Check out beautiful Nevada City, CA

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John's Journal

Day Thirtynine

Mileage- none Route-- (in and around Nevady City)

Ahhh, I slept very well last night, It is nice to wake up to family, especially the little guy. That would be Dylan, my 17 month old nephew. I was with him when he was 1 day old, so he is kind of special to me. Most of my other nieces and nephews (there re about 20, I think) either were not born in the same town I was in or those that were, I moved away from. Sad, and I do miss not being around them to play Uncle for, but that is life.

Anyway, today m brother-in-law, Phil, nephew, Dylan, and I went for a hike. We had a leisurely morning withy sister before she went off to work and then off to a trial near the Donner Summit. There was still lost of snow on the trail and it was hard to stay with the trail for some parts, but we managed to get a few hours of hiking in. It was fun, too, to have Dylan in a great backpack-type of harness that kept him right there behind the person holding him so you could talk to him and really feel that he is there with you. However, he is getting to be a bit heavy. Man, that is some extra weight to hike up with. It felt good, though.

Once again, I am hiking at altitude just as I did the other day around Yellowstone. It is hard, but good, at the same time. The pine and other trees had no snow on them, and there were stretches without snow, but the vast majority had at least some snow on the ground. Some parts we broke through when stepping in and went down almost a foot or more. That was kind of scary with Dylan on my back.

We made it back fine, oddly hiking alongside Interstate 80 for bit with the cars and trucks loudly screaming by. We stopped by a cool, old lodge for a beer. This place has the best photos of the Donner Pass in the 1920s and 1930s with shots like "the first car over the summit" in like 1926. Really nice!

Then for dinner we went to a brand new Brew pub just a block from their house in Nevada City. Good brew, they will indeed be working the food and service a bit. But, we ate outside in their beer garden (I know that the Germans spell it differently). Very nice to relax, look after Dylan a bit and wind down. Almost home, but first another day here, then home on Wednesday, May 28. I can't wait.