The first act of the holiday season

For little old me, the end of summer and the start of fall begins with the annual get together of some friends at South Lake Tahoe known among the the participants as Scratch and Spit.

One member of the band hosts at a rustic cabin at the lake, and the highlight is normally the trip out to some wild spot to engage in dirt road driving and shooting.

This year it was at a high and lonely spot near Monitor Pass and overlooked by Leviathan Peak.

High and lonely is no joke here.  A dusting of snow in the shady spots remains from some early storms, although the weather now is bright and shiny.  Other than one other guy and his dog in a white truck, we saw no one else.  

One of the shooters is a traditional Ruger Blackhawk chambered unconventionally in the antique 256 Winchester Magnum.  It makes a satisfying boom.

My favorite was my newest, the little Ruger SR-22.   Practice is the key here, and by the end of our session in the woods I could hit quite a few things first shot.

Slinkard Valley on the way down to Highway 395.  Notice the fall yellow along the tiny creek bed far below.

One lonely cottonwood was still in it's best fall yellow, although nearly all the aspens higher up were completely bare.

The end of the day was spent at J T's Basque Bar and Restaurant, in Gardnerville, Nevada.  I finally made good on my threats to order the unusual menu item of pig's feet and tripe.  Umm, next time it's back to lamb!