Lair of the Golden Bear, “Twilight at Pinecrest”

We got back last week from our annual camping trip. Every year since 1993,
my family has vacationed at the

Lair of the Golden Bear, the family camp managed by the
U.C. Berkeley Alumni Association.
The Lair is in the Sierras near
Pinecrest.
There are 3 camps within the Lair: Gold, Blue, and Oski.

As usual, John, Jessica, Matt, Paul and I picked up
my mother
Eleanor in San Francisco and visited Poot’s House of Cactus in Ripon on the drive
to Pinecrest.

In over 50 years of Lair camping, each week has developed its own style and
traditions. Our family is always well represented in the 10th week Camp Blue Review –
the Lair’s Wednesday night talent show. This year, Jessica sang “Losing My Mind”
by Stephen Sondheim (she studies Music at Carnegie Mellon), Matt did gymnastics (he is on the Gymnastics team at
William & Mary), and the whole family acted in a Cal vs. Stanford vampire skit written by

my brother Pete, called “Twilight at Pinecrest”.
We celebrated Paul’s birthday with his traditional Lair Cake.

After our week at the Lair, we drove our truck and Yuppie Wagon trailer over
Sonora pass (9,624 feet above sea level) through the stark and lovely
Emigrant Wilderness
to Nevada’s capital Carson City, where we
visited the Nevada State Railroad Museum.
We then drove to Vacaville to see the newly-in-use
Nut Tree train (on a very tiny
track, alas!) and the

Consolidated Rock & Mineral shop. We stopped off in San Francisco to
drop off my mother and pick up our

two new birds and then drove home to San Jose.

Entering San Francisco

Matt, Jessica, Paul, Yuppie Wagon

Picking up Grandma

Visiting Poot’s House of Cactus

yucca

hippo cactus

cactus flower

Camp Blue Road

wine & cheese

John in hammock

jay bird visiting

squirrel in bucket

our tent

Jessica

Jessica and Matt

Wheel and Deal in the lodge

visiting butterfly

my nephew Daniel

Blue Review skit audition

my niece Lynda

Lynda’s girl pack

Paul, Jessica, Matt

Pete, Eleanor, Katy

Family with Oski the Bear

Jessica

Matt, Blue Review

Jessica, Blue Review

Jessica and Matt

Paul watching a movie

sunset tree

the creek

water skeeter

Pete, Eleanor, kids

pinecones

Jesscia and Paul, Nut Tree Train 1994

Nut Tree Railroad 2009

Nut Tree Railroad flyer 2009

San Francisco in the fog

Images Copyright 2009 by Katy Dickinson and John Plocher