Fourth of July at Putah Creek
We went up to Putah Creek for the Fourth of July again this year, only without Sean and Lucy’s group this time. I invited a few others as well as my new roommate Stephen. It was a great time!
The last year we went was 2024. Alan and I went with our friends Patrick, Michael and John. In 2023 we were on a roadtrip to Wisconsin, but we went in 2022, when Alan and I brought our new neighbor Derreck to meet Sean and Milot and Lucy and her crew. I guess that may have been my first year, though it feels like I’ve been going there for longer!
Anyway, this time Alan and I were thinking of just going with the dogs and maybe one or two other people if they wanted. In the days before, I sent out some feelers and managed to find a decent sized group! Then my attention turned to having enough floating things and getting some music together. I got to experiment with Spotify’s newish list mixing (transition editor) feature, which was pretty fun. My final list is at 2026 River Daze, though it seems the custom transitions don’t currently show up for anyone except me. Bummer!
Preparing for Putah Creek. I bought 6 more of these Intex tubes, as they seemed the sturdiest based on the one I got from Frank when he moved away. Opening them up and seeing the ropes were not pre-tied caught me off guard, and I settled on double or fisherman's knots with two or three turns. It worked out well!
Preparing for Putah Creek. Alan made a whole bunch of sandwiches for everyone.
View of the gear on my roof. I decided to make use of my JBL EON615 speakers, as I rarely go anywhere I can use them! I brought the new power station I got for Burning Man this year, simplifying my manual battery-inverter setup I usually use. I do hope to combine them for more capacity though later.
The view of our spot from the highway. It's a short descent. Our big leafy tree seems to have died back a bit though unfortunately.
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
There was a controlled burn a month ago in June that got out of control and burned 900 acres. This area has burned many times in the last decade.
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Derreck and Alan hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July.
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Yes, Ruffie managed to get a bunch of ticks. But he says it was worth it.
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
I built on my idea from last time to run a rope across the river for attaching floating things. Due to more people this time, I upgraded to a half inch double braided rope of 150 feet, which was just about right. Then I used premade boat mooring attachments with metal clips to allow passing each other. It worked great!
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July. Hon, Derreck, Matt, me, John, Viet, Alan, Matthew, Stephen, An and Tuvale.
Ruffie was pooped after his and Niall's excursion running down the highway earlier. Very bad dogs!
Sky hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Stephen and Niall hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Niall enjoying the creek.
After most of the SF folks headed back, Alan and John and Stephen relaxed on shore while I spent more time on the river.
Pooped!
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
Hanging out at Putah Creek for the Fourth of July
The one problematic part was attaching the rope to the other side, as the log I needed to use was covered in thorny berries and spider webs. Detaching it here was much easier of course, but earlier when I swam out with the rope on my own power in the strong current, it was much harder and took me a good five minutes of struggling.
Fireworks show in Vacaville for the Fourth of July
