Archive for the ‘Lake Tahoe’ Category
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By Michelle Portesi
Happy 2017. What the new year will bring is anyone’s guess. We hope you and yours had a wonderful and safe holiday season. Emphasis on ‘safe’. Mother Nature has really been putting us through our paces lately, with copious snow one day, then below freezing temps, and warm, torrential downpours the next. Slick and icy roads and threats of flooding all add to the driving hilarity. Mix in the usual holiday crush of crowds, road accidents and frustratingly long traffic delays seem to abound, which makes for a long commute to just about everywhere.
In other words, it’s just like a normal rush hour in L.A. or the Bay Area, while driving through 8″ high mounds of 7-11 slurpees or a sheet of frozen ice pops. Good Times…
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But this too shall pass.
If you’re heading out on the road, allow extra time for travel, bring plenty of patience, water to drink (Coffee, Hot Cocoa?), maybe some snacks and a gas can – just in case . I myself idled away a quarter tank of gas for 3 hours just getting from Squaw Valley to Truckee. Even though I could SEE the gas station from where I was, the complete road gridlock made me fret I would run my tank dry just before I could reach it…and therefor become part of the problem. Thankfully I had a gas can in my car so I could pull off the road and hoof it over to the station before disaster struck, if for no other reason than to give me peace of mind that I wouldn’t get stranded. ‘Be Prepared’ is a motto not just for the Boy Scouts.
In hindsight, I probably should have just turned around and grabbed a bite to eat and a glass of wine in Squaw Valley’s village for 3 hours…
Speaking of which, Squaw Valley will be shooting off fireworks on the mountain every Saturday night at 6pm to keep you entertained in town instead of stuck in traffic on Highway 89.
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Yup. Holidays in a tourist town…
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And the same ‘take it easy’ attitude would do you well in the grocery stores too. I personally try to avoid the them from Dec. 21 through January 5th…or longer. The racks always look like a swarm of locusts ran down every aisle, devouring everything in their path anyway…but hey, that may be just me. Make sure you’re stocked up before big storms though so you’ll have food to eat!
It’s a good idea to sign up for Nixle on your smart phone. You’ll get alerts about accidents and warnings on threats in the area. http://local.nixle.com/alert/5817611/
If you’re on Facebook, ask to join Truckee/Tahoe People. I’ve gotten faster, more up to date eye witness info on road conditions, power outages and other hazards in the area than with any news outlet. Having issues come up on my news feed has saved me a world of frustration and wasted time, especially on any possible jaunt to Reno or venturing any further than a mile. www.facebook.com/groups/410275252360759/
There are also a bunch of apps you can download to your phone to help you navigate your way around too, although I haven’t tried any of them personally.
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But enough about that, it’s on to the fun stuff…
To kick off our new year, visit our updated events calendar for what’s happening in our area.
yourfriendinhighplaces.net/events-calendar
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AND THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
By Tim Hauserman
Christmas and the holiday season is a mixed bag of joys and frustrations, priceless memories and travel headaches. One moment we are madly rushing around town picking up all those presents and food that we forgot, the next we are swooning with pride watching Tahoe kids dancing to the Nutcracker or playing in the high school holiday music performance.
The trick of course is to not let the crazy hustle and bustle get in the way of enjoying the good stuff: Getting together with family and friends and expressing gratitude, love and faith. And faith not just in the religious sense, but faith in each other, our community and the future.
For me, Christmas is an opportunity to see my daughters. They live in Boston and Los Angeles with full time jobs, so I don’t get to see them anywhere near as much as I would like. But they try very hard to make it back to Tahoe for Christmas. They come because, for them, Christmas isn’t really Christmas unless they are at Lake Tahoe.
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A Tahoe Christmas usually means snow, but even if there is no snow, there is still tromping through the woods on a crisp day searching for the perfect Charlie Brown Christmas tree. There are cold evenings with the stars shining much brighter in the sky than you will find amongst the lights of the city. And for my girls, there are a bunch of their long since moved away high school friends who also return to town this time of year, because Christmas is Tahoe.
Tahoe and Truckee are places that allow you to focus on the simple traditions that make the holidays special: Singing Christmas carols and gazing at gingerbread houses. Freezing your butt off while tromping through snow, followed by a snuggle close to a warm fire to thaw away the chill. Or howling at the moon with a shot of Schnapps…oh, wait, the rest of you guys don’t do that? Then you must create your own crazy Tahoe Christmas traditions.
May you find your own special holiday here in the mountains, and may you find inner peace, love, friendship and a whole lotta laughter in the year ahead.
From All of us here at Your Friend in High Places, Merry Christmas to All, and to All a Good Night.
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THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
By Tim Hauserman
Just after the recent rains I took a walk through 64 Acres in Tahoe City and noticed two changes in progress in my favorite little city where the lake and river meet. First, the Truckee River is again running underneath the Lake Tahoe Dam, and second, the pathway of the new Fanny Bridge bypass can now be clearly seen, with construction scheduled to begin next summer.
The River
After falling below Lake Tahoe’s natural rim this past September, the Truckee River stopped running from it’s source. Now, after recent heavy rain and snow, the Truckee River again rose to the point where a small stream topped over the natural rim and again is running from it’s source towards Pyramid Lake. The outflow from the lake was very small, which is good news because during the rain event, the Truckee River came close to flood status in both Truckee and Reno. Once the rains stopped, Truckee River homeowners got to breathe a sigh of relief instead of mucking out there living rooms.
The Fanny Bridge Bypass
A swath of trees were just cut to delineate the pathway for the soon to be built Fanny Bridge bypass road. It runs through “64 Acres” just a bit to the south of the road which provides access for rafting and to the Tahoe City Transit Center. For those driving to Tahoe City from the West Shore, once the project is complete, you will encounter a roundabout with the choice to go north over a soon to be rebuilt Fanny Bridge, or to the west to go through 64 Acres and across the Truckee River on a new bridge. After crossing the river onto Highway 89, there will be another roundabout near the Cal-Trans lot. This one will go towards Truckee in one direction, and back to Tahoe City in the other. A third roundabout will replace the stop light at the entrance to Tahoe City and give drivers the same options they have now: Tahoe City, Truckee, or over Fanny Bridge to the West Shore.
THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
Share this: Lynn Richardson, Your Friend in High Places
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 