Water, Water, Water...

All is well here in ND. We moved to higher ground since they opened the flood gates on the dam spillway. Its good though. The new spot has some pretty sweet views.




















That white dot is our tent.

















We've managed to get out and see a few of the sites. Here is Kelly putting in her two cents as to whether they expedition should travel North or South at the Lewis and Clark Expedition Center.




















We went down to Cross Ranch State Park, but it was mostly flooded.

















































And here is what is causing the flooding. The emergency spillway on the dam. It has never been opened since they built the dam back in 1954. Yup all that water is coming your way.










































Not too much else to report right now. Kel and I are staying pretty busy between volunteering at the spillway and picking up some part time work cleaning the maintenance and admin buildings. We're totally pumped about coming home and having some BBQ. Until then, we be chillin' at the lake.

North Dakota Bound

Ok, before we left Cali it snowed. That's not really news, but this snow was in April. We happened to be camping right below the snow line so we just got all the nasty mush.







































These are Kelly's Orangery girls: Libby, Marci, and V-Dog(Veronica). Adios, senoritas!













Of course in Cali we had to say goodbye to all our volunteer buddies as well as my atrocious comb over.


































Around the table we have Gene, Wanda, some girl who stopped by, no hair cut Jones, and Barb. We always told them that when they advertise the position there it should say " full hook ups- electric, sewer, lake view, and free grandparents. We miss you guys!



And here is a tree that looks like something out of a Tim Burton movie.




















Completely unrelated? You bet! Expand on it further so that it makes sense with the flow of the blog to provide inertia towards the next picture!? Nah...





So we packed up and headed to ND. We went the northern route this time and cut through Nevada, Idaho, Utah, and Montana. We were up in dem' mountains, and here is the proof.

Roadside bison
















And a lot of snow...


































Ah... the over the mountains to the prairie... queue the music.



















This was our layover in Montana before heading into North Dakota. Some little out of the way state park whose name I can't quite remember.

































And this was our greeting to North Dakota. Lake Sakakawea, the 3rd largest man made lake in the US. Kelly was not ready to start swimming.



















But we got the tent up and wood gathered just in time for our first snow.



















































Yeah, I own a camo onezie... what's it to ya....























This is the spillway pond. This is now all underwater. Flooding is bad... : (




















We did get to enjoy it a bit before it was flooded. Kelly and I actually have been working on new careers in our spare time. I a race car driver, and her some butch bus driver of sorts.


































That is the 20 acre concrete spillway basin that is now releasing flood levels of Lake Sakakawea into the Missouri river. Good luck with that by the way.




































Yes we miss you guys, too. We are pumped to get home and do some BBQin'. I mean look what Kelly has come to... its lonely out here.

The Coast

Ok here is another quick look back at Cali. Kelly keeps uploading pictures, so I keep posting. Was this in the marriage contract?




Before we took off we headed on down to Morro Bay and San Luis Obispo to hang out with Craig and Lane. One of the first spots we stopped at was the Firestone Brewery. Yes like the tire. Yes the same guy. No he doesn't make tires anymore. Maybe I should be the tour guide...






































We then commenced to drive around wine country and do a few tastings. Don't worry. If I know Kel there will be more pictures of that coming up soon.
















After a long and arduous day of drinking fresh brewed beer and participating in wine flights we settled at a little restaurant on the water with some killer views of Morro Bay.



















































The next day we hung out down in SLO(San Luis Obispo). That is what the kids call it these days. As you can see below I was boosting my immune system by licking the wall o gum. SLO has a really cool downtown area which we bummed around. Brewery here, cafe there, you get the picture.

































And what would a day on the coast be like without ending up at the beach? It would be one where you didn't have to sit up on the grass because the sand was smacking you in the side of the head like a red headed step child. But hey... its still the beach.

Cali Recall

Well, heaven forbid if we forget anything. But I guess before we show you what's up in ND would should finish with what went down in CA.



Our buddy Jake is the one shreddin' the guitar on the right. What can I say but that guy can rock the guitar. It was dissappointing to find out later that he was actually just an uber tall cyborg who learned his sweet guitar playing skills from his super advanced alien technology. But hey I don't hold it against him. Kel and I even went to the rodeo to see him. If that doesn't show that I'm not racially against guitar wielding advanced alien cyborgs from space then I don't know what does.




















It also helped that I was lured there by rodeo queens. From left to right: Barb-She was a volunteer with us at pine flat, Emily- She is part of Bemily who often invited us over for great BBQ. Mike- Works in maintenance at pine flat, totally fun and likes to cut a rug. Princess 1- I don't even know what color those pants are.... but I like it. Princess 2- Nothing says royalty like a pea green jacket. Princess 3- actually is grabbing my butt in this pic... nuf said she wins.

































I've also been teaching Rocky to run at incredible speeds next to the car.



















Anywho We'll sign out for now. I have to go scrub some floors. That's right. I'm a janitor. Jealousmuch? More on that later. Below is the campground Kel, I, the rangers, and a whole lot of convicts rebuilt. You'll be glad to know over 60% of the sharp tools were recovered at the end of the project.

The Orangery!

It's my last couple weeks at the orange packinghouse (the orangery) and I'm dedicating a blog post to the biz. It was by far the best smelling business I've ever known!

The road to/from the orangery. We live in those mountains:

Hey, we still get hit with a little snow in the CA mountains

(the valley stays snow-free though).

A view of the packinghouse and orchards from 'the hill':

Mature orchard:

Oranges are hand-picked:

And placed in bins:

Then taken to the packinghouse:

Oranges are dumped and prewashed:

Sanitizing soak tank:

Lemons too!

Electronic grader:

(takes about 180 pictures per orange per second. wowzer!)

Machine packing:

(and my personal favorite - the suction cup grabber thingy)

Hand packing:

Sealing cartons:

Palletizing, cornerboarding, strapping.........

Aahhh... juicy balls of immune boosting vitamin C goodness...

It's a beautiful thing.

I've had fun and worked with some really neat people. Tried lots of new citrus (Cara Caras are my favorite - pink like a grapefruit, but really sweet). And got to show off the packinghouse whenever we had visitors from home. One of the best parts: trying an orange straight from the tree. Nothing beats it.

Hmmm... wonder if the tent could double as a greenhouse someday and we could grow our own oranges in MO.............