Camping in Murphys <?xml:namespace prefix = o />
The mountains around Murphys north east of <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 />San Francisco attract with their dry hey smell, gorgeous views, refreshing creeks and lakes, fascinating caverns and very little crowds. But this summer even the locals noticed, the water levels are lower than usual.
What caused it? Some say not enough rain and snow in the winter. Others say it is the ever increasing water spending by the growing cities nearby. And then, there are those pessimists who blame it on the global warming. They say we are doomed, this is only the beginning, it only gets worst from here on.
I must say that this summer proved to be unusually hot in other parts of the world as well. In Ukraine, for example, the temperatures stayed above 30's celcium for weeks. This is during the month of August, when it usually cools down to comfortable 17 degrees.
Officials in some counties threaten to cut down water supply if the conservation efforts don’t bring results. Putting a limit on how much water each city can spend is still under discussion.
People say the last dry season in California was in the 80's, which in turn synchronized with the last real estate market crush and a mini stock market crush. Some wonder if this sort of thing happens in cycle, say every 20 years?
I just hope for more rain next year.
It was above 100 degrees Fahrenheit in Murphys over the labor day weekend. I, my dog Fila and three of my co-workers Lili, Spandan and Maggie embarked on a camping trip to reunite with nature, barbecue and sleep in the tent. Well, we couldn't do barbecue because of the fire hazard, but we did pretty much everything else.
Despite the heat and countless flies, the five of us enjoyed our trip. My favorite part was looking up the sky after dark. I could see the outskirts of our galaxy, the Milky Way. There were so many stars, I could not recognize any constellations. It looked like someone spilled thousands of diamonds in the sky. Those are forever, everything else is marketing.