Utica Reservoir in California's Sierra Nevada-Gay Kraeger

Every summer my neighborhood goes camping at a small lake in the Sierra Nevada. We take all the dogs, kids and grandkids. The kids are growing up now, but they still want to come. My neighbor's 20 year old son was counting the days until we left. My daughters are in their 30s and they still come if they can.

The lake is surrounded by granite, so our week is made up of canoeing, relaxing on the rocks, swimming in the cold water, (not me too much. I don't like to get cold.) and other fun stuff.


For this page I took one of the kayaks out to try and draw the boulders on the edge of the lake. The wind was blowing and I kept drifting past my rock. I had to stop drawing and paddle back upwind from the rock and start drawing again as I drifted by. I had to do this a few times to get the whole rock drawn. I colored it in when I got back to the campsite.


We went on a hike to Lake Alpine, on Highway 4. We didn't go on the paved road. We walked up a 4-wheel drive road that I can't believe anyone would take a vehicle on. We stopped for a few minutes on the way back so I whipped out my sketchbook and drew a little more granite. The blackbirds kept me company as I colored back in camp.