Blackhawk Solar Cook-off

Taylorsville: just the name gives my heart a leap. Sitting low in a lovely large valley surrounded by mountain peaks, a teeny town way up in the Sierras, 20 miles north of Quincy. The campground nestles in the trees and everyone camps helter-skelter, wherever they can find a spot. But it doesn’t matter, because everyone is your friend while you’re there.

We actually arrived a little late on Friday afternoon: greeting all of our friends from Reno Blues Society, and set up our little camp with a rug, batik sheets for curtains. The music starts around seven--three bands, swing, blues, and rock. The crowd really got into the fun of it. When the bands finish, the drum circle begins, going on and on for hours. I adore sleeping with the drums pounding, echoing throughout the campground. You’d think it would be impossible, but it’s amazingly soothing. Both Brad and I fell into a deep, content sleep.

In the morning, I hear the hushed voices of the campers, sipping hot coffee while they fire up the campstoves for pancakes and bacon in the cool mountain air. During the day 14 bands play, it takes all day, while we sit in the shade in our little lawn chairs. Finally we can’t take anymore and move down to the river, putting our lawn chairs right in the water, our feet loving the cool water, watching dragonflies float on air.

The solar cook-off is not really a competition, per se. Everyone gets out their solar ovens, cooks whatever delicious foods they want and shares. That’s it. This whole program is due to the hard work of Bill and Mel Rockett. They sold out of cookers very fast this year. It’s an insulated black box with reflectors and a glass door to hold the heat in. On a sunny day, they cook at about 250-300 degrees. We made brownies in the morning and chicken with artichokes and potatoes for dinner. You can buy one from them at Black Hawk Solar Access, #3 Blackhawk Crk, Quincy, California, 95971 phone: 530-283-1396 or make one of your own.

While all of this is fantastic, what we are really waiting for is the big bouncin’ dance in the Grange Hall. It’s one of only three left in the whole US with a spring-loaded dance floor. Kenny Neal literally got the house rockin’. The whole floor moves, you can’t just “sit it out.”

To end the night, we watch the sky on a dark moonless night—the Milky Way brilliant, shooting stars blazing, with one lonely bullfrog bellowing in the background.