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Roughing It
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Living at the Lake Tahoe basin, you’ll get no argument from me that we’re living in God’s Country. But every once in awhile, you just plain and simply need a little change of pace.
Towards that end, my parents own some property in Graeagle…and by property, I mean just that. Thirty acres of dirt and trees with no house on it. We use it as a sort of family ‘camping ground’. To create our personal, semi permanent yet private outdoor resort, a camper trailer complete with kitchen is hauled in for the season. It sits near more permanent and comfortable ‘fixtures’ on the property, (by which I mean bathroom facilities) of a rather dubious and unorthodox nature, but for which their installation makes for a much more pleasant camping experience. ( Ugh! Who can stomach port-o-potties first thing in the morning? No thank you…)
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A Room with a View?
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Outdoor kitchen/vanity
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Graeagle is about one hour from Truckee, and is perfect for a quick get away. The town is small but quaint, complete with golf courses, restaurants, shops and mill pond for swimming. Hiking and horseback riding is never far away, and there are historical sites in the area to explore as well.
This summer I invited some friends from my AAUW group (American Association of University Women) to spend the night at my family’s little hide-away for our monthly gourmet night. Now the main purpose of AAUW is to raise money to help young girls with academic scholarships and educational opportunities (which we do and support); but really – and who are we kidding here? – the gourmet group’s real reason for existence is just an excuse to get together once a month and cook some incredibly diverse and fantastic food, eat, drink and be merry. We just bring money along to donate to ‘the cause’ while we’re at it.
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Most of the gals slept in tents strewn around the parameter of the property. We cooked, we drank, we ate, we talked, we sat around the campfire, we ate some more…
And as often happens when there is that much good food and wine around, we never did get around to playing on the campsite’s woodland version of a bocce ball court…although in all fairness, I do believe someone’s cot was straddling the middle of it.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it…
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To learn more about Graeagle and the surrounding area, click on the links below.
To learn more about AAUW and/or to find a chapter in your area, click below:
http://www.aauw.org/
If you would like to join the Truckee Chapter of AAUW, contact me at: lynn.richardson@camoves.com
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 
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