My parents moved the family from a Mexican mountain town (Fresnillo) to my grandparents mountain home in a tiny little town called Dutch Flat, California, located in the Sierras along I-80 west of Reno, NV. We lived with them for about a year and a half when I was about 5 years old before moving to Reno, NV. After moving and for the following 3 years or so, we would "go over the hill" (over Donner Pass) to visit my grandparents several times a year. Ever year after, we went less and less, but only because us kids were so busy with school and activities.
My grandfather was a mining engineer who was working on some of the placer deposits in the area and my grandmother never worked. The memories of being with my grandparents are some of the best and most influential of my life.
While in Dutch Flat, I learned how to:
-speak English
-pan for gold
-build a barbed wire fence
-build an add-on
-pick fruit trees
-feed a hummingbird
-shoot a pistol, 22 rifle, and shotgun
-shift the gears of my grandads VW Beetle while jumping it off a huge bump in the road
-chop wood
-avoid and remove ticks
-steer a wagon while sitting it the bed flying down a steep paved driveway
-make peach and strawberry-rhubarb cobbler
-enjoy soy ice cream, grits, oatmeal, and avocado-mayo sandwiches
I got to meet a gas station owner with a hook for a hand and found out the difference between a pig and a hog. I learned the names for all the birds and animals I saw, that mountain lions could eat your dog, and what a rattle snake looked and sounded like. I also learned about the rocks and how the rocky hillslopes once made families rich with gold.
I don't think I've experience so much in so little time as I did those 5 or so years. I was very close to my grandfather. He's the reason I chose the profession I did and why I enjoy the outdoors so much.
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