Dry Times in Rural Northeast California

 We are slowly working our way down the eastern side of California this fall, one week at a time in a series of small RV parks in small (or nonexistent) towns.  Last week we were in Likely, CA at Likely Place Golf and RV Resort, and this week we are in Standish at the Days End RV Park, the largest thing in Standish.  Both are nice, modest parks with the necessary amenities. Not destination locations, unless you golf, then Likely is a great spot.  With the heat we've had lately we sure wish they had pools though.

As you may have heard, California is in the midst of a drought, and we are seeing evidence of that as we travel. In the nearby towns of Janesville and Susanville, the deer have come down from the hills and have taken up residence - maybe to get to the luscious green grass in some of the yards - maybe just to get away from predators, like the moose do in Anchorage.  For whatever reason, they are there in herds and families, bucks, does and babies alike. You really have to watch where you're going to avoid driving right into them. They're pretty relaxed.

Of course, this is the fall, when things are usually dry, but the landscape is bleak. The colors are very subtle, if they are there at all.  I was out taking early morning barn pictures and the monochrome landscape really showed up. (There are many beautiful, old, aged-wood barns in the area.)

So I thought I'd play around a little with black and white versions, and with"focal B&W" which leaves a little color only where you might want it.

Really the black and white versions don't look too much different from the color ones.

There was more color in the sky and the patchwork roof of this barn than in anything else I saw that morning.

Because we usually travel in the shoulder season we rarely have to cope with extreme heat or cold. In fact, in the three plus years we've been full-timing, we have rarely used our air conditioners. Now we are having enough summer weather to satisfy any longing we might have had for sunshine and dry heat. And we're heading for Death Valley! Hopefully we'll linger in the higher elevations and northern latitudes long enough to avoid the worst of it. So far we're having nice cool nights and our air conditioner's working fine.