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Are you going to Burning Man?

Wow! What a change in the weather over the weekend. We went from record breaking highs last week to late Fall conditions in just a few days. I can't wait to see what this Winter will be like. Is it too early to start waxing the skis? The highs barely got out of the 40s and today will still be cool with a chance of scattered showers. It will warm back up by the middle of the week but the upcoming Labor Day weekend looks cooler again, although not as cool as what we just experienced. Be sure to check the forecast before you go camping or hiking. A great source for local weather is sierraweather.com

I'm sure most of you have heard of the Burning Man Festival. I've never been and only heard accounts and seen pictures of elaborate giant structures belching fire, bizarre costumes, naked bodies, and hedonistic partying in the middle of the Nevada desert. That's certainly enough to spark my interest so I decided to find out more. My days of hedonistic partying are long gone, so I probably won't be attending, but some of you may decide it's an experience not to miss after reading more about it. Burning Man is a festival held every year in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, about 100 miles north of Reno by the town of Gerlach, described by BurningMan.com as “dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance,”.  OK, that kind matches what I've heard. It's scheduled the week before and including Labor Day weekend, so this year the dates are Aug. 30 to Sept. 6. Tens of thousands of people will gather in the desert to create Block Rock City. There's a different theme each year and this year the theme is “Metropolis”. Festival participants try to find ways to represent the theme through large art exhibitions, theme camps, gifts brought for others, and costumes. In addition to art, the event features Mutant Vehicles, many of which are motorized, which are creatively altered cars or trucks. Be forewarned, the festival is clothing-optional and public nudity is fairly common, although not practiced by the majority.

The Burning Man event began as a bonfire ritual on the summer solstice in 1986 when Larry Harvey, Jerry James, and a few friends burned a 9-foot wooden man as well as a smaller wooden dog on Baker Beach in San Francisco. Even earlier, sculptor Mary Grauberger, a friend of Harvey's girlfriend Janet Lohr, held solstice bonfires on Baker Beach for years prior to 1986, some of which Harvey attended. When Mary stopped organizing the gatherings, Harvey took over. Harvey states that he did not see the movie "The Wicker Man", which features a large hollow wicker statue of a man burned at the end of the movie, until many years later. Stating that it didn't inspire him and rather than allowing "Wicker Man" to become the name of the ritual, he started using the name "Burning Man". In 1990, a separate event was organized by Kevin Evans and John Law in the dry lake known as Black Rock Desert. Meanwhile, the San Francisco event was stopped by the police for lack of a permit. Through a network of common friends and word of mouth, the San Fransisco effigy was transported to the Black Rock Desert and Burning Man and Black Rock City were merged. 

Black Rock City is arranged in a semi circle or C design, with the Man Sculpture and his supporting structure at the very center. The innermost street is named Esplanade, and the other streets are named based on the overall theme of the burn, and ordered in alphabetical order. The Black Rock City Airport is located next to the city and serves private airplanes, helicopters, hot air balloons, ultralights, gliders, and skydivers. The event has a "leave no trace" policy which includes removal of all trash, burning only on platforms (not on the desert floor), and even removal of all waste water by either packing it out or evaporation in plastic lined pools. The participants are transported to the event in shuttles originating in Reno and San Francisco and, during the event, from the nearby towns of Gerlach and Empire. The preferred form of transportation at the event is the mountain bike on the hard pack desert floor. If this sounds like a once in a lifetime experience you'd like to try you can get more information at www.burningman.com and see wikipedia.org/wiki/Burning_man for more details and history.

If your idea of a wild time is doing a cannonball into the Olympic Village Inn pool and you decide Burning Man is not for you, here's another idea for something to do this week. The 22nd Annual Alpen Wine Festival takes place at Squaw Valley on Sept. 5 from 2pm to 5pm. It features wine tasting, live music and a silent auction and raffle. A $40 donation includes a Spiegalau crystal souvenir wine glass and tastings from over 40 Vineyards. It all benefits Can Do Multiple Sclerosis, a national nonprofit organization and innovative provider of lifestyle empowerment programs for people living with MS and their support partners. For more information go to www.squaw.com/22nd-annual-alpen-wine-festival. Burning Man is not for everyone, but it's a truly unique phenomenon of our time taking place close by that, at the very least, stimulates our interest and imagination. If you go, it promises to be something you'll remember for the rest of your life. If you decide it's not for you, you can lounge in the   spa, order one of those flaming drinks, and call it a night. Have a great week!

Do your possessions make you happy?

We're in for a roller coaster week in the weather. After a cool weekend, the weather will start out hot. The trough of low pressure that brought us highs in the 60s and lows in the 30s over the weekend is being replaced by a high pressure system building in from the Four Corners area with record setting high temperatures for some areas. It will start to cool back down by Thursday and then temperatures take a nose dive by the weekend. We may even get some precipitation to over the higher terrain. Signs of an early Fall? As we get closer to Fall, these up and down fluctuations will become more frequent as the seasons begin to change. It means you'll have to keep an eye on the forecast if you're planning any outdoor activities in the high Sierras. A good source for local weather information is www.tahoeloco.com/weather-geek.

I read an article the other day that got me thinking about my possessions and how they relate to my overall feeling of happiness. I often feel overloaded by the number of "things" I own, many of which sit unused in closets, storage rooms, or the garage. I buy gadgets because I think they'll make my life better or easier, but usually this is just a temporary fix and in the long run they just make my life more disorganized and cluttered. I really try, now, to think before I buy something and ask myself if I really need it or is it just going to end up sitting in a corner collecting dust in a couple of weeks. It's amazing how often I've decided I really don't need that new tool or toy. The article I read was by a couple who felt like I did and challenged themselves to limit all their possessions to just 100 items. They lived in the city so they sold their car and used mass transit, they had one pan and 2 sets of silverware in the kitchen, they moved to a much smaller apartment with one chair and one table, and so on. This seems like an incredible hardship but after living like this for a few months they said they were much happier than they were before. After all, the pursuit of happiness is really the ultimate goal of everything we do, whether it be searching for a romantic relationship, acquiring money, or surrounding ourselves with possessions. Just consider that with possessions, maybe less is more. I'm not suggesting that all of us start selling most of what we own and limit ourselves to 100 items. It's more of a change in our way of thinking about what "things" mean to us and what makes us happy. Many of you may be frequent travelers to Olympic Village Inn and this philosophy can relate to your traveling habits, too. Do you really need 10 complete outfits for a 5 day stay? How many pairs of shoes will you actually wear? I'm as bad as anyone, with special shoes for running, hiking, cycling, going out to dinner, and just walking. Wouldn't packing and unpacking be a lot easier if you just brought less "stuff"? It's something for each of us to think about and decide if less "things" equals more happiness.

Here are some ideas for things to do during your new slimmed down stay at Olympic Village Inn. On Aug 28 at 5:30, the Toccata Winds will be in concert at the Squaw Valley Chapel in Olympic Valley as part of the 5th Big Blue Summer Music Fest. This is the principle wind players of the Tahoe Symphony Orchestra and Chorus in a concert featuring works by Bach, Handel, Grieg, and Onslow. You can read more about them at www.toccatatahoe.com.

A fun local Truckee event for kids is the Tahoe Family Festival by KidZone Museum. It's Sunday, August 29 at the Truckee Regional Park Amphitheater from 11am - 5pm. A "Fun-Raiser" for the KidZone Museum, it runs $5 for adults and Kids are free. There will be live music and a bike rodeo all afternoon, which includes an obstacle course, bike safety, and "all things bike". This is another one of those small home town events that you don't get in the big cities. Visit their website at www.kidzonemuseum.org/tahoeFamilyFestival.

The last two scheduled Tuesdays Bluesdays are coming up on Aug 24 and Aug 31 at Squaw Valley USA. If you've never been before, these are free blues concerts on the Events Plaza Stage with well known regional blues musicians. Here's the last two events:

 Aug. 24th-6pm-8:30
"Austin Great"
Carolyn Wonderland

Aug. 31st-6pm-8:30
"BMA's Piano Player of the Year"
Eden Brent

Get all the details at www.squaw.com/tuesdays-bluesdays. Check out our Olympic Village Inn Facebook page for more ideas  .

Feeling like shedding a few possessions? Start with just a few items and see if you don't feel less cluttered and happier for it. Sell them on Ebay or Craig's List, give them to relatives, or donate them to your favorite charity or thrift store. Providing someone in need with your unwanted possessions will bring you double happiness. Have a great week!

Make Summer memories before it's too late

We're in the middle of August and Fall in the high Sierras is not far off. The beginning of the week looks warm so there's still time to swim, sail, hike and bike before the snow begins to fall. We'll see cooler temperatures by the end of the week as another trough drops down from the north and sits over us. This has been the pattern for most of the summer keeping us comfortable while the East Coast bakes. If this pattern continues into the Fall we could have an early Winter. Soon the leaves will be changing, there'll be a chill in the air, and water skiing through the cold spray of Lake Tahoe won't seem as inviting. All the signs are here that Summer will soon be over; school is starting, football is on TV, and stores are bringing out their winter clothes. If you've been procrastinating about taking that hike or going to that outdoor concert, now is the time to do it. Summer ends early in the Sierras and it will be gone before you know it.

Here are some ideas to make Summer memories before it's over. We'll start with our neighbor Squaw Valley USA. All Summer long they've had a series of events that will be ending soon. The last weekend of Sunset Hikes from High Camp will be on August 20, and August 21. These are weekly guided tours from High Camp, el. 8200', to the peaks of Squaw Valley as the sun sets.You can enjoy the beauty and tranquility of the high peaks of Squaw Valley with a glowing sunset as a backdrop. The hikes last approximately 1-2 hours, cover easy to moderate terrain, and are taken at an easy pace. No reservations are needed but you need to register with the guide between 5:30 and 6:00 at the top of the Cable Car. You can read more at squaw.com/sunset-hikes-high-camp-el-8200.

Also ending soon is the free Summer Movie Series in the Village at Squaw. Snuggle up under the stars and watch new releases and classics in The Village Events Plaza on the big screen. The movies start at dusk and blankets and warm clothes are recommended. The last two scheduled dates are August 19, showing "The Princess and the Frog" and August 26, showing "Up". You can see details at squaw.com/summer-movie-series-village-squaw-dusk.

A popular local event is Truckee Thursdays. It's in downtown Truckee and runs every Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. It features live music, Foothills Farmers Market, beer garden, vendors, food and wine, kid activities including a bounce house, arts and crafts, and more. You can shop for local produce and sample great beer while listening to some great music. Truckee has that home town feel that you don't get from some of the large resorts and casinos around Tahoe. It's a refreshing change.

Also ending this week is the Friday night concert series Music on the Beach at Kings Beach. The lastconcert is Aug. 20 and features the The Trey Stone Band, an innovator in the 70’s Soul Funk explosion. Trey is a guitarist and keyboard player as well as a vocalist and has contributed to the writing and production of many hit recordings. The concert starts at 6 pm and lasts about 2 hours. You can read more and watch a video of the band at gotahoenorth.com/highnotes .

Just like the geese and the bears, we can sense the change of seasons. It may still be hot but the days are shorter and the sun is lower in the sky. We instinctively know the change is coming and start thinking ahead towards cozy nights in front of the fire and gliding down the frozen ski slopes. Those days will be here soon enough but don't  forget to make some Summer memories to help warm you during those cold Winter nights. Have a great week!

Everything you wanted to know about the Perseids meteor shower this week

This week the Perseids meteor shower will be at it's height on Thurday, August 12. Most of us have heard of it and maybe even watched it, but I decided to dig a little deeper to understand more about this special natural light show that has been observed for about 2000 years. A meteor shower is defined as an increase in the number of meteors at a particular time of year. Most meteor showers are the result of Comets shedding icy, dusty debris as they orbit the Sun, and if the Earth travels through this debris, we see a meteor shower. Where the Earth and stream meet determines the area of the sky from which the meteors appear to fall, sometimes from a nearby constellation. This spot is what astronomers call the radiant and is how the Perseids meteor shower got it's name, meteors appear to fall from a point in the constellation Perseus. The debris stream that causes the meteor shower is called the Perseid cloud and consists of particles ejected by the comet Swift-Tuttle as it moves through its 130 year orbit. Some of the debris in the dust cloud is over 1000 years old but new dust was pulled from the comet in 1862 and the rate of meteors originating from this new stream is much greater than that from the older dust. The Perseids meteor shower is visible from mid-July, but the activity is at its peak between August 9 and 14 when the rate of meteors can reach 60 or more per hour. The night of greatest activity this year is expected to be August 12, with the most activity in the pre-dawn hours.

There are may great spots around the Tahoe-Truckee area to watch the meteor shower, but if you're staying at Olympic Village Inn, our neighbor Squaw Valley USA has a great package with some extras, the Perseid Meteor Shower Campout. You can view the show from the thin atmosphere of High Camp at 8200' as you camp out under the stars. Expect to see colorful fireballs, occasional outbursts and hours of beautifully streaking meteors. It's natures Fourth of July! Ride the Cable Car up and start the evening out with a a sunset hike, if you like, around Squaw Valley’s upper mountain peaks or eat dinner at the mountaintop cafe. Then go to an informational briefing on telescopes, enjoy campfire activities and at 10 pm, the meteor shower viewing begins.  In the morning you can enjoy a continental breakfast before descending in the Cable Car. The package includes Professional stargazers on site to answer questions about meteor showers, viewing telescopes, a campsite, High Camp evening activities (ice skating and swimming) and a continental breakfast. Reservations are required for the Perseid Meteor Shower Campout and this event does sell out. For more information and to make reservations please call 1-800-545-4350 and see www.squaw.com/perseid-meteor-shower-mountaintop-campout for more details.

If you'd rather not do an overnight campout, there's another organized event in the area centered around the Perseids meteor shower. Tahoe Adventure Company, who I've talked about before with their kayak tours, has a Star Tours Hike called "Deep Sky Wonders and the Perseid Meteor Shower". It's on August 12 from 7pm to 11pm from Tahoe Vista Regional Park and costs $65. per person. Professional and knowledgeable guides will accompany you to teach you about the wonders of the night sky and answer your questions. One is award winning astronomer Tony Berendsen, who is currently the President of the Northern Nevada Science Coalition and previously was the President of the Astronomical Society of Nevada. Get more details at www.tahoeadventurecompany.com/ourtrips/Custom/startours.

Of course, all you really need to view the meteor shower is a clear view of the night sky away from lights. Luckily, our area has almost infinite possibilities to do this, so if you're not going to attend an organized event, stake out your favorite spot early so you're ready. The weather this week should be perfect for star gazing but typically chilly at night, so bring a sweater or a sweat shirt. The intense thunderstorms we experienced over the weekend should be gone as drier air filters into the area. Temperatures this week will be slightly below normal as a trough of low pressure sits over us, eventually turning into a cutoff low. Temperatures will increase some by the end of the week bringing us back to normal. The Perseids meteor shower serves as a reminder of the beauty and wonder of the night sky and stars. Any night of the year you can step outside your house, look up and let your mind wander the universe. Have a great week!

Is It Time to Change Your Routine?

I just learned a new term and it describes our weather perfectly. It's called the "Goldilocks Zone", not too hot and not too cold, referring originally, of course, to her bowl of porridge. It's actually a real term used to describe habitat zones on the earth (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Habitable_zone), but also works well to characterize our weather for the week. We are sandwiched in between an upper level trough currently just off the coast with high pressure ridging centered over the desert southwest/rocky mountains. This leaves us in a quiet weather pattern through the week with near normal high temperatures and dry conditions with a stable southwest flow. It just doesn't get any better than this.

I guess this is my week for new terms. I heard another new term last week from a friend, "Muscle Confusion". I immediately got a mental picture of me dancing, but that's another story. Apparently it's a very in vogue term made popular by the infomercial for the P90X workout video and refers to a "form of cross-training that achieves maximum results and avoids the plateau effect, allowing muscle groups to continuously improve during phases of controlled yet unfamiliar movements." (See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Horton_(exercise_instructor)). It seems that when we do the same exercise or activity all the time, our muscles get more efficient at it, which reduces the benefit of the time spent exercising as well as leaving other muscle groups untoned. As an example, getting more efficient at the same activity would make sense if your goal was to gather food by running after wounded wildebeests across the Serengeti plain, but if overall cardiovascular health and toning is your goal, you need to confuse those muscles.

As I thought about this concept I got another related idea from an article I read. It was about a man preparing to move and the whole packing process got him thinking about the things we do that don't make sense any more. Without the pressing decisions about what to keep and what to throw away that packing up a house forces, we just keep on doing the same things. Unless we're forced to think about them, we just blindly keep repeating them because we always have. Why do I still write in my checkbook ledger and file paper statements when I do everything online now? Why do I eat the same thing for breakfast every morning when there are so many other choices? Why do I always go to the same restaurant when there are so many others to choose from? You get the idea. All our lives are different but stop and examine the things you do regularly and if a routine makes sense, keep it, if it doesn't lose it and try something new. 

The concept of muscle confusion, keeping our muscles from getting too comfortable doing the same thing over and over, and abandoning things we do without thinking that don't make sense anymore both speak to routines. We all have them. Some are good, like paying our bills every month. But we all could benefit by examining our daily routines and changing them where it makes sense. If you routinely use the stair stepper at the gym, try tennis a couple of days a week instead. If jogging is your thing, go biking instead. If you consider exercise the "E" word, just go for a walk. Not only will you be healthier and better balanced, but you'll have added new excitement to your day. Also, just like cleaning your house when you move and throwing out the things that don't make sense anymore, you can benefit by doing the same with your routines. Your life will be more interesting and efficient for it.

What does all this have to do with life in the Sierras and Olympic Village Inn? We're located in the middle of the perfect playground to confuse those muscles! In Summer swim, jog, cycle, golf, play tennis, hike, kayak. In Winter downhill ski, crssscounrty ski, snowshoe, ice skate, build a snow man. If you're a part time resident or vacationing, don't forget to think about your routines away from home, too. When you're here, try going to a play instead of a movie. Go to Lake Tahoe or Donner Lake for a picnic instead of that same old restaurant. Routines are meant to be broken. Check our Olympic Village Inn Facebook Events page  and Twitter updates  for ideas to spice up your day and your life. Have a great week!

Where to Find Adventure in the Sierras

The week ahead looks cooler with a trough of low pressure hanging around the West Coast all week. Thunderstorm activity will increase today and they should be wetter and windier than those on Sunday. The threat of thunderstorms will be with us for most of the week, although the area of stronger storms should move south and east of Tahoe. We are approaching the monsoon season, usually August and September, when a high over the four corners region drives moisture up the Sierra range and thunderstorms erupt in the afternoon as the sun heats the moist atmosphere. There's nothing like a little thunder, lightning, and hail to add some excitement and adventure to the day.

This week, I thought I'd take a look at where to find adventure in the mountains of the Tahoe-Truckee area. Not Indiana Jones style adventure, where you're flying down a mine shaft in an ore car with a boulder the size of a house bouncing behind you ready to squash you like a bug. Not the typical daily adventure that most of us experience, either, like ordering a strange new dish at our favorite restaurant. The activities I'm targeting are enough to get your adrenalin going, yet relatively safe and responsible. We'll start at our nearby neighbor, Squaw Valley USA. Squaw Valley’s world famous mountain bike park reopened on July 16, 2010 and will be open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays for the summer. It's been out of action for almost a decade and has over fifteen miles of downhill single track and mountaintop cross-country trails. It's been the site of the Mountain Bike World Cup, Fat Tire Festivals and Downhill Mania events. It's been rebuilt to give the the trails better flow and allow the bikes to run more freely using the mountain’s natural terrain.Squaw Valley has also opened three intermediate cross-country trails on top of the mountain. You can enjoy scenic loops through fields of wildflowers with breathtaking views overlooking Lake Tahoe and the Sierra peaks. There is no better way to enjoy the mountains and challenge yourself than on a mountain bike. Cruise the single track trails in silence or fly downhill as fast as you dare. The combination of adrenaline, endorphins and high altitude will make you feel alive. For a more leisurely cruise, you can take the bike path from Squaw Valley's trails and peddle along the Truckee River all the way to Lake Tahoe. You can rent your bike and all your equipment at Squaw Valley and a ticket includes unlimited cable car rides. Read more about it at www.squaw.com/mountain-trail-biking.

Two more action activities at Squaw Valley are Paintball and the Zip-Line. Two Paintball courses, "Woodsball" and "Speedball" will provide upper mountain adventure. The "Woodsball" paintball course uses natural terrain along the Silverado ridgeline adjacent to High Camp, el. 8200'. The "Speedball" course is still under construction and will be open sometime in mid-July. See www.squaw.com/paintball for details. The Zip-Line provides thrilling fun for kids. Located at the mountain's base next to the Funitel, it overlooks the granite peaks of Red Dog and KT-22. Enclosed in a harness, kids climb the launch tower and fly across a field landing safely 200 feet away. Read about it at www.squaw.com/zip-line.

What could be more exciting and adventurous than flying high above Lake Tahoe? Why not try  Para-sailing? North Tahoe Water Sports offers equipment and boat tows with lines from 500 feet to 1400 feet, depending on how brave you feel. They operate out of multiple locations in Kings Beach, and in Tahoe City at the Tahoe City Marina, they operate as Lake Tahoe Para-sailing. As you're lifted out of the water and start to gain altitude, you try to catch your breath as you sail above the sparking blue water of Lake Tahoe with the surrounding mountains in the background. It's a thrilling and memorable experience that will fulfill your need for adventure. Visit www.northtahoewatersportsinc.com for details and www.theweeklymagazineonline.com for an enjoyable account of the experience.

If you'd like some exercise with your adventure and are feeling competitive, the Tahoe 24 hr Adventure Race is taking place on July 31st in the beauty of the Sierra Mountains and Lake Tahoe. Racers spend 24 hrs navigating, trekking, running, paddling, and mountain biking. The race takes advantage of Tahoe’s famous mountain biking and hiking trail network. Racers explore areas of Tahoe and other parts of the region that very few ever experience. A 24 hour race is a real challenge, even for those of us that are feeling fit, and qualifies as a true adventure. See www.gotahoenorth.com and www.bigblueadventure.com  for more information.

Adventure is where you find it and means different things to different people. These are just a few ideas to show you some of the adventurous activities our area has to offer. Don't be afraid to try anything that moves you out of your comfort zone and gets your adrenaline flowing. You'll find the exhilaration you feel is well worth the effort. Have a great week!

Music in the Sierras

It was a hot weekend but relief is on the way. After above normal temperatures over the weekend, a low pressure system dropping down from the Pacific Northwest will bring normal to below normal temperatures for the next few days. There's no real threat of thunderstorm activity, so conditions should be very comfortable for any outdoor activities you have planned. As I was going through some of the websites that list events in our area, I was impressed by the quantity and quality of musical  programs and concerts scheduled for the summer months. Most are outdoors under the trees with the beautiful scenery of the Sierras as a backdrop. We're not that far from Reno or South Shore with the big acts that appear at the casinos, but there's really no reason to drive that far or pay those high prices to hear great music. I can only highlight a few of the many events here, but there is something for everyone no matter what your musical tastes.

We'll start close to home with the Wanderlust Festival July 29, 2010 - August 1, 2010 at Squaw Valley, USA. This four day event brings together the yoga and rock and roll in a celebration of the body and senses. Some of the worlds leading yoga instructors will be on hand, along with an exciting lineup of bands, including Moby, Bassnectar, the Brazilian Girls and more, with the spectacular scenery of Squaw Valley as a backdrop. Listen to tunes while you tune into your body and mind. Read more about it at and even watch a video at www.squaw.com/wanderlust-festival or visit the event website, www.wanderlustfestival.com.

The 2010 Lake Tahoe Music Festival is a series of concerts that features classical, classic rock, California rock, Broadway, R&B and country music. There's something for everyone. It started out as a small festival geared for locals, but now brings top name bands and performers, along with concert goers, from all over the world. It brings a whopping 4 million dollars to the Tahoe-Truckee region, which allows them to continue to draw top name bands. The next upcoming concert in the series is Strictly Classical, on July 21. This features the 36-member Orchestra Academy with special guest Ariana Ghez, principal Oboist for the Los Angeles Philharmonic. It takes place on the lawn at Granlibakken from 6 to 7 p.m. On July 22, one of my favorite bands, America, will perform at the West End Beach at Donner Lake at 7 p.m. This is part of the America-40th Anniversary Tour and features Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell performing some of their rock classics like "A Horse With No Name". This is one not to miss, the inspired music of America with scenic Donner Lake as a backdrop. For those who enjoy Broadway, there's Broadway’s Best on July 24 with Tony Award-winner Debbie Gravitte and the Orchestra Academy at 7 p.m. at Tahoe Donner Golf Course. Gravitte is known for her gripping vocals and a commanding stage presence. Some other upcoming performers include Wynonna, and two more of my favorite performers, Michael MacDonald and Natalie Cole. No matter what your musical taste, you'll find a memorable musical event you'll enjoy at the Lake Tahoe Music Festival series of concerts. Read more about it at www.theweeklymagazineonline.com and tahoemusic.org.

There's also a series of free weekly concerts and events that go on almost every day of the week. Tuesdays at the Village at Squaw Valley its Blues Tuesdays from July 6 - August 31. Wednesdays its Truckee Regional Park Music at the Park June 16 - August 25. I've spent several enjoyable Wednesday evenings on the grass at this event. Thursdays its the Truckee Downtown Music Series June 17 - August 19 and the River Ranch Lodge Summer Music Series June 24 - August 19. Fridays we have the Kings Beach's 2010 Music Series, Kings Beach, CA,  July 2 - August 20. Saturdays feature the Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort Summer Music Series June 19 - August 28 and the Heritage Unplugged at Heritage Plaza, Tahoe City, CA, June 26 - August 28. Lastly, Sundays have Concerts at Commons Beach, Tahoe City, CA June 20 - September 5 and Northstar-at-Tahoe Resort Summer Music Series June 20 - August 29. See www.gotahoenorth.com for more information and links.

Whew! You can hear great music all week long for free and see top entertainment under the tress and stars with the Sierra as a backdrop. One more reason why the Tahoe-Truckee area is such a great place to live or vacation. Don't forget to check our Olympic Village Inn Specials  page  for special offers and our Olympic Village Inn Facebook page  for news and events. Have a great week!

How to survive the "Dog Days" of Summer

The weekend was warm and beautiful. Today should be about the same and then cool slightly by mid week before even hotter temperatures arrive by the end of the week. This Saturday could be one of the the warmest days we've had this year. The thunderstorm threat will be moving to our east at least through the weekend. We are beginning the "Dog Days" of summer, when the most exciting news in the weather is a rise or fall in the temperature of a few degrees and an occasional thunderstorm. I had a vague idea of what the "Dog Days" meant, but it's such an odd term I decided to go to my trusty Wikipedia to get the real meaning. According to Wikipedia, "Dog Days" (Latin: dies caniculares) are the hottest, most sultry days of summer. In the northern hemisphere, they usually fall between early July and early September." OK, it's not exactly sultry in Olympic Valley but this is the beginning of the period when we get our hottest weather. Wikipedia also says "The Romans referred to the dog days as dies caniculares and associated the hot weather with the star Sirius. They considered Sirius to be the "Dog Star" because it is the brightest star in the constellation Canis Major (Large Dog). Sirius is also the brightest star in the heavens besides the Sun." So that's where the "dog" term came from. This all sounded very peaceful and benign until I read the next line. "Dog Days were popularly believed to be an evil time "when the seas boiled, wine turned sour, dogs grew mad, and all creatures became languid, causing to man burning fevers, hysterics, and phrensies" according to Brady’s Clavis Calendarium, 1813." Yikes! It would take a lot to boil cold Lake Tahoe but I'm going to keep an eye on my dog just in case. To keep us all from getting "languid", I've come up with some ideas for things to do close to home at our Olympic Village Inn neighbor, Squaw Valley USA, that are within walking distance of your room. Since we're in the "Dog Days", I also have a couple of events that honor our furry friends.

If you love your dog, you can take him or her out on a date! Every Monday night at 6pm from June 28 - September 6, it's "Doggie Date Night" at the Slot grille in the Squaw Valley village. They feature a special menu for dogs and their people. Even if you're away from home and just miss your dog, you can go and share the love. See www.squaw.com for details. If you're feeling more energetic and love dogs and art, you can go to the Art Paws & Bark Fest on Sunday, July 18 from 10am – 5pm. It takes place at McKinley Arts & Culture Center/Park, Reno NV by the beautiful Truckee River. You can sip wine while enjoying animal themed arts and crafts. You'll see jewelry, sculptures, oil and watercolor paintings along with animal themed fine wines such as Colibri Ridge Winery's 2005 El Dorado Rufous Red to Mutt Lynch Winery's Unleashed Chardonnay. It all benefits the Humane Society of Truckee-Tahoe and another non profit organization in Reno, NV. Get more details at www.tahoe.com and www.tailsbythelake.com.

Squaw Valley USA is known worldwide for its incredible winter skiing but they also have a huge list of summer events. Coming up July 17 - July 18 is the 9th Annual Art, Wine & Music Festival at Squaw Valley's base village. The two-day annual event features two performance stages, restaurants and shops, and walkways lined with fine art booths and exhibits. From 2 to 5pm., wine lovers can sample offerings from 15 top wineries and take in the fine art exhibition featuring more than 30 artists. In addition, Oscar Reynolds will perform on both days from 1 to 5pm. With a career of over 40 years in music, Bolivian-born artist Oscar Reynolds has received honors from the Bolivian government under Evo Morales' administration for his lifetime achievement in music in developing, performing, and promoting Bolivian music in Bolivia and around the world. Also, North Lake Tahoe’s Groove Foundry will perform from 2 to 5pm. on both days. The event is from 11am to 5pm, with wine tasting from 2pm to 5pm and is $25 per person/day. Read more about it at www.squaw.com.

While you're at Squaw Valley, you can take in the Soaring Kites and Music Festival, noon to 5pm July 17 at High Camp. At the top of the Cable Car, this is one of the most beautiful and amazing kite flying locations in the world. The event  features kite flying demonstrations, professional kiters, kids kite building seminars, live music and kids entertainment. There will also be live music on the High Camp stage, noon to 2:30pm. You can pick up discounted kites for sale at the High Camp Bath & Tennis store. See www.squaw.com for details.

Don't sit in your room feeling languid because it's the "Dog Days". Get out and enjoy the many activities Olympic Village Inn and Squaw Valley has to offer. You can see our Olympic Village Inn Facebook  page for more ideas. Take your dog on a date but if the lake starts to boil and the wine turns sour, keep a tight grip on his leash. Have a great week!

The Tour de France begins and rumors of a big race coming to Lake Tahoe

It was beautiful weather for the Fourth of July weekend. A lot of people are still celebrating today, observing Monday as a holiday as part of the three day weekend. The temperatures will cool just a little this week rom the warm highs we had over the weekend, and we may see some moisture work it's way into the forecast by the end of the week, leading to a chance of showers and thunderstorms over the higher terrain. Nothing to worry about or spoil your plans, just our typical summer mountain weather. We haven't had a lot of typical weather this year, so enjoy it.

Saturday was the beginning of the epic event the Tour de France. In my opinion, it is the toughest athletic event in the world. Cyclists cover approximately 3600 km, or 2200 miles, in three weeks. The amont of climbing is comparable to climbing three Mount Everests. There are team tactics that make it as complicated as a chess game and dangerous descents that have caused injuries from broken bones and backs to death. Add to that the element of the weather, from scorching heat to rain and fog, and you have one of the greatest challenges any athlete can face. If you've never watched it, you owe it to yourself to take a look. May people watch it for the scenery alone, using it as a rolling travel guide to plan their French vacation. Hopefully you get Versus, because it's broadcast every day on that channel. If not, you'll have to settle for the network recap on the weekend.

There's other exciting cycling news for our Lake Tahoe and Squaw Valley area. There are rumors that the 2011 Amgen Tour of California may be coming to the Lake Tahoe area next year for its first two stages. Andy Chapman, director of tourism for the North Lake Tahoe Resort Association, said a route has already been laid out that will start on Lake Tahoe's South Shore and then take riders around the lake for one and a half laps to the the finish line at either Northstar-at-Tahoe or Squaw Valley USA. Stage two would start at whichever resort was not selected as the finishing destination. This would be the first time the Tour of California climbed into the high mountains of the northern Sierras, made possible when they moved the race from February to May. If this comes to pass, it means that Olympic Valley and Squaw Valley USA will receive a lot of visitors and press in much the same way that Nevada City did in this years Tour of California. This is not a done deal, but looks very promising. You can read more about it at sierrasun.com.

That's next year but what to do this week? On Wednesday, July 7, 2010 at 7:00 pm at the Resort at Squaw Creek, Squaw Valley, the Squaw Valley Institute is presenting "Solar Energy: Sense or Non-Cent$?". It will explore the present status of solar energy, the future prospects for solar energy in the world of conventional and renewable energy sources, the cost of solar energy and how it can competitute with other energy sources, and how solar energy relates to energy independence, public policy and environmental considerations. This is a very interesting program because it is the beginning of a new proposed series in which local Institute Members (who are not experts on the given topic) will study their subject in depth and develop a comprehensive report. This program will be a summary of what they've learned. Team presenters are locals Bob Moore, Art King and Don Priest. Get all the details at squawvalleyinstitute.org

After you watch the  in the morning, get out on your bike and pretend you're Lance Armstrong climbing L'Alpe d'Huez, even if you never make it out of the parking lot. Watching others at the top of their sport can be great inspiration for the rest of us. Have a great week!

Fourth of July fireworks on the Lake

This has been one of the hottest weekends of the year so far. It's finally feeling like summer, hot enough to actually want to jump in the cold waters of Lake Tahoe or Donner Lake. It will cool down again by mid week, but still be very comfortable. Good hiking weather! The early forecast for the upcoming Fourth of July holiday weekend is for fair and slightly warmer conditions, great for a picnic, boating on the lake, a BBQ, anything you might want to do to celebrate the fourth. Can you believe it's almost July? It seems like summer has barely begun.

Lake Tahoe is an incredible place to view Fourth of July fireworks. From almost anywhere on the lake you can see multiple, multi-colored bursts of green, red, blue and fiery orange lights fill the sky as rockets are launched from various locations around the lake. In addition to the large "Star Spangled Fourth - Lights on the Lake" event in South Shore Lake Tahoe, there are many North Shore Lake Tahoe events in Kings Beach, Squaw Valley, Tahoe City, Truckee (Donner Lake), Incline Village, and West Shore Lake Tahoe. Two of the most memorable for me have been in Tahoe City and at Donner Lake. I experienced the Tahoe City display one year from a classic wooden boat out on the lake, bobbing gently up and down in the water surrounded by about 50 other vessels hidden in the darkness. Suddenly, rockets exploded overhead in the night sky with a loud boom and a shower of lights as the the view was reflected many times over in the shimmering water. Other columns of color could be seen erupting in the distance from several spots around the lake. It made for a memorable fourth. Even if you can't get out on the lake in a boat, there's a great view of the Tahoe City Fourth of July Fireworks Celebration from Commons beach. You can come early, have a picnic and claim a spot on the beach. There will be a free concert from 4-7 with Subjektochange, a popular local band. Visit www.visittahoecity.com for details.

Donner Lake also holds a similar event with picnicking and other activities on the beach during the day, and a very exciting, loud and "up close and personal" overhead fireworks display in the evening. This was another memorable Fourth of July event for me. You could also attend the very traditional Downtown Truckee Fourth of July parade at Commercial Row. This parade, complete with flag draped firetruck, has a wonderful small town feel lost in many big cities these days.

If you're staying at Olympic village Inn, you could just decide to stay close to home, avoid the traffic, and attend the Squaw Valley 4th of July Fine Arts & Crafts Festival. Held outdoors at the Village at Squaw Valley USA, this event to celebrate art will feature more than 45 award-winning artists displaying a variety of artwork including photography, oil paintings, ceramic vessels, jewelry and more. The event is free and will take place Friday and Saturday, July 2 and 3 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and Sunday, July 4 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit www.squaw.com or www.pacificfinearts.com for more details.

There's lots to do in the Olympic Valley, Lake Tahoe and Truckee area this Fourth of July. Check our Olympic village Inn Facebook  page for more ideas and updates. The hard part is deciding which events to attend. No matter what you do, a fourth of July in the mountains is guaranteed to be something you'll remember for a long time. Happy Fourth, everyone!