Rancho Seco

img_2175You mean, like the nuclear power plant? Yep, the same Rancho Seco. Apparently there is a lake there, with a campground, that is quite the happening place to be on a hot weekend. It is no longer a working power plant, and one has to wonder just a little bit about that lake. Apparently, when it was operating, it was known for frequent accidents and shut downs and boasts the dubious honor of having experienced the third most serious safety-related occurrence in the United States. But hey, it was a nice place with an interesting backdrop view and the whole point of this reservation was to fend off post vacation depression.

img_2159In years past, I have allowed myself plenty of “down time” before the beginning of the school year, theoretically so that I would not feel rushed in the get ready process. Twice I’ve ended up in the emergency room feeling funny and was actually probably experiencing mild to moderate panic attacks. So this year I decided to try something different by not allowing any down time. Worked like a charm. Except this weekend I felt like I’d been hit by a train.

I love my job. I seriously do. But wow, it is a significant mental shift to move from making sure I’m rotating ice cube trays to scheduling a year’s worth of IEP meetings. It’ll all be ok. I think we’re back in our home based groove now. But I should apologize to neighbors for some of the colorful words we used getting Dory down the driveway on Friday. Two months of not doing that and we just about took out the mailbox.

img_2178Richard went out for a very hot bike ride on Saturday and I kind of just laid there, having been recently hit by a train. He saw lots of coyotes, I putzed with the visor and rejected screen shelters while doing online searches. I could have launched my kayak, but it was over 100 degrees and my motivation was low. At dusk, we walked through the campground and saw that there were tons of people there, partying it up with tiki torches and movies projected onto tents (that got Richard’s attention).

img_2180We walked all the way out to a little beach, attempting not to step on the millions of frogs jumping out of the grass. There were so many, it made me wonder if their numbers were somehow increased due to multiple radioactive gas leaks. That’s not such a bad outcome if that’s the case. Now there is a massive array of solar panels at the foot of the cooling towers, but I doubt they could be responsible for a surge in frog population.

img_2182We enjoyed a nice drive home along the Delta via Highway 160. We’ve got sites lined up for the next couple of months and we’re already talking about next summer. It’s good to be home, but it was really good to be out there.

Total miles: 92.4, 17.2 mpg, 2 hours 47 min. Site RV4. Electric and water at our site. Bathroom nearest to use was flush, but single room, so there were lines to use it. Fairly crowded in the day use and tent camping area, but our site had lots of space around it. No view of the lake due to trees and bushes. Dump, LTE cell service for both.

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