Cousin Judy and Friends in Smith Valley, Navada

So Laurie had mentioned that she had a cousin Judy that lived in Nevada and we had an open invite to visit her. Judy came to our wedding and we discussed visiting her if I could get a full 3 weeks of vacation from work. I got the three weeks and on Sunday evening we rolled into Smith Valley in north western Nevada. Smith Valley was nice with hay fields and temperatures in the low 60's at night. The south west always amazes me in that the day time temperatures can get into the 90's but the night time temperatures are nice because there is very little humidity and the air does not hold heat. Step into the shade and you instantly feel cool. We did not run the A/C at night.

Judy immediately made us feel right at home. She had prepared a great dinner with leg of lamb with baked potatoes, salad and raspberry pie for dessert.

Judy had the next day all planned for us. Her friends Dave and Barbara have a cabin up in the mountains. Judy packed a very nice picnic lunch for us and we all headed up into the mountains. We observed eagles and wild horses on the way up to the cabin on a dirt road.

I have to stop here and say I was pleasantly surprised by Judy. She works near Los Angeles, CA and I assumed she was a liberal Californian. But she is an expert marksman. She showed us her gun safe the night before. All I will say is "Don't mess with Judy!" And her friends are just like her.

The cabin was just an old miner's shack with some improvements but it was great. Perfect temperature, a gentle breeze, a spring that never runs dry, dogs running through the grass, blue skies and good company. Dave brought a Henry 22 rifle and the boys soon impressed everyone with their marksmanship skills. I downloaded Barbara's photos onto my iPad and Dave later told me he figured I had already cost him $1000 as Barbara would want an iPad. She is a very good photographer. Dave gave us a tour of the area and we walked with Judy over her mountain property.

That night we had hamburgers and Judy's friend Robert came over to do the grilling We had good food, good drink and great conversation. After dinner Bradley and Robert started talking music and Bradley went to Robert's home with him to do a little jamming.

We all had a great time and thank our new friends Judy, Dave, Barbara and Robert for their hospitality. And the stars and Milky Way were nice also.