Sierra Solitude

May/June 2008-Chore week

2008-06-12T08:19:00.000-07:00

We had a blast staying a whole seven days at Sierra Solitude. Mary, Joann's Mom came with us. Our longest stay yet. I can see why people want to stay a whole week up here. It's very relaxing! Yet for six out of the seven days I stayed very busy with chores. For the record, here's a list of the things I got accomplished.
Did two days of burning the burn pile. Kept the fire small and always well tended. Placed water hose to burn pile.
Recharged 6 volt batteries on John Deere. Started up immediately. Celebrated.
De-assembled and repaired the sliding pocket door in the utility room.
Made two new book shelves in living room to get books off the coffee table
Re-created drip irrigation lines and water to all plants. Helped plant some plants
Applied wood preservative to all joints and ends on and below the deck with low pressure sprayer
Painted house siding and deck with waterproof sealer
Cleaned rooftop with air blower
Raked all grounds around house and gathered fallen branches
Moved three very large loads of pine needles to the burn pile. Fitted the tractor bucket with taller walls to hold more.
Moved large logs to the splitter
Chain sawed logs into rounds to split
Worked on several new trails
Cleaned and trimmed trees at the bottom of the driveway
Cleared the road and roadside of silt and rocks and overhanging branches
Removed a light fixture and moved it.
Rewired a phone line to the breakfast/game nook area
Experimented with motion sensing light switches
Replaced another couple dozon incandescent lights with low wattage flourescent bulbs
Removed and replaced shower heads with low-flow heads
Drained and removed toilet and replaced wax seal that was leaking (drove to Downieville to get flange)
Moved key lock box.
Cleaned the ceiling and walls and cabinets in the kitchen
Organized kitchen utensils and put down some new shelf liners
Cleaned all windows inside and out
Made some cedar hole covers and covered over the woodpecker holes
fixed the alignment of all the dead bolts. Added 3" long screws to all door hardware
Filled a couple high-up bird feeders
Brought in 20 gallons of sand to fill area near driveway/deck
water-sealed the bear sculpture and repainted the black details
mixed some yellow/orange oil paint and painted the stair edges on the wood deck
added some stainless steel deck screws where needed on the deck planks
rewired and neatened up the satellite radio and added two additional floor speakers
water-sealed the deck gate and stair railings and railing top surfaces
Repaired some damage to the roof
Cleaned the wood storage area and removed some materials. Checked fuel oil level
coiled the long hoses neatly
thoroughly cleaned and scrubbed and emptied the bbq
Cleaned the outdoor sink and watered the maple and dogwood trees
cleaned the kitchen oven
Checked and tried to fix the driveway flood light sensor.
Hung a wall plaque and removed some house decorations
added aeration to several water faucets
Hung a decorative branch on the side of the house per Joanna's request
Changed the water filter under the house
Cleaned and straightened up the garage and tools and work area
Met with Don Philips
Took Scamper to the vet in Truckee to get stitched up
Met and trained Bill the magician to help with the house and house cleaning
Took trash to the tip
Cleared several cross-country trails of fallen branches
Picked up a small amount of trash and fishing misc. from the river area
and for leisure:
I painted 2 oil paintings plein air

Previously, on the visit prior I:
Repaired all the broken picnic table legs
cleared a fallen tree from the driveway
began raking the property of fallen needles and branches
Raked the driveway of fallen materials
removed the window shutters

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On the visit

Diary of a mad vacation rental owner

2008-03-27T20:18:00.000-07:00

Diary of Sierra City Sierra Solitude travel and work
Owning a vacation rental- at least in the first year- is a lot of work and travel time
But this diary shows we were very dedicated

2007

1-13-07 thru 1-14-07 2 nights 380 miles mostly leisure visit. check on house for damage from storms
1-20-07 thru 1-21-07 2 nights 380 miles leisure visit. check on house, checked mouse traps,

2-16-07 thru 2-18-07 3 nights 380 miles hung artwork on wall, fixed closet doors, painted closet interiors, swept and cleaned interior. Fixed master bed that was not level. Added drapery rod to kitchen window. brought additional kitchen and rug and towel supplies.

3-01-07 thru 3-04-07 4 nights 380 miles chain sawed down trees, burned burn pile during rain. Added fire extinguishers to house and placed do not smoke signs on property. printed signs for guests.

4-07-07 thru 4-08-07 2 nights 380 miles painted deck chairs with preservative, hung outdoor plants, fixed drainage on driveway, cleaned driveway, removed chains from snow plow, checked tire pressure on snow plow, made a small pond for guests to sit near. Cleaned ditches and drainage ways.
4-14-07 thru 4-15-07 2 nights 380 miles assembled outdoor furniture, painted, planted outdoor flower beds, filled bird feeders, cleaned roof, cleaned windows. Cleaned drains and ditches.
4-28-07 thru 4-29-07 2 nights 380 miles cleaning land,building stairs, printed maps and guest info, guest binder additions, marked nearby trails , fire prevention work, raked leaves and needles, added reflectors to driveway

5-04-07 thru 5-06-07 3 nights 380 miles drip irrigation system work, traveled to get plants in Graeagle, chainsawed down trees and branches
5-04-07 thru 5-06-07 3 nights 380 miles reattached attached satellite radio antennae, rewired telephone line. cleaned fireplace. Added wood to woodpiles, chopped kindling. Added fireplace flue cap. measured for fireplace insert.
5-25-07 thru 5-28-07 4 nights 380 miles worked on trail to river, making stairs. marked trail. collected trash from nearby areas and removed old fire rings.

6-08-07 thru 5-09-07 2 nights 380 miles check on house, re-sort, re-clean kitchen. Build gate for deck. strengthened deck railings, cleaned deck thoroughly, replaced deck screws. Added hotwater heater blanket.
6-29-07 thru 5-30-07 2 nights 380 miles check on house between guests. Paint outdoor furniture, strengthen outdoor furniture, clean bar-be-que, built bird feeders, swept and cleaned property, re-grouted barbeque. Build book shelf in living room. Worked on guest library. Added "property of" stickers to all guide books and guest library. Cleaned and organized guest loaner supplies and incidentals. Brought in dog beds for guest use.

7-27-07 thru 7-28-07 2 nights 380 miles Trip with friends, replaced additional bulbs with florescent, changed furnace filters, filled bird feeders, swept and cleaned property. Placed last of winter items in attic. Hung tools and made padlocks on all garage cabinets. Washed outside of propane tank. Painted all outdoor water pipes red. Cleaned garage doors. Oiled air compressor.
8-30-07 thru 9-03-07 5 nights 380 miles raked needles, moved tree debris to burn pile, worked on drip irrigation, removed wasp nests, took photographs for web site, explored trails and wrote descriptions for guest guide book, swept and cleaned property, gathered and added gravel to areas on driveway, painted flagpole, watered garden trees. Trimmed lower branches on trees near house and moved logs and branches to burn pile.

10-13-07 thru 10-14-07 2 nights 380 miles replacing motor on log splitter, splitting logs for firewood for guests, moving wood scraps to burn pile.
10-27-07 thru 10-29-07 3 nights 380 miles turning off outdoor water, removing plants, winterizing house, changed oil and hydrolic fuid on tractor,worked on trail to river, photographs for website, waterproofed chimney masonry, cleaned yard of fallen wood and needles

11-11-07 thru 11-12-07 2 nights 380 miles checked and re-taped water pipes, changed water filter, fixed loose plumbing.

12-11-07 thru 12-12-07 2 nights 380 miles mostly leisure visit. check on house, add christmas lighting
12-24-07 thru 12-29-07 6 nights 380 miles mostly leisure visit. check on house, cleaned odds and ends

GPS map of nearby trails

2008-02-16T11:12:00.000-08:00

A guest made a map and photo essay of their trip to Sierra Solitude at New Years

Sierra Solitude New years Trip 2007 at EveryTrail

Map created by EveryTrail:Share GPS tracks

Sierra Solitude Flickr

2007-11-16T06:21:00.000-08:00

New Search Feature

2007-11-04T10:00:00.000-08:00

I made this comprehensive Custom Search Engine for anything and everything pertaining to the Sierra Buttes and Sierra City region

Guest Comments, Summer of 2007

2007-10-24T10:38:00.000-07:00

"We really appreciated the generosity shown by sharing your beautiful
things and the local hangouts. It is rare to be at a place where so
much care and thought is put into every touch-it makes a
difference!" Katie and boys

"The Bridges family had a great stay. We'll be back for a longer one
next year. Thank you for the great items you shared- fun,fun,fun"
Kathy,Don & Family

"We absolutely loved your home! Thank you so much for all the
attention to details! Our families could not have found a more
beautiful spot to spend time together. We hope to come back again!
The Deweets Family July 13, 2007

"What a lovely home- can't believe you are willing to share the
place! We enjoyed the house and it's amenities greatly and like
others, hope to return" The Rebas,July 20 2007

We all had a wonderful time in this beautiful cabin. Thank you for
your hospitality- not just for us but for our dog too! He had a great
time! Your cabin was extraordinary! We can't wait o come again"
Sincerely The Monterrosa Family July 10 2007

Such a lovely and well stocked home to vacation in to our hearts
content. We loved the area and the Phillips next door. Blessings to
all your ventures from the -Lundquists, Schlumpbergers, Dannalls June
18th 2007

"Thanks for the Hospitality" Your friend, John Muir Jr.

The year I almost got a gold mine

2007-10-23T16:54:00.001-07:00

I know this will make you laugh or grin

I did this really weird thing last week and bid on a gold claim in the Salmon Crk watershed from someone on ebay and after I did it I went up the learning curve and came to the conclusion I really didn't want a placer mining claim after all. I stalled paying them. Luckily I found my way out of the hole. Just gave him the ebay listing fee(115.00) rather than the bid amount (2500). Whew! that was a close call. I got really excited to see this close-by mining claim for sale and then I just got really depressed after winning the bid. It was an odd heavy hearted feeling. And I wondered if maybe I experienced what some of the early miners must have felt but in a modern setting. The lure of far away dream... the fantasy and lust for untold treasure... betting real hard-won money on the rights to hold a paper claim and put up a sign on it...and then a huge disappointment and uncomfortable embarrassment when washing the sands and seeing just how rare a nugget of gold really is and how heavy the boulders are and the mud I was introducing to the clear stream polluted the waters. Real Pollution! After panning for just a few times knew I had so many other things I would like to do more with my time and energy. Maybe that's how the shop keepers and stage and freight companies got started around the miners. Those people were reluctant miners like me. And I feel lucky that while I prospected on this ebay offering I didn't find gold. Because what crazy lust comes over you when you do find a nugget and then crave to find the next piece? And then the whiskey you have to drink to calm the fever... We met an authentic real drunk modern miner while staying at the Kokonee Cabins. He looked and spoke very raggedly. There are still 3 bars in Sierra City. I think I know why. We hear the miners are called Clampers. Funny name but appropriate sounding.

Calling the Sierra County assessors offices and reading the old 1872 mining law and looking into the state and forest service regulations as well as the inherent risks of scrambling on loose alluvial fill with sharp tools. I think I came to know more about what Sierra County is all about. There are about a thousand active unpatented claims still. Countless others are inactive. It costs about $300 to make a claim. There are lode claims and placer claims and mine shaft claims. All can overlap. The land is divided into an even grid and a numbering system to keep track of it all. The BLM at Eagle Lake charges rent for the yearly paperwork or you have to make improvements like roads and give em some proof you did the work. They want you to be an active miner but not too active that you make a mess of everything. For that you need permits from Fish and Wildlife. If the Federal government ever gave claim holders the right to patent the land the whole North Yuba riverside could potentially be developed with riverside houses. The counties yearly 1% tax is based upon an tax assessor table that factors in location, gold prices and whatnot. My mine was going to be $55.00 a year in taxes - 40 acres valued at $5500. Because it was on a side tributary to the main river it wasn't considered very valuable. Then there are the people, like the Gold'n Gir'l Min'g Co., that wanted to sell these claims to others. They exploit the old 1872 laws and mineral claim system and stake multiple claims and repackage with jpeg images of large nuggets and resell the legal rights to the placer gravel....I'll just sign off on the quitclaim deed and it''' all be yours! Guaranteed Excitement! And now ebay's colorful storefront is being used to pull in those at are vulnerable to yarns of riches and the interest in colorful mining history. I think I see now how mining is endless labor and mining is course and distructive. Plus your skin and back are broken while doing it. And it tends to exploit those that don't know any better. I got a little wiser this week.

I'll remember this year... the year I ....almost ....bought a mining claim!

I feel a whole lot better NOT having a mining claim. I can say I came close. The claim sign is still blank! I feel so much better having not gone through with it. Whew!

Christo's Ice Islands

2007-01-18T11:42:00.000-08:00

Doesn't this ring around the river stones remind you of Christo's Surrounded Islands? Remember Christo's Running Fence? That cloth fence that came out of the Ocean and ran across the land near Bodega inland for 20 miles? We went vacationed last year on the land that Christo began that project at. It seems like only yesterday. You could still imagine the fence even though it is long gone. But stop at the art gallery in Bodega and you'll be treated to lots of Christo memorabilia.

Ice River near Loves Falls

2007-01-18T11:35:00.000-08:00

The temperature in the Sierra has been really cold for a long period. And what's been happening along the river is beautiful. As the water gets colder and colder even moving water will freeze gradually on the sides of stones and on the upper surface next to the air. Around waterfalls this ice formation is really neat. Pools of spring water generally have see through ice but water with lots of oxygen appear more white and opaque.

Cool River

2007-01-18T11:33:00.000-08:00

2007-01-04T08:13:00.000-08:00

Christmas with the family. Lots of snow fell, perhaps 3-6". Love it when the snow sticks in the trees in the wind storms. Lots of animal tracks in the snow-Fox, Marten, Squirrel, Raccoon. Hiked several new places- Sand Pond via the flume trail and Ridge North of Bassetts Station to see the burned area.

The picture here is of our neighbor- Big Springs Gardens. Which will open again in late May.

2006-11-05T06:06:00.000-08:00

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