The weather is keeping us pretty close to home. It has been alternating between cloudy skies, darker skies with substantial rain and wind. We are currently set up on a gentle slope covered with Douglas Firs and although the ground is relatively clear, the canopy of branches blocks almost all upward views. Little fir cones keep dropping on the roof of our trailer and, since they are falling out of very tall trees, they make a fearsome noise when they hit. We are glad they are little bitty Douglas Fir cones instead of the more cantaloupe-sized Sugar Pine cones.

We ventured out to the nearby town of Ethel to fill one of our two removable on-board propane tanks that keep our stove, water heater, fridge and furnace happy. We were trying to time our journey, acquisition and purchase so we wouldn’t be caught outside while filling the tank and enjoying the benefits of cold, wet clothing. Timed perfectly with our arrival at the first gas station, in Silver Creek, was a furious deluge so we chickened out and went over to look at nearby Mayfield Dam. By the time we got there – a distance of about three-quarters of a mile – the rain had quit so we turned around and headed back. By the time we got there it was raining again. It’s been like that all day.

Undefeated in our quest for diesel and fuel gas, we turned west on WA-12 to the town (gas station & general store) of Ethel where they had a very shiny and spiffy propane delivery system. Our timing was great because we didn’t get wet. To show what psychics we are, we felt we would be very lucky and we drove back to the Silver Creek gas and diesel station where I filled up on slightly cheaper diesel. We didn’t get wet there, either, but by the time we had gone the 1.5 miles back to Paradise TT, it was raining and pretty much stayed at it until bedtime except for a brilliant flash of sunshine right before sunset. The effect of dazzling sun through the shady grove of mature Fir trees is stunning.