My Great-Great Grandmother had this book published January 1, 1889, detailing her move out west and camping experiences throughout most of California's vast countryside. I dedicate my time Camping out in Carrizo to her adventuresome spirit.

Check it out:
http://www.amazon.com/Camping-out-California-J-Rideout/dp/B0068KX4CM

http://hereandnow.wbur.org/2015/05/27/california-drought-wildlife

The clouds this weekend were stunning and my camera did not want to stop shooting pics. Zoom in on a few of these shots to get some of the detail (especially of the Praying Mantis, which was only 3cm long).
Jeff wired up the trailer and we now have interior lighting and outlets working. Thanks Jeff!
The Traver Ranch House is secured again for the time being and I was finally able to look around a little more. Love the old Outhouse, but did not use it :-) 

I'll be heading back out this weekend to do a little "securing" work at the Traver Ranch home. Vandals have ravaged the place. This is the ranch that is closest to our family property.
It is now referred to as the "Bat House". Pretty sad that this amazing estate is now in such disrepair, but pretty damn cool that it is now home to hundreds of local bats as well as a Raven nest. I will post pics next week and am very excited to spend a little time there!
Any donations to Rideout Hideout this week will go directly to BLM Traver Ranch Fund if you would like to help.
Here's a cool video to introduce you to the ranch...

Bailey and I worked our little butts off the last two days getting the trees planted, plumbing the kitchen sink, installing windows and locks and hanging this sun shade.
Johna from the BLM came out this morning and although she is not a fan of anything planted there that is not native to the Carrizo, she loved the trees.
Thanks to Shaw, Nettie and Nancy for donating towards this little project!!!

Cousin Nancy Johnson suggested the Palo Verde Tree as a good choice to plant on our property and has generously made a donation towards that effort. Thanks Nancy!
I will plant three of these next week and nurse (water) them for this next year while their roots get accustomed to the alkaline soil in Carrizo. 

This next week, we will be planting three Palo Verde trees, installing an irrigation setup to help them for the first year, setting up the water pump to supply the kitchen sink in the '51 Spartan Trailer, installing the new door locks, installing the 2 new windows that were broken when I found the trailer and setting up a shade canopy that Shaw and I found on Craigslist. This is going to be such a fun place to "hideout"!

I will be meeting with Craig this next week and wanted to share this email from him this morning. I've already ordered my copy! His previous book, Another Place and Time  was a great read. 


Friends and Fence Busters in the Carrizo Plain,

For better or worse, I have finished a second book set in the Carrizo Plain. Having written one already  (Another Time and Place) about the oral history project, I could not do that again. This book is a collection of short stories inspired either by the setting or by short ideas that came from the histories. The names are all fictional (with one or two exceptions), and although some of you may recognize a detail here and there, the events and the characters are all from my imagination. I did my best to retain a feeling for the Carrisa Plains; I hope this came through. You are welcome to ignore this email entirely. I am not trying to sell the book but rather to make its existence known in case you are interested. The title is “Drifters and Meadowlarks,” and it is available on Amazon. If you are curious, the link below will take you there, and you will find more description. It should also be available on Kindle within a week or ten days. If you do read it and approve, it would help me if you might post a review on Amazon.

What ever you decide, I have appreciated your help and/or encouragement taking care of the Monument.

Craig

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=Craig+Deutsche