On August 3, 2025, I wrote that I caught a Golden Gate Transit bus at Bush and Van Ness. I arrived quickly in San Rafael where I transferred to the 68. My trip up Drake Boulevard involved many of the same kinds of loops as the other rural buses in Marin.
At Fairfax, I downloaded to my map cache to get a better look at all of the different driveways and turns along the way. The drive followed a lot of road cyclists and I felt the driver was very polite, turning out in several places.
At Olema, I learned my friend was nearby so I got off the bus and got some coffee. I was there for barely a second before getting into her car. We drove to Inverness Park. She got us a sandwich and a Coca-Cola. Then we continued our drive, climbing past Pierce Beach Drive.
While we were driving, I noted that the trees around Tomales Bay are a source of inspiration for an artist I am acquainted with in the town of Point Reyes Station. The trees are generally funny looking and she had done a lot of true-to-form vernacular paintings of them.
At Estuary Drive, we packed my backpack and descended to Drakes Bay on the Estuary Trail. I noted that Open Street Map calls it White Gate Trail.
On the walk-through a small forest, we encountered a man with a bike and a companion, who said there was a boy of ahead of us whose mother is using chocolate to bribe him to catch up. Sure enough, about a quarter mile ahead we encountered a boy taking his time and his mother waiting ahead. We decided to jog by him.
After that, we encountered a small bridge and while crossing we found that the estuary was going through a slack tide. We didn’t stop but instead ascended a small hill and descended to another lagoon. This one had a levy and no bridge.
We then ascended to a loan eucalyptus and we tried to set up for a small snack, but it turned out there were bees underneath the logs there. So, we moved onto to the next lagoon – our third this time – and onward to the Drake‘s head trail fork.
That highpoint was Drake’s Head proper, but the trail takes you down to the prominent point from which you can see much of the estuary. Unfortunately, we didn’t take the fork over Drake’s Head but instead descended into what I later learned is named Sunset Beach. This caused uncertainty since at the time we thought we were going to Sunshine Beach.
We passed between a series of small ponds and as we moved along there were a bunch of spots where the gating was designed to channel cows away from the trail edge. I noted that it was a kind of natural grading. As we descended into Sunset Beach we passed a lagoon and a few people on the trail.
This was clearly the end of the trail. We ended up between the head lands out near Lemantour and Drake’s Spit which seem tantalizingly close but are actually on the other side of the estuary. We sat on the rocky shore there and ate our sandwich and drank our Coke.
My notes called it a beach but it was a rocky shoreline. There was some sand but the spot we were at was obviously a marginal location, and more or less was the end of the trail. We looked at rocks. Everything was sandstone. My companion pointed out a phenomenon called tafoni, where the ocean’s action causes pitting in the rock. She explained that the seaweed was actually called eel grass. We also identified the carcass of a seal or a sea lion.
We could’ve continued down the shoreline around Drake‘s Head to a point where both spits are visible and even eventually connect to the Drakes Head trail. However, we concluded that it would be best to turn back. Had we wanted to go to Sunshine Beach that we should have gone left before descending from Drakes Head.
Walking back we noted that the seagulls were fighting over stuff in the estuary as the slack tide switched to a rising tide. Back on the trail we told everyone we saw that the trail had petered out for us. We returned to the lagoon and while climbing the trail we noted how the cows had left their mark everywhere. We saw giant black stink bugs.
Back on top of Drakes Head, we passed a lady with a stroller which puzzled me given how far we out we were. I noted, as we passed the trail fork, that turning right would take us to Sunshine beach, which was my companion’s memory at that point. However, we were done and going back to the trail head.
I noted that there is no trail to Sunshine Beach on the Google app. However, we did not have any cell phone service. We walked back past the small ponds and the three lagoons. We also passed cyclists and discovered we were only a few steps behind a couple.
The last two hills were really difficult so afterwards we stopped at the bridge. The air was nice there. The slack tide had clearly ended.
The rest of the walk was pleasant and quiet. We packed up and drove to Inverness. I looked at Mount Vision on the map. I noted that the hills are impressive and obviously made of something more substantive than sandstone. I couldn’t figure it out though.
We passed through Inverness, stopped in Inverness Park and continued into San Rafael to eat at Sol Food. The meal was really good – even the hot sauce.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Tuesday, May 12, 2026
Monday, May 11, 2026
We all went over to Olympic Valley
On July 26, 2025, I wrote that Friday morning. I woke up in the hiker biker campsite in DOnner State Park on the second to last day of my vacation to donner pass with my kids.
The guy camping next to us was from the Netherlands. He was finishing up three months on the Pacific crest Trail.
The boys were enthusiastic enough to get on the bikes and ride to Mountain Brew, the recently opened café on Deerfield. I bought our dutch friend a drip coffee when he walked by heading to the bus stop.
When we were done with our breakfast, the boys and I rode our bikes to the boat dock and then stopped at Donner Lake beach before we rode South Shore drive to Red Mountain drive. The stuff in southside Highlands neighborhood is all paved. We climbed up to Judah Drive and charted a route through the local forest paths to Lakeview Canyon up Devil’s Peak Drive.
At the end of Devils Peak Drive there is a mansion that was in the midst of construction at the time. Normally, I would explore the driveway to figure out if there’s an easier way through. However, we took the path that I know best there and we climbed up to the Lakeview drive spur. The climb up that path is steep. So, we got into a work process where the boys would push and I would steer.
Once we had climbed to the forest road above Devils Peak Drive, we took a rest and looked around. We found a machine which had been left behind by the foresters on the dirt road. We walked our bikes for a bit and caught our breath and I was able to identify an alternate path which descended back to the halfway completed mansion on Devils Peak Drive. I decided it had probably been abandoned or was possibly a deer trail. I got photographs of a township marker and returned to the bikes. From that point, the rest of the route to Donner Pass was dirt or gravel.
A short while later we had ridden to Lakeview Canyon Drive. From there we climbed to a branch of Lakeview Canyon Creek and continued until we got to the main branch of the creek, getting a little lost along the way. it was raining by the time we got to there. We pushed through to the Union Pacific right of way then, where we had the rest of our Gatorade and snack bars.
The ride along the old rail right of way from there is tedious – I had done it a few times – because it is gravel. We looked at tunnel 41 when we got up there in the rain before pushing onward to the rest of the abandoned tunnels.
I took a bunch of selfies at the entrance to the tunnel. I took in the view and the cloudy air. We got our flashlights on and entered the tunnels. The first four lengths were interesting and I took a lot of pictures. I especially took pictures of Donner Peak.
It was kinda hot and a little steamy after the rain had quit. I found the stretches of tunnel – I like to call them galleries – which I most enjoy. The boys were both enthusiastic at that point, and it was hard to keep up. We zoomed through the last length.
In the last tunnel, I bumped my leg and it hurt for the rest of the day. However, I didn’t have trouble getting through the last segments and getting photos of the entrance. At this point the air was hot and muggy and the boys were a little worn out and disspirited.
At Donner Ski Ranch Old 40 we had beverages and fries. I had a Ferrari and they had Mug Root Beer and an Orange Crush. They put dollars on the ceiling as is tradition. From there we climbed to Donner Pass on our bikes and our descent was so fast, I barely got photos.
It started raining seriously when we got to West Donner pub where we had a meal. I mostly ate salad. There was F1 racing on the televisions, and the boys were totally into it. When I asked them about it, they said it was not formula racing. It was something else. A family I had seen in the tunnels was sitting at a table adjacent to us.
I took the boys to Donner Lake Village after that and visited a ice cream franchise which we had also visited a day and a half before in Tahoe City. Once we were done, we quickly rode to South Shore to the campgrounds.
When the rain set in, it was a bit heavy but welcome because it was hot out. The other campers we had met that morning were at the site were there but there were additional campers too. As with most of the others the new people told us their stories about their progress along the Pacific Crest Trail. It turns out to be pretty common for through hikers to end their trip in Truckee because they have to attend events like weddings or otherwise.
I chatted while clearing out a dry spot on the bear box organizing our gear before winding down with the boys. It was pretty late as we settled in sleep at that point. It was dry in the boys tent but I was sleeping outside. However, I had a new blanket, which turned out to be pretty helpful. We were good after that but my leg hurt from the fall in the tunnel all night.
We got up at at 8:45. My sister let us know that she would meet us at Mountain Brew. So, we packed up and said bye to everyone at the site before riding to the coffee shop. I noted that all of that went really well. Once we got there and let my sister know I needed to pay for my reservation at the campground. I rode over to do that and when I got back, I noted that my brother-in-law had bought me a coffee.
Later we rode across Cold Canyon to meet them at the bike shop and drop off the bikes. The air was Petrichor. Once the bikes were squared away, we all went over to Olympic Valley to go on a hike.
I had wanted to go to Silver Campground and look at the bridge, but there was no parking. So, instead we went to the playground at the entrance to Olympic Canyon. The rain had actually gotten heavier. We ate sandwiches in the toy train. It was really cramped. There was only enough room for three adults and the boys crammed themselves into corners. I got a picture of it. It was actually pretty cute.
We walked up the bike path and I asked all of the cyclists along the trail about Access to the Deer Creek Trail (behind Silver Campground) but no one wanted to give me information. The boys ran away when I wanted to look at the rocks with them and my sister was really far ahead of us. I found them at the Alpine Meadows Bridge. There was a coffee shop there and everyone was inside. The rain was still happening, but it’s so periodic that it wasn’t really an issue.
My son asked how long until his ho cocoa would take. So, I went up to the front counter and asked. The lady didn’t know that I was part of the family. She had an Alaska shirt on and I asked her about it and her aunt had been the one who gave it to her. She was local though. There was also a sign that said “Free Beer Tomorrow” and everyone was amused by it.
When we were done with our meal, everyone except for one of my boys ran away from me again. At the 89 overpass we found them hiding from the rain. It was at that point that a bunch of cyclist came down the Western States Trail and I asked them about Deer Creek Access. Again, no one wanted to help me. My son stayed with me again on the walk until we got to the car.
I showed him tuff from the side of the trail as we walked. I noted that it is brittle. He said it doesn’t seem so tough and I thought that was really funny.
My sister and brother-in-law dropped us off at West River House (previously The Red Light Hostel). After we said goodbye, we went inside and we got our iPads out. Later on we went to Bar of America for salad and chicken tenders. I got sliders actually. We went back to the room and played iPad. The room had a full bed with a bunkbed against the far wall. The bunkbed was pretty cool. The boys loved it. There were trains all night.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
The guy camping next to us was from the Netherlands. He was finishing up three months on the Pacific crest Trail.
The boys were enthusiastic enough to get on the bikes and ride to Mountain Brew, the recently opened café on Deerfield. I bought our dutch friend a drip coffee when he walked by heading to the bus stop.
When we were done with our breakfast, the boys and I rode our bikes to the boat dock and then stopped at Donner Lake beach before we rode South Shore drive to Red Mountain drive. The stuff in southside Highlands neighborhood is all paved. We climbed up to Judah Drive and charted a route through the local forest paths to Lakeview Canyon up Devil’s Peak Drive.
At the end of Devils Peak Drive there is a mansion that was in the midst of construction at the time. Normally, I would explore the driveway to figure out if there’s an easier way through. However, we took the path that I know best there and we climbed up to the Lakeview drive spur. The climb up that path is steep. So, we got into a work process where the boys would push and I would steer.
Once we had climbed to the forest road above Devils Peak Drive, we took a rest and looked around. We found a machine which had been left behind by the foresters on the dirt road. We walked our bikes for a bit and caught our breath and I was able to identify an alternate path which descended back to the halfway completed mansion on Devils Peak Drive. I decided it had probably been abandoned or was possibly a deer trail. I got photographs of a township marker and returned to the bikes. From that point, the rest of the route to Donner Pass was dirt or gravel.
A short while later we had ridden to Lakeview Canyon Drive. From there we climbed to a branch of Lakeview Canyon Creek and continued until we got to the main branch of the creek, getting a little lost along the way. it was raining by the time we got to there. We pushed through to the Union Pacific right of way then, where we had the rest of our Gatorade and snack bars.
The ride along the old rail right of way from there is tedious – I had done it a few times – because it is gravel. We looked at tunnel 41 when we got up there in the rain before pushing onward to the rest of the abandoned tunnels.
I took a bunch of selfies at the entrance to the tunnel. I took in the view and the cloudy air. We got our flashlights on and entered the tunnels. The first four lengths were interesting and I took a lot of pictures. I especially took pictures of Donner Peak.
It was kinda hot and a little steamy after the rain had quit. I found the stretches of tunnel – I like to call them galleries – which I most enjoy. The boys were both enthusiastic at that point, and it was hard to keep up. We zoomed through the last length.
In the last tunnel, I bumped my leg and it hurt for the rest of the day. However, I didn’t have trouble getting through the last segments and getting photos of the entrance. At this point the air was hot and muggy and the boys were a little worn out and disspirited.
At Donner Ski Ranch Old 40 we had beverages and fries. I had a Ferrari and they had Mug Root Beer and an Orange Crush. They put dollars on the ceiling as is tradition. From there we climbed to Donner Pass on our bikes and our descent was so fast, I barely got photos.
It started raining seriously when we got to West Donner pub where we had a meal. I mostly ate salad. There was F1 racing on the televisions, and the boys were totally into it. When I asked them about it, they said it was not formula racing. It was something else. A family I had seen in the tunnels was sitting at a table adjacent to us.
I took the boys to Donner Lake Village after that and visited a ice cream franchise which we had also visited a day and a half before in Tahoe City. Once we were done, we quickly rode to South Shore to the campgrounds.
When the rain set in, it was a bit heavy but welcome because it was hot out. The other campers we had met that morning were at the site were there but there were additional campers too. As with most of the others the new people told us their stories about their progress along the Pacific Crest Trail. It turns out to be pretty common for through hikers to end their trip in Truckee because they have to attend events like weddings or otherwise.
I chatted while clearing out a dry spot on the bear box organizing our gear before winding down with the boys. It was pretty late as we settled in sleep at that point. It was dry in the boys tent but I was sleeping outside. However, I had a new blanket, which turned out to be pretty helpful. We were good after that but my leg hurt from the fall in the tunnel all night.
We got up at at 8:45. My sister let us know that she would meet us at Mountain Brew. So, we packed up and said bye to everyone at the site before riding to the coffee shop. I noted that all of that went really well. Once we got there and let my sister know I needed to pay for my reservation at the campground. I rode over to do that and when I got back, I noted that my brother-in-law had bought me a coffee.
Later we rode across Cold Canyon to meet them at the bike shop and drop off the bikes. The air was Petrichor. Once the bikes were squared away, we all went over to Olympic Valley to go on a hike.
I had wanted to go to Silver Campground and look at the bridge, but there was no parking. So, instead we went to the playground at the entrance to Olympic Canyon. The rain had actually gotten heavier. We ate sandwiches in the toy train. It was really cramped. There was only enough room for three adults and the boys crammed themselves into corners. I got a picture of it. It was actually pretty cute.
We walked up the bike path and I asked all of the cyclists along the trail about Access to the Deer Creek Trail (behind Silver Campground) but no one wanted to give me information. The boys ran away when I wanted to look at the rocks with them and my sister was really far ahead of us. I found them at the Alpine Meadows Bridge. There was a coffee shop there and everyone was inside. The rain was still happening, but it’s so periodic that it wasn’t really an issue.
My son asked how long until his ho cocoa would take. So, I went up to the front counter and asked. The lady didn’t know that I was part of the family. She had an Alaska shirt on and I asked her about it and her aunt had been the one who gave it to her. She was local though. There was also a sign that said “Free Beer Tomorrow” and everyone was amused by it.
When we were done with our meal, everyone except for one of my boys ran away from me again. At the 89 overpass we found them hiding from the rain. It was at that point that a bunch of cyclist came down the Western States Trail and I asked them about Deer Creek Access. Again, no one wanted to help me. My son stayed with me again on the walk until we got to the car.
I showed him tuff from the side of the trail as we walked. I noted that it is brittle. He said it doesn’t seem so tough and I thought that was really funny.
My sister and brother-in-law dropped us off at West River House (previously The Red Light Hostel). After we said goodbye, we went inside and we got our iPads out. Later on we went to Bar of America for salad and chicken tenders. I got sliders actually. We went back to the room and played iPad. The room had a full bed with a bunkbed against the far wall. The bunkbed was pretty cool. The boys loved it. There were trains all night.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Sunday, May 10, 2026
Truckee Thursday
On July 24, 2025, I wrote that the day before we had spent the day on the shore of Lake Tahoe and slept OK. We woke up really early at Base Camp Hotel. I left them with their iPads and I got coffee in the lobby, which was a really good idea.
At 10 we packed our bags and checked out before walking to Rosie‘s at around 11:45. The meal was great. We quickly walked to the transit center but the bus was leaving at a different time than what the app was telling us.
The bus dropped us on Deerfield near the Post Office. I started a load at the laundromat and we headed over to the bike shop to rent bikes before we walked to the campground.
The walk went fast enough. We were carrying those big backpacks. So, we took a break at Donner Creek. Then we crossed Cold Creek and passed through the neighborhood there before entering the Donner State Park at Cold Canyon Road. We found the path into the campground. We selected the same hiker biker site we had been at previously next to another tent.
I went back to the laundromat without our big bags. We got the laundry and got our rental bikes. I had a drink a juice at Starbucks. We rode River Road to downtown and I looked at the different hotels there. I booked a room for the coming Saturday at West River house, which was was previously the Red Right Hostel.
Later we went to the pizzeria where we played the one arcade machine in the downtown area. It was Truckee Thursday, which is a crazy time in that town. We walked to the ice cream parlour before we rode to Sierra College on our way back to the campground. We bought snacks and some lights at CVS for the next day. Then we rushed through the dark to the campground.
We managed to avoid losing some of our stuff from our bag. ONe of the boys was really sad that he had dropped something but we found it. When we got to the campground, we re-organized and got in our bags.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
At 10 we packed our bags and checked out before walking to Rosie‘s at around 11:45. The meal was great. We quickly walked to the transit center but the bus was leaving at a different time than what the app was telling us.
The bus dropped us on Deerfield near the Post Office. I started a load at the laundromat and we headed over to the bike shop to rent bikes before we walked to the campground.
The walk went fast enough. We were carrying those big backpacks. So, we took a break at Donner Creek. Then we crossed Cold Creek and passed through the neighborhood there before entering the Donner State Park at Cold Canyon Road. We found the path into the campground. We selected the same hiker biker site we had been at previously next to another tent.
I went back to the laundromat without our big bags. We got the laundry and got our rental bikes. I had a drink a juice at Starbucks. We rode River Road to downtown and I looked at the different hotels there. I booked a room for the coming Saturday at West River house, which was was previously the Red Right Hostel.
Later we went to the pizzeria where we played the one arcade machine in the downtown area. It was Truckee Thursday, which is a crazy time in that town. We walked to the ice cream parlour before we rode to Sierra College on our way back to the campground. We bought snacks and some lights at CVS for the next day. Then we rushed through the dark to the campground.
We managed to avoid losing some of our stuff from our bag. ONe of the boys was really sad that he had dropped something but we found it. When we got to the campground, we re-organized and got in our bags.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Saturday, May 9, 2026
We Walked to Base Camp
July 23, 2025, I wrote that the day before we had spent the day on the shore of Lake Tahoe and had set up at the Tahoe city campground.
I had done everything once I’ve finished writing so I just got in my sleepingbag. It was cold so I had everything on. I noted that I can’t really sleep on hard ground so ended up turning three positions all night.
By about seven in the morning, the boys miraculously packed all their sleeping bags and broke the tent down. We thanked the camp host and walked over to Connection Coffee for breakfast. I charged my phone just enough and then we walked to Base Camp Hotel.
We dropped a bag at the hotel and walked to the laundromat and started a load. After that, I left the boys in the playground to contemplate the lake. It had been pretty cool the whole time we had been traveling so I had to wait until it was warm enough out at around 3 o’clock to go swimming in the big lake.
We walked back on the waterfront and checked into the hotel. We walked to Bridge Keeper then and had dinner. Later we stopped at the ice cream and then walked back to the hotel. It cooled down significantly at 4:30 and we were cold when we got back.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I had done everything once I’ve finished writing so I just got in my sleepingbag. It was cold so I had everything on. I noted that I can’t really sleep on hard ground so ended up turning three positions all night.
By about seven in the morning, the boys miraculously packed all their sleeping bags and broke the tent down. We thanked the camp host and walked over to Connection Coffee for breakfast. I charged my phone just enough and then we walked to Base Camp Hotel.
We dropped a bag at the hotel and walked to the laundromat and started a load. After that, I left the boys in the playground to contemplate the lake. It had been pretty cool the whole time we had been traveling so I had to wait until it was warm enough out at around 3 o’clock to go swimming in the big lake.
We walked back on the waterfront and checked into the hotel. We walked to Bridge Keeper then and had dinner. Later we stopped at the ice cream and then walked back to the hotel. It cooled down significantly at 4:30 and we were cold when we got back.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Thursday, April 30, 2026
We visited Split Rock.
On July 22, 2025, I wrote that the day before I left on Amtrak with my nine year old boys to embark on a vacation to Donner Lake and Lake Tahoe. The train had left a little late. When we boarded the train, I know I took two naps but I was not exactly certain when. I started writing and then I took a nap but at that point the train… I guess it was in the Yuba Canyon someplace.
One of the boys was being weird in the observation car so I decided that we needed to return to our seats and I gave them their iPads. I know I took a nap then. I woke up someplace near Donner Pass. I had a coke while watching the view from the observation car. The boys tried to have some of my drink but by the time they had it, it was gone.
At Soda Springs we looked at the sights and as the train we descended into the Donner Lake we packed up. When we got off, I took the boys to the Mexican restaurant even though I have started to bring food for the trip as back up. The plan of course is to eat it eventually, but it is just there to make certain we have something.
One of the boys spilled his root beer but it turned out OK. It wasn’t too hot outside but the mess fixed itself pretty quickly. We took the local transit service, TART Connect, to the Donner Lake Campgrounds. It is a free ride share offered locally. When we arrived, I selected one of the two backpacker sites. We set up the tent and I put everything away.
We visited split rock and I got some cool sunset pictures. I texted with friends and siblings. Everyone missed me or asked for pictures. I was overly chatty. I texted a picture to my family’s group chat. My older sister, who lives in Reno, told us that she wanted to see us the coming Saturday as we were winding down. So, I spoke to the boys and we agreed to go to Tahoe city the next day so we could be back at Donner Lake to meet her.
When we settled in, I realized I really needed to go to sleep. Strangely, after the boys had nodded off in their tent, a police car drove through. I was in the sleeping bag at that point and for some reason they needed to lean out of the car and say there were bears… Or perhaps they said “They were bears..” I wasn’t entirely certain but I knew that it would work out. It was overcast as we feel asleep and it even rained a little bit.
When we got up in the morning of the day that I wrote this, I had the boys break the site down as soon as we were able. We were all really groggy. I had a can of cold brew ready in my food stash. Sadly, the boys didn’t want to move around too much.
We eventually got everything rolled up and packed. It turned out we had enough room in our bags and the boys kinda were learning how to do it on their own. We walked to the entrance station for the park and I paid for our campground. We then walked to Cold Creek and caught the bus to Highway 89.
I looked at the post office when we got off and it was closed for some reason. We went to Starbucks where I showed them pictures of Olympic Valley. As our travels usually involve a lot of active travel (bikes, transit or walking), it can sometimes take a while to get them focused on the trip. I often have to use incentives like ipads or cookies. However, there are always moments with they don’t want to stop using their iPads or they lag and say everything is boring.
I put effort into reviewing the bus schedule and was miraculously able to get us onto the bus to Tahoe City then. When we got to the Tahoe city campground, the host gave us the ADA because the hikers in the hiker site were the no-good-rowdy-troublesome kind. The boys pitched our tent. One of them wanted to sleep outside – like his dad does–but I said no.
We stopped by Safeway then and went to the hotel across the street where I ordered a last minute reservation (they were booked solid for that night). After that we returned to the campsite and paid. I noted that the host was really nice. We walked the lake trail to the playground. I saw a pizza place on the way.
The boys loved the climbing wall at the playground. There were a lot of other kids there too. There was some private corporate party on the beach. However, it was overcast enough that there wasn't much novelty to being there. Occasionally there was even a little bit of rain.
It was pleasant and we had a lot of fun though. I let the boys run off and found something else to do. I think that the boys were embarrassed I was near them due to the number of kids around.
Later, the boys and I walked the trail to pizza, which was good. The dining room was really busy and we ended up sitting on the veranda. I walked around the restaurant and discovered there was a whole unused dining room upstairs– for special parties, I assumed.
We returned to the playground and got some ice cream. The sunset alpenglow on the tallest mountains above southlake was beautiful. I noted that my older sister was actually across the way at Sand Beach for an ABBA cover band.
We walked back to the campground and the boys got in their bags. I took the time to start writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
One of the boys was being weird in the observation car so I decided that we needed to return to our seats and I gave them their iPads. I know I took a nap then. I woke up someplace near Donner Pass. I had a coke while watching the view from the observation car. The boys tried to have some of my drink but by the time they had it, it was gone.
At Soda Springs we looked at the sights and as the train we descended into the Donner Lake we packed up. When we got off, I took the boys to the Mexican restaurant even though I have started to bring food for the trip as back up. The plan of course is to eat it eventually, but it is just there to make certain we have something.
One of the boys spilled his root beer but it turned out OK. It wasn’t too hot outside but the mess fixed itself pretty quickly. We took the local transit service, TART Connect, to the Donner Lake Campgrounds. It is a free ride share offered locally. When we arrived, I selected one of the two backpacker sites. We set up the tent and I put everything away.
We visited split rock and I got some cool sunset pictures. I texted with friends and siblings. Everyone missed me or asked for pictures. I was overly chatty. I texted a picture to my family’s group chat. My older sister, who lives in Reno, told us that she wanted to see us the coming Saturday as we were winding down. So, I spoke to the boys and we agreed to go to Tahoe city the next day so we could be back at Donner Lake to meet her.
When we settled in, I realized I really needed to go to sleep. Strangely, after the boys had nodded off in their tent, a police car drove through. I was in the sleeping bag at that point and for some reason they needed to lean out of the car and say there were bears… Or perhaps they said “They were bears..” I wasn’t entirely certain but I knew that it would work out. It was overcast as we feel asleep and it even rained a little bit.
When we got up in the morning of the day that I wrote this, I had the boys break the site down as soon as we were able. We were all really groggy. I had a can of cold brew ready in my food stash. Sadly, the boys didn’t want to move around too much.
We eventually got everything rolled up and packed. It turned out we had enough room in our bags and the boys kinda were learning how to do it on their own. We walked to the entrance station for the park and I paid for our campground. We then walked to Cold Creek and caught the bus to Highway 89.
I looked at the post office when we got off and it was closed for some reason. We went to Starbucks where I showed them pictures of Olympic Valley. As our travels usually involve a lot of active travel (bikes, transit or walking), it can sometimes take a while to get them focused on the trip. I often have to use incentives like ipads or cookies. However, there are always moments with they don’t want to stop using their iPads or they lag and say everything is boring.
I put effort into reviewing the bus schedule and was miraculously able to get us onto the bus to Tahoe City then. When we got to the Tahoe city campground, the host gave us the ADA because the hikers in the hiker site were the no-good-rowdy-troublesome kind. The boys pitched our tent. One of them wanted to sleep outside – like his dad does–but I said no.
We stopped by Safeway then and went to the hotel across the street where I ordered a last minute reservation (they were booked solid for that night). After that we returned to the campsite and paid. I noted that the host was really nice. We walked the lake trail to the playground. I saw a pizza place on the way.
The boys loved the climbing wall at the playground. There were a lot of other kids there too. There was some private corporate party on the beach. However, it was overcast enough that there wasn't much novelty to being there. Occasionally there was even a little bit of rain.
It was pleasant and we had a lot of fun though. I let the boys run off and found something else to do. I think that the boys were embarrassed I was near them due to the number of kids around.
Later, the boys and I walked the trail to pizza, which was good. The dining room was really busy and we ended up sitting on the veranda. I walked around the restaurant and discovered there was a whole unused dining room upstairs– for special parties, I assumed.
We returned to the playground and got some ice cream. The sunset alpenglow on the tallest mountains above southlake was beautiful. I noted that my older sister was actually across the way at Sand Beach for an ABBA cover band.
We walked back to the campground and the boys got in their bags. I took the time to start writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Wednesday, April 29, 2026
Prepare for Our Donner Trip
On July 21, 2025, I wrote that I spent the weekend preparing for a vacation to Donner Lake and Lake Tahoe I had planned for my nine year old boys and I on Amtrak.
I picked them up from the ferry building the day before – they had just finished a trip to the Southern Yolla Bolly Mountains earlier in the week. We stopped through Sunday Streets on the way home. We saw the organizer and a few other people before heading back to the apartment. Then, later, I took them to REI to get them boots.
After dinner that night, we created a schedule for the morning. I have found that step especially useful because the kids see the times and make the connection. It also generates a sense of anticipation which I find drives their resolve to get out of the house. As they got ready for bed I could see that they were intent on getting a good sleep. I spent a few more hours packing as I had had no other opportunity to make get my stuff together that week.
I set an alarm and slept until 5:10a. It goes without saying that the boys followed the plan and we got out of the house by 6:20a. We caught a bus to Salesforce Tower and boarded the Capital Corridor bus to Emeryville.
At the station we ended up waiting three hours because federal cuts made less maintenance work. I thought that this was the ultimate irony given how nervous I had been getting ready. I was dead–I still was when I was writing about the day in my notebook.
When the train finally arrived, I had just finished showing them a greenstone fountain across the street. On the train we had had coffee and hot cocoa. The boys played iPad and I took a nap. The car was relatively new and the lounge downstairs was really different.
I sat with the boys to the café car and we played Uno, drank soda and had sandwiches. They got restless but didn’t fight too much. I gave them notebooks and iPads. They took naps too. I ended up carrying one of them to his seat after I was done writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I picked them up from the ferry building the day before – they had just finished a trip to the Southern Yolla Bolly Mountains earlier in the week. We stopped through Sunday Streets on the way home. We saw the organizer and a few other people before heading back to the apartment. Then, later, I took them to REI to get them boots.
After dinner that night, we created a schedule for the morning. I have found that step especially useful because the kids see the times and make the connection. It also generates a sense of anticipation which I find drives their resolve to get out of the house. As they got ready for bed I could see that they were intent on getting a good sleep. I spent a few more hours packing as I had had no other opportunity to make get my stuff together that week.
I set an alarm and slept until 5:10a. It goes without saying that the boys followed the plan and we got out of the house by 6:20a. We caught a bus to Salesforce Tower and boarded the Capital Corridor bus to Emeryville.
At the station we ended up waiting three hours because federal cuts made less maintenance work. I thought that this was the ultimate irony given how nervous I had been getting ready. I was dead–I still was when I was writing about the day in my notebook.
When the train finally arrived, I had just finished showing them a greenstone fountain across the street. On the train we had had coffee and hot cocoa. The boys played iPad and I took a nap. The car was relatively new and the lounge downstairs was really different.
I sat with the boys to the café car and we played Uno, drank soda and had sandwiches. They got restless but didn’t fight too much. I gave them notebooks and iPads. They took naps too. I ended up carrying one of them to his seat after I was done writing.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
Tuesday, April 28, 2026
West Point
On July 14, 2025, I wrote that Saturday night. My friend and I sat on the rocks behind the hotel we were staying at in Volcano – the Union Hotel. We saw a rabbit as we wandered over to the amphitheater. Sadly, the show was a private affair. Back at the hotel, we had to watch the Return of the King DVD because Two Towers was missing from the library.
I got up lazy the next morning at around 8:15 but we got going quickly. We went downstairs and had French toast. I was really content with my morning.
We drove to Highway 26 and we descended to the Mokelumne Crossing. It was a bit late so it was hot. We got the bikes out and tried riding the canal trail in the direction of Tiger Creek Reservoir. We had to stop in shade several times and we decided to take it easy at that point. I only wanted to see if the road between the reservoir and the highway connected anyway.
We gave up on going swimming and we went to West Point instead. We got a drink at Willow‘s restaurant. We even met Willow. She seemed like a nice lady. We had thought they opened later, but they were actually closing for the day.
I suggested we take a drive up the hill on Winton and we agreed that might be a nice idea. The drive gave me insight into the area and views of the Mokelumne River, Blue Mountain, Bear River and Blue Creek. It was a breath of fresh air for both of us.
When we returned to West Point, we went to the VFW. They told us about the nonprofit up the street, a supper club promoting local schools. So, we went there and discovered they were having their weekly dinner deal fundraiser. They offered us tri-tip and mac & cheese. The food was great and we were really happy about the whole experience.
We returned to the river then. It was not too late, but I only got in once. We clapped for a little girl jumping in the water. We decided that the water was too quick for real swimming though. So, we drove up to 88 then. I looked at a couple of other roads as we drove back. One went to the hardware store. We descended to Volcano and had a small meal and a drink.
The evening was pleasant. We went for a walk. There was an old apartment complex or something maybe part of the (now closed) St. George Hotel. We found two phone booths. We walked along the creek. There was a big mansion kind of house there. We watched Merchant of Venice from the DVD library at the hotel.
The next day, we got up and left at 6:45. There was food in the fridge for us. We drove to Pine Grove, Ridge, over to Highway 16 and out to Rancho Murietta.
After we got gas, we went through Sacramento to Vacaville and arrived in Vallejo a short while later. We got on Highway 37 and went to Novato. Most of the drive was unnoteworthy, but we had scones from the Union Hotel. We were stoked about seeing birds in the North Bay as we drove along. We put folk and country on the sound system.
We hit a bunch of traffic then but we got to the toll plaza a short while later. Then I dropped my companion off and after I unpacked I dropped the car off at the car rental place and caught a bus to work.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
I got up lazy the next morning at around 8:15 but we got going quickly. We went downstairs and had French toast. I was really content with my morning.
We drove to Highway 26 and we descended to the Mokelumne Crossing. It was a bit late so it was hot. We got the bikes out and tried riding the canal trail in the direction of Tiger Creek Reservoir. We had to stop in shade several times and we decided to take it easy at that point. I only wanted to see if the road between the reservoir and the highway connected anyway.
We gave up on going swimming and we went to West Point instead. We got a drink at Willow‘s restaurant. We even met Willow. She seemed like a nice lady. We had thought they opened later, but they were actually closing for the day.
I suggested we take a drive up the hill on Winton and we agreed that might be a nice idea. The drive gave me insight into the area and views of the Mokelumne River, Blue Mountain, Bear River and Blue Creek. It was a breath of fresh air for both of us.
When we returned to West Point, we went to the VFW. They told us about the nonprofit up the street, a supper club promoting local schools. So, we went there and discovered they were having their weekly dinner deal fundraiser. They offered us tri-tip and mac & cheese. The food was great and we were really happy about the whole experience.
We returned to the river then. It was not too late, but I only got in once. We clapped for a little girl jumping in the water. We decided that the water was too quick for real swimming though. So, we drove up to 88 then. I looked at a couple of other roads as we drove back. One went to the hardware store. We descended to Volcano and had a small meal and a drink.
The evening was pleasant. We went for a walk. There was an old apartment complex or something maybe part of the (now closed) St. George Hotel. We found two phone booths. We walked along the creek. There was a big mansion kind of house there. We watched Merchant of Venice from the DVD library at the hotel.
The next day, we got up and left at 6:45. There was food in the fridge for us. We drove to Pine Grove, Ridge, over to Highway 16 and out to Rancho Murietta.
After we got gas, we went through Sacramento to Vacaville and arrived in Vallejo a short while later. We got on Highway 37 and went to Novato. Most of the drive was unnoteworthy, but we had scones from the Union Hotel. We were stoked about seeing birds in the North Bay as we drove along. We put folk and country on the sound system.
We hit a bunch of traffic then but we got to the toll plaza a short while later. Then I dropped my companion off and after I unpacked I dropped the car off at the car rental place and caught a bus to work.
This is an occasional series chronicling my life. This Notebook Analysis series is meant to be contemporaneous piece developed as an agglomeration of my notebook pages. In each of these posts I used my notes to develop my recent thoughts.
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