... For lunch I went with Micheal Streichsbier to the Mexican fast-food place, Salsa, it's food, it's mexican, it's alright... The weather is hot and sitting outside on the parking-lot made it a memorable experience, but not for too long... back to work!!!

Adding more conduit to this world...

Nice Lunch-spot...

Boy, this was a longer downhill climb than I anticipated, and also getting rougher the further down we got, more scrubs and other obstacles that made it hard to decent. But here we are, back at the camp, quite a bit exhausted and ready for another swim. But first I need my cup of coffee and a snack of some sort. How about a Peanut-butter Jelly Sandwich, one of my favorite snack. I haven't seen the rest of our hiking group, by the time we was down at the trail I though that i might be shorter on the trail but they are not back from their adventure yet.

Good to be back at the Campground...

Where coffee gets brewed and some relaxation happens before the next good thing!!!

Off for another dip into the great Lake of Silver...

Before touring the different camps again for snacks and drinks...

In the meantime Stefan Ernie, Susan and Dell with the pack of dogs finally made it back to camp too, they on the other hand had NO fun al all to come down that mountain. Dell convinced them that is is easy to go down the same way we went but that turned out to be NOT the case. First Stefan has vertigo and so it was extremely difficult for him to overcome all these obstacles, like steep, drops to clim down, and just the feeling of going down that steep gulch is not his thing. Then there where the 4 dogs how could not get down some of the drops and so Dell had to carry them down, ohh boy, I'd say Dell is the major Hero in this action and he was really exhausted. I took quite some time until Ernie joined us in with conversation, he was exhausted for the mental stress he had to go through, and all of that because of me telling Dell that this is the way down for me, and he wanted to do the same!!!

Now getting serious with preparing dinner at our camp...

Making nothing less than a "real" Cheese-Fondue!!!

Some others had other dinner plans...

And the final dinner is ready to eat!!! Lets have a seat...

What a feast we're having here, in the middle of the Eldorado Forest!!!

Sunday, July 19th

The basic idea today is to pack-up, clean campsite, go for the last swim and then head out, but all of that certainly not without any breakfast. So lets get started...
This time Stefan and I went swimming at the private beach of the Kit Carson Lodge, the signs all pointed out that it is for registered guests only, but what the hell, nobody was there but a women painting the rail with a fresh green color.

Finally back in the water again, a private beach never the less...

Finding exceptional rare piece of art along the shore, wondering how much it is worth???

Ultimately it was time to say good-bye to the strange collaboration of Swiss and Stefan and I hit the road to return back to civilization, but not without finding another swimming-hole.
We found one, after a few misleading attempts. In Placerville we turned right onto Hwy-49, after that 299 veers off to the right and goes way down into a canyon where the South Fork of the American River flows through. Just after crossing the river we turn left onto a parking-lot and installed ourself for some lunch. Come to find out is that place is called the Chili Bar, and it is a place where rafters put in to flow towards Folsom Lake. And when I study the map closer I remember that I did that about 20 years ago with a bunch of friends. It took us 2 days to get to the lake and we all had a blast, one day I'll find the pictures from these days, it was my very first rafting-trip.

making big splashes with big rocks...

We're not the only ones with that great idea to have a soak here!!!

And then as it happens every day around this time... it's 3 o'clock once more, and it is way past any lunch-time!!!

Having our lunch at the south fork of the American River...

Downhill from Now...

We finally find the swiss flags, or is it the red-cross??? That indicate where the Golden Gate Swiss Club has our sites reserved. A beautiful lake, lots of big trees and tons of granite mountains, I love it. It's good to be in the Sierra's again!!!
A whole bunch of us are already here, first I see Stefan Ernie hanging out with Walter Munz, then on another site there was Lea Temperio and a few others. Walter told us to go to the site where Dell and Susan are, and that's where we're heading to.
Dell and Susan had 3 dogs with them, back-labs and not the smallest versions, it's gonna be interesting, these are the dogs of the boss from Susan. Anyway, I do enjoy these two and look forward to hang out some. Stefan and I look for a ideal site to put up a tent and I had to make myself a decent cup of coffee to get on with the day.



First things second... after the coffee it's time for a swim, but uppps... look what I have in my pocket???...

...My camera!!! It sure is fun to have an waterproof camera!!!

A look below the water...

And above... my destination for tomorrow!!!

Too much fun playing around with the camera... a self portrait laying down, at least trying to!!!

And diving, while blowing bubbles!!!

Finding a Mermaid blowing bubbles too...

Or is it Stefan diving of a rock!!!

After all that coolness it is time for a "cold one"...

But I never had one of those with them "Bitterness Units"!!!

Now kicking back and watch other putting up their tents...

Then cruising form camp to camp to see who is here...

Snacking and drinking at every camp and then dinner under the stars!!!

Somewhat of a good time...

If there just wouldn't be that many Swiss here!!!

Saturday, July the 18th, 2009... There is a time to enjoy nature...

After a breakfast of some sort it is time to line-up the crew to go to climb the peak!!! We start out with 5 people and 4 dogs...

Ready to attempt the peak of a un-named mountain...

Dell, Stefan Ernie, Susan, Stefan Menzi, 3 Black Labs and 1 Rhodesian Ridgeback!!!

It was more complicated than I thought, not the hike to the peak but to get all to agree on how we're getting there. Susan and Dell had some printed maps of the area, Stefan Ernie had a GPS, Menzi and I had only a directional sense. It seemed easy enough for me to hike along the lake to a certain point and then head towards the ridge, but no, according to the map there is a hiking trail there and here, no, no look at my GPS there is a way to get there via this and that, naw, you guys, just look up betwen the trees and you'll see the wall that we can't climb, we have to hike around it and just go... it was impossible and soon enough Menzi and I split and just hiked to the top, it was beautiful.

A great time of the year to do this hike...

Great vistas and beautiful flours, what else does one desire up here!!!

Looking back to see Hwy-88 from where I took the first picture of Silver Lake...

Just about 1000 feet above Silver lake now!!!

Looking over the ridge we got to see the "other side" of the top of Kirkwood...

The Kirkwood Ski Area viewed from Thunder Mountain !!!

Lunch up here is the peak-experience...

With great views and good food!!!

On top, after our great lunch and enjoying views and sun, we discover that the rest of the gang is up here too. We pack-up and join them on the peak-experience.

Throwing a few snow-balls and confuse them with strange looking clouds...

Being on top of a mountain is like a fun game...

With exploring all the things high up here... it is strange that all the mountains around here are pure granite and only Thunder Mountain here is lava material!!!

The time has come and we have to think about the return, I'd say straight down, what about you???

Alrighty then, lets go!!!

At 3 o'clock I'm coming down after a "Peak" experience...

Stefan Menzi is following me... the rest of the gang... who knows!!!