I tried out a new product that caught my eye at the grocery store in Reno and ended up with discovering another person trying to make a difference in our world. When Grandpa Ron and I were picking up a few items on our short list, I passed by a separate end display where the words “locally roasted” caught my attention. It was a neat stack of several blends of coffee, offered as beans and ground, certified USDA organic – with a catchy name of “Blind Dog.” We like to support local merchants, so we picked up the “100% Superior Arabica bean” Grand Canyon Espresso to try. Other blends and products are here.
This morning the coffee was a real treat – wonderful aroma and taste! Then Grandpa Ron showed me the back of the coffee packet to read – as I just picked the particular package because it was an Espresso. The back (and also at the website) was The Tail of the Dog– a short tale of Mark Berry, his life and his new passion of Blind Dog Coffee. I learned that with every purchase of Blind Dog Coffee there is a portion given to help fight childhood cancers.
Okay, now he has my attention! I look up Blind Dog Coffee on-line.
“With every bean, pound and bag of Blind Dog Coffee that is sold a portion will be given to Angel Kiss Foundation.”
Blind Dog is a fun and informative website.
You can watch the webcast of Mark Berry, owner of Blind Dog Coffee, on Tahoe Quarterly Television as he tells the story of how he followed his passion in life and work. Several of his news articles are noteworthy.
You can support his cause by purchasing Blind Dog Coffee! What a delicious way to do so!! Even if you are not in Reno, you can order it off the website! Enjoy!
After being a good boy in the car (Are we there yet?) for a full day’s ride from Medford, Oregon to Reno, NV, last December, Austin was rewarded with a morning of sledding! We all had great fun! He must have had 15 to 20 rides down the little incline of cleared landscape – as in – it had fewer rocks than the rest of the land! Lots of fun in the crispy, fresh air! I posted a few runs on youtube:
…and yet another run… I have lots of short clips but they all stop about half way down the hill because I stop the camera so I can catch him. This one runs a little further! Threeeeeee
…and then a closer look at the nearby rocky bits that we maneuvered around for a toboggan run!
We did not make it out of town today after all. We woke up to a totally white wonderland. The fir trees and evergreens were bending with snow on all their branches. The bare trees were all magically white from the pogonip if not a few inches of clinging snow. Even the weather station was covered in snow. There wasn’t any wind!
Grandpa Ron used the snow blower one more time to get another 9 inches off the driveway! The roads were slushy or icy. All of the roads to get back to LA were requiring chains, snow tires and/or 4 wheel drive. After checking the various weather forecasts, we decided to stay one more night here instead of chancing it on the road as we’ve done before. I think our close call last January made both of us more willing to stay.
So we got the suitcase back out of the car and settled back in. We’ll get out early tomorrow.
Here are four pictures from the gazillion I took. One is from last night (guess which one, ha!) and three from this morning.
We certainly are getting lots of snow! Grandpa Ron and I got outside and cleared the drive around noon but we can’t even see the house across the street at times because of the heavy snowfall! Lots of giant fluffy flakes! I guess we’ll be doing it again tonight or maybe we’ll wait till morning. Now the prediction is 3-7 inches more tonight. Grandpa Ron thinks we will still head back to LA tomorrow going out on the desert. Right now the NV DOT map shows snow tires or chains required there, too! I think we will be having another adventure!
This morning I have been trying to find out how much snow is already on the ground around Bishop, Mammoth, Bridgeport and Walker, CA. Another storm is supposedly moving in today but we are trying to anticipate whether we can romp through the region with a 4-wheel drive or if we should take the desert route of 95 to get to Reno. Anyone have any details for us?
Ah, BIGstLittleCity on Twitter helped me out with the forecast out of the Reno Gazette-Journal! And then I found super info on the NOAA site. You just click on the map and it gives you the 7 day forecast! Awesome!! Here is Mammoth, CA! Grab the map with the hand to pull in various directions along the route! 🙂
Here is SafeTravelUSA.com which is awesome for showing NV road conditions on a map – Here is the index for getting to other states as well. Looks like the various state departments of transportation map road conditions a variety of very different ways! This site is very useful for checking any travel conditions – well worth saving as a bookmark or favorite!
Erin Breen’s 11/29/09 Reno Gazette-Journal Family File article on “Driving Home A Lesson That’s Hard To Teach” describes a wonderful experience that all parents strive to have – the opportunity to know that something you tried to teach your children actually became embedded in their character. With the actual number of Americans actively saving money at such an all-time low in these United States, it is refreshing to hear about the small successes!
“Remembering Another Generation” is the name of a great article written by Cory Farley, KBZZ (1270 AM) talk show host from 4-6 pm weekdays in Reno. I’ve written him for permission to reprint it but until I hear back from him, here is the Reno Gazette-Journal article. I really enjoyed the commentary – it put tears in my eyes and sent a flood of memories to Grandpa Ron! I hope you enjoy it, too!
Daredevil Ryan Capes successfully jumped 316 feet between metal ramps with his motorcycle in Reno, NV, as part of the Street Vibrations celebration. First he broke the world record of 252 feet with 287 feet. Then he did a second jump to try to clear 300 feet, his stated goal to the crowd. Here are the Reno Gazette-Journal front page story, sports page story, photo and video. Our Grandson Austin totally LOVES motorcycles! Lots of grandparents and parents were at the ramp jump with their grandkids and kids. In the RGJ front page article, Frank Greenwood of Reno brought his granddaughter to watch the attempt. He explained the dangers involved on the drive over to the Grand Sierra Resort and is quoted as saying: “She [granddaughter] has already asked me about the possibility, and I explained to her just how dangerous this would be. So she understands.”
The event celebrated the grand opening of the Xtreme Sports Bar + Lounge located inside the Grand Sierra Resort. Some estimated the crowd to be more than 20,000 people, to make this event the largest held at the resort ever.
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