Wolf Creek
Lodge Newsletter 
Adult Cohousing in Grass Valley, CA
December, 2017
Editor - Bob Miller
This month we provide a Solar Project update, take you on a mountain bike ride in the Empire Mine State Park, report on the Thanksgiving celebrations, and more ...

There are currently no homes available at Wolf Creek Lodge but there are homes that we know will come on the market. By the time you have properly investigated the Wolf Creek Lodge community and got your existing home ready to sell there will be a home available. See "Available Homes" below. Contact us if you are interested so we can be more specific.

Bob Miller,
Editor.
Solar Photovoltaic - All Systems Go
salute the Sun
On November 11th we met in the Common House for the official switch on of our solar system.

First we went out onto the patio to salute the sun in true yoga style.

Its's important to pay respects to the great fusion reactor in the galaxy.
Krista flips the switch
Krista, point person of the Solar Team, flips the breaker. Dick is hoping she got the right one.

We returned to the common house where we enjoyed a soup and sandwich lunch with Martin, the sales rep from California Solar Electric Company.

And below output from the monitoring system showing the first few days of production.

It's been cloudy and rainy so we expect to do even better when the sun shines.

Now we are trying to work out how much the electric vehicle owners pay the community for the electricity they use - it's complicated!
Solar Panels Production
Mountain bike ride in the Empire Mine State Park
This park is only 700 yards from the lodge. The Empire Mine is "one of the oldest, largest, deepest, longest and richest gold mines in California. Between 1850 and its closure in 1956, the Empire Mine produced 5.8 million ounces of  gold , extracted from 367 miles of underground passages."
The park is now close to 850 acres of forest traversed by trails. The trails are used by walkers, horse riders and mountain bikers.



A mountain bike with front and rear suspension is best.

It's friendly on your joints as you bounce over rocks.

There were reports this fall of a bear with a cub in the park. Note the bear spray strapped to the cross bar. This may be overly cautious but it looks cool
Mountain Bike - close up
freeman and mcknight
Leaving the lodge we turn left on Freeman then right on McKnight
McKnight
Travelling down McKnight we see the trees of the park in the distance.
tunnel
This is the rather narrow trail - almost a tunnel - that leads into the main trails from the back entrance off McKnight.
wider with bike
The trail opens out into a relatively easy going wide trail although it gets steeper in places.
Horses on Trail
We meet a couple of horses. Let's be polite and let them go by - they are bigger than we are.
Junction to Osborne Hill
Here is a junction - on the left is the trail over Little Wolf Creek, turning right takes us to the Osborn Hill Loop.
rock
We reach the end of the main trail and turn right. Here is the challenging portion of our ride. A somewhat narrow trail with rocks reinforcing the trail on the steeper bits. Usually there is a side trail used by mountain bikers.
rock
This is the most challenging part - rather long with three very steep bits. We make it up this about one try in three.
top
Here we are at the top of Osborn Hill - somewhat out of breath but relieved nothing unfortunate occurred.
return with people
The return portion is a more relaxed downhill journey. However, do not over relax. Lying on your back with the bike on top is an unrewarding experience.
return on street
We exit the park to find ourselves back on McKnight - somewhat surprised to rediscover the urban environment after our ride in the park.

Maybe still in time to catch the end of the coffee group in the common house - they check for blood.

There are lots of easier trails but there is nothing like fear to distract you from the effort of a high intensity work out.
Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving lodge members head off in multiple directions. Some visit family and friends, others attend events in the local community while many congregate in the common room for the fine thanksgiving dinner. The Social Team cooked two turkeys - one was the star attraction at the "Thanksgiving Leftovers" potluck on the following Saturday.

An important and healthful tradition is the early morning walk along the Tribute Trail in Nevada City.
tributeTrail
Five members set off early for the hike. The trail passes through chaparral and forest.
3 on the Tribute Trail Bridge
Here we see Vicki, Sue and Sandra on the "Chinese Bridge" . See bylt.org/trail/deer-creek-tribute-trail-urban/
Here is the fine table setting for the dinner
Thanksgivig Table 2017
Thanksgiving 2017 dessert
A sampling of the desserts on offer.
Virginia, Butch and Roger
Virginia, Butch and Roger enjoy the Thanksgiving leftover potluck on Saturday 25th
Tesla Model 3
Model 3 Tesla
Dick arranged for a member of the Tesla staff to visit the lodge with a rare Tesla Model 3. We have already have a Volt and a Tesla Model S. Some members are in-line for a Model 3. At least they got to ride in one!

Casey broke into song:

Santa baby, a Tesla, Model 3, for me
I'll wait up for you, dear
Santa baby, and hurry down the chimney tonight.

Think of all the speed I’ve missed 
Think of all the Teslas that I haven’t kissed 
Santa Baby and hurry down the driveway tonight!
Letter from #104
Suzanne Marriott
What’s Cooking in Grass Valley?
Suzanne for Newsletter
Among the many cultural and educational offerings in Grass Valley is the opportunity to learn new cooking skills.

I recently attended a cooking class at Tess’ Kitchen Store in downtown Grass Valley on Mill St. In addition to three floors of kitchenware, Tess’ Kitchen Store hosts celebrity chefs from far and wide. Not being an experienced cook, I had some trepidation before signing up, but my worries were soon dispelled. Our chef was friendly and the twelve students in attendance ranged from eager novices to regulars. Included on our menu were duck breast with cranberry port sauce, seared salmon with house-made hollandaise sauce, panna cotta with steam-grilled pineapple and caramel sauce, and more. The best part, of course, was eating the food we prepared.

But I have to admit my real reason for attending was to meet the chef, who hailed from The Netherlands. Growing up with Dutch relatives on my father’s side, I was excited to hear a Dutch accent once more. I was not disappointed. And it turned out the chef was from Nijmegen – the town where my grandfather grew up! 
The chef
The meal
Digging in the Dirt
Claire Miller
Claire for column
In theory, winter is here, but Grass Valley’s mellow climate still invites ‘garden time’!

Wolf Creek Lodge gardens never completely go to sleep. In fact, with the recent heavy rain, some plants appear better than ever. There are still quite a few red roses, and a new gladiola has a perfect bloom. The Hellebores (Lenten Rose ) has sprung up and is showing off with big creamy white flowers
Patio tree in Fall
The Landscape Team has been fine tuning our composting efforts. The low-tech wood and wire compost bins have been dismantled and replaced with sleek metal tumbling units. The first ‘harvest’ of compost has recently been added to the vegetable garden to feed the newly planted lettuce and kale. Stand back!!!!

Once all three bins are in full production we should be able to process all of our kitchen waste as well as garden clippings. Think healthy, happy plants, less trash in the land fill, and the good feeling of giving back to the earth. Not to mention the better biceps from turning the tumblers. 

Future thought ?? is to add a sign-up sheet for the privilege of doing the turning (along with a modest ‘gym’ fee).
Living in the Lodge
Magdalene Jaeckel
Magdalene for column
Several of us had the idea to show a very special film in our common house. It is called” In the Parlor; the final good-bye”. It shows how families can take care of their own dead instead of having them picked up by a funeral home and taken out-of-sight.
In The Parlor - a movie
The families who were filmed talked about how healing it was for them to stay close to their loved one in such an intimate way. They showed how they stayed together for a three-day vigil, singing and talking about their life together.

The film also talked about the “new” idea of a “green burial”, which is friendly to the environment. The film was very moving and elicited many questions by the audience. We also learned that this idea is not new but was the custom for many years before the funeral industry became very lucrative.

This film shows a trend that seems to come back into people’s awareness after a period of depending on embalming and burying people in heavy caskets and cement vaults.

I am proud that our community is willing to be in the forefront of ideas “whose time has come”.

Available Homes
There are no homes currently available at Wolf Creek Lodge. However, if you are interested in cohousing and Wolf Creek Lodge we encourage you to find out more. This should be a deliberate process. 

By the time you have decided you want to join our community, have downsized your possessions and prepared to market your current home chances are a home will be available at Wolf Creek Lodge.

We try to keep the latest status on our website. By checking on these links to the website during the month you will get the latest updates. Here are the links: 
 

Contact us: phone: (800) 558-3775 

For details of Open Houses and much more visit our website at:
 
Grass Valley and Nevada City
 
Want to know more about 
Grass Valley and Nevada City? 

Here are some links we have found useful:
  
Down Town Grass Valley -
            www.downtowngrassvalley.com 
Grass Valley Chamber of Commerce -
           www.grassvalleychamber.com/ 
Visit Nevada County - 
           www.visitnevadacounty.com
Sierra Food Wine Art
           www.sierraculture.com
Bear Yuba Land Trust
          www.bylt.org
GIS Receational Viewer -
           gis.nevcounty.net/MyNeighborhood
Go Nevada County - 
           www.gonevadacounty.com/ 
YubaNet Calendar - 
Grass Valley Travel Guide -