Archive for the ‘Winter Recreation’ Category
By Tim Hauserman
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The newest addition to the ice skating options available for visitors and locals at Lake Tahoe is the Tahoe City Winter Sports Park, located in the center of Tahoe City. The park, the summer home of the Tahoe City Golf Course, provides groomed cross country ski trails for beginning skiers and snowshoers, as well as a sledding hill. Now an ice skating rink has been added to the mix for this coming winter.
Folks in Tahoe City have been pining for a place to skate for years. In fact, when the Tahoe City Golf Course was purchased by the Tahoe City Public Utility District a few years ago, “ice skating was by far the number one requested recreation activity the public wanted to see there,” said Cindy Gustafson, TCPUD General Manager.
The 4000 square foot rink is set to open in mid-December. Skate rentals and lessons will be available. Like the ski trails, the skating rink will be managed by Tahoe Cross Country Ski Area. The park will be open seven days a week. Skating will be available from noon until 9 pm on weekdays, and until 10 pm on weekends. Skiing hours will be from 10 am to 5 pm.
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In addition to the skating rink, another addition this year is a new year round restaurant on site, Cafe Zenon. According to owner Suzanne Nguyen the Cafe “will be serving the food I grew up eating and recipes that my Mom passed on to me.” Which will include Vietnamese dishes and sophisticated pup food. Menu items include Vietnamese French dip and Pho, butter seared prawns and for breakfast chicken fried steak and biscuits and gravy. They will be serving breakfast on the weekends and lunch and dinner every day. The restaurant also includes a classic bar that will be serving cocktails and coffee drinks.
Looks like their website is still a work in progress: 253.b9d.myftpupload.com
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By Michelle Portesi
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THE HOUSE
October was a month of heavy precipitation with both rain and snow. The ski areas are anticipating opening before Thanksgiving, and before you know it, winter will officially be here.
The Sierra Sun has a wonderful article on getting your house ready for the season. Among their suggestions were these tips:
* Get your chimney swept out. Nothing puts a damper on the season like a chimney fire. And if you haven’t ordered your wood yet (Whoa! Are you late!!!) best get that lined up ASAP.
*Check your roof and clean out your gutters.
* Check your furnace and put in new air filters.
For more of their home winterizing suggestions, go here: sierrasun.com
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THE YARD
Getting ready for winter isn’t just about your house though. If you want your yard to survive and thrive next spring, you’ll want to take care of a few things outside as well.
* Fall is for planting. Now is the best time to get those plants, shrubs and trees in the ground. Planting in fall allows the plant to put down some roots during the winter so that when spring arrives, they’re acclimated and ready to burst with new growth. While you can still plant in the spring, it can send the plant into shock just as they’re starting their growing spurt, so best to do it now. Landscapers are crazy busy this time of year for just this reason, so call around to make sure someone has time to put you on their schedule.
* Now is also the perfect time to throw wildflower seeds around. Rake up your ground a bit, cast your seed and then spread seed cover over them. They will lie dormant until the spring snow melts, giving them a germinating shot of water to get them started once the ground warms up.
* Get some gardeners tape and wrap up your shrubs and immature deciduous tree branches into tight columns. Winter’s heavy snows can break branches and destroy years worth of growth. Do the same with any potted plants and move them away from roof lines to avoid large, damaging dumps of snow on them.
* I’ve had a horrible time with aphids on my columbine and lupine, and as it turns out, it’s because of what I didn’t do in the fall. I’ve just let the plants die back naturally and that’s actually the worst thing you can do. Aphids lay their eggs in the leaves in the fall for hatching in the spring. So if you’re having trouble with aphids, be sure to cut plants (any that normally would die back in winter) below the leaf line and throw it in the garbage.
*Remember to detach all your hoses and put them in a dry place. Hoses attached to the bib can freeze and that can lead to freezing and a break in the line. And turn off your sprinklers and drain the system if it doesn’t automatically drain.
Here is more advice on how to protect your plants with mulch and ‘heeling in’ anything that’s still in pots. smartpots.com
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Photo from Truckee CHP Facebook page
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THE CAR
And don’t forget about your car. With this weeks early snow and heavy rain, both I-80 and Hwy. 267 were closed down for hours because of accidents. Pete Bansen. chief of the Squaw Valley Fire Department has an informative (and highly amusing) article about preparing for winter driving: Don’t be ‘That Guy’.
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YOU
Find your snow shovels, car snow scrapers and brushes, mittens, hats, winter boots and jackets and have them at the ready so you’re not fumbling around looking for them when you need them the most. Invest in a car Snowhoe if you don’t already have one. It makes getting snow off of your car ten times easier.
Be Safe and Have Fun This Winter!
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THINK OF ME, LYNN RICHARDSON, FOR ALL OF YOUR LAKE TAHOE AND TRUCKEE REAL ESTATE NEEDS!
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By Michelle Portesi
Even as I write this, the wind is whipping and light precipitation comes and goes as the area tries to decide what season we’re in. While the leaves have just turned in all of Fall’s glory, I’m really hoping these force 10 winds won’t blow them off the trees just yet. That being said, it is obvious that winter will soon be blustering its way into the area and reminding us to get our gear in order.
Ski Swaps are great for that, especially for those with families. It’s no secret that ski equipment is pricey stuff and kids grow out of it all too quickly. For more advanced skiers, it’s a chance to upgrade equipment without spending ‘beaucoup dinero’ for brand spanking new items at the ski shops.
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* Ski Swap Season kicks off this weekend at the North Lake Tahoe Ski Swap and Homewood Pumpkin Festival. The event has new owners and has changed its venue to Homewood Mountain Resort. There will also be a raffle and bake sale with 100% of the proceeds benefiting the North Tahoe PTO, supporting their youth programs.
But wait! There’s more! Even if you’re not in the market for new equipment, Homewood is also having its Pumpkin Festival at the same time, so if you’re aching for some pumpkin pie or want to try your hand at being the best pumpkin carver ever, here’s your chance. For more information, go here: www.facebook.com/events
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* The Truckee-Donner Recreation and Parks District holds their Ski and Board Swap on Nov. 5th at the Community Rec. Center at 8924 Donner Pass Rd.
Proceeds from the Swap help support Truckee Youth Sports Programs such as Buddy Werner, Girls volleyball and Youth basketball. For more info or to volunteer, go here: tdrpd.org
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*Meyers Gear Swap (South Lake Tahoe) Sunday Oct. 23. 2016 from 11am-2pm. 3170 US Highway 50, Meyers, CA 96150-9214. For more info, go here: www.facebook.com/events
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*UNR SKI SWAP will be held Nov. 11-12 at the Grand Sierra Resort.
Save up to 70% on new and used items.
20% of all sales go to benefit the UNR Winter Sports Club. For more information go here: unrskiswap.com
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*As of this writing, the Tahoe XC Ski Swap page has not been updated for 2016. Go here for more information and future updates: tahoexc.org
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** My apologies to the Sky Tavern Ski Swap which had already been held by the time this article was posted. Located on the Mt. Rose Highway, 30 minutes from Reno, Sky Tavern is the oldest non-profit ski and snowboard training facility in America. Here is their info: www.skytavern.com
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And don’t forget to buy your season ski passes if you haven’t already. The further into the season we get, the more expensive they are. Go to the Ski Area Column on the left hand side of this page for links to your favorite local ski areas.
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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
YOUR FRIEND IN HIGH PLACES 