“… blogging about life, travel, books, food and the outdoors”
Tahoe recreation sites open with caution urged by officials
Tourists are in Tahoe even though they aren’t supposed to be based on edicts put out by various government entities. In some locations, like the city of South Lake Tahoe, they could be faced with a $1,000 fine, though that isn’t likely to happen. No public land...
read more Tahoe recreation sites open with caution urged by officials
Tourists are in Tahoe even though they aren’t supposed to be based on edicts put out by various government entities. In some locations, like the city of South Lake Tahoe, they could be faced with a $1,000 fine, though that isn’t likely to happen. No public land...
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A relationship solidified in sand – Lovers and Divorce Beaches
Tales of romance and infidelity filled the boat as it bounced along at a steady pace toward the famous Arch of Cabo San Lucas. Each captain has his own story about how Lovers and Divorce beaches got their names. Playa del Amor always gets a mention as people motor by....
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Nursery owner tends to each plant with loving care
It would be understandable if someone thought they were walking through a botanical garden. The reality is this is a unique nursery tucked away off a dirt road in Todos Santos. Wandering through Vivero Todos Santos is a delight to the senses with so many colors,...
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Book Review: ‘American Dirt’ a disturbing page-Turner about migrating to U.S.
Migrant is the last word Lydia ever thought she would use to describe herself. She owned a bookshop in Acapulco, Mexico, while her husband was a respected journalist. Together they were raising their 8-year-old son in a middle class home. An article about a cartel...
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Industry experts trying to figure out the future of travel
Today, snow quality doesn’t even register as a concern for mountain destinations. This is a dramatic change considering it has been at the top of the list for decades. A pandemic has altered priorities for travelers as well as the destinations they want to visit....
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Wondering when giving/Receiving massages will be a healthy option
One of the big things to go by the wayside during this pandemic is healthy touch. No more hugs, not even a handshake. Massage, well, that definitely is not happening. I’ve been a certified massage therapist since 1997; always working part time. However, there was a...
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Memorial ‘hidden’ in forest on South Shore honors plane crash victims
Tucked away in a not so remote part of U.S. Forest Service property on the South Shore is a granite rock paying tribute to two part-time residents who died in a plane crash in 1934. Likenesses of John E. Horten, 32, and Betty A. Bouchet, 23, are on the plaque. He...
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Todos Santos once a thriving sugar cane manufacturing town
Anyone who has been to Todos Santo will tell you there is something sweet about this pueblo in Baja California Sur. Maybe it has to do with its roots being in the sugar cane business. In the late 1800s until the 1950s this town was the sugar cane capital of all...
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Plenty of desert terrain to explore near Todos Santos
Trails in nearly every direction. Some single track, some wide enough to drive on. The choices seemed endless. We were squarely in the desert; walking away from the Pacific Ocean and toward the mountains. The mountains, though, were too far away to be a reasonable...
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Multiple components part of TRPA’s master transit plan
As Tahoe transportation officials look to improve transit in the basin, they are trying to cater to three distinct users—residents, especially those who are dependent on public bus service; those who want to get to recreation sites and seasonal users; and those...
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Volunteers help ensure sugar pines repopulate Tahoe forests
It’s hard to imagine the 6-inch sugar pine seedlings I put into the ground late last month could one day be 200-feet-tall, with a 5-foot-diameter and live to be 500 years old. They seemed so fragile. With a root system about as long as the greenery, these were...
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Book Review: Baja cookbook more than recipes
Cookbooks aren’t just for learning new recipes. They can be picture books, history books and so much more. Such is the case with “Not Food for Old Men: A Mexican Culinary Adventure" (Sime Books, 2015). While it has expected chapters like Salad, Soups, and Tacos;...
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Time to jump-Start the economy with stimulus checks
Stimulus checks have been arriving for the past two weeks and will continue to until all those allowed to get one have one. I’m pretty sure most people know where those dollars are going to go, but in case you need some ideas here goes. First, let me tell you where my...
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Road ‘rules’ in Mexico make driving a group effort
It’s amazing how even though each country has its own set of rules for the road, all one usually needs is a driver’s license—no test of any sort. The test, well, that can seem to come with each mile or kilometer marker. With another trip along the 1,000-mile Baja...
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Cycling around Tahoe without cars could be reality in 25 years
A bike trail going all the way around Lake Tahoe inches closer to reality each building season. To date 33 miles of the Tahoe Trail are in the ground, with full build out of the 72-mile route expected in 2045. Also to be completed in the next 25 years is the South...
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Environment’s future completely up to the will of the people
As the world struggles to cope with a health crisis, the Earth is healing. Remove people from the equation and the environment begins to heal herself. Air quality from the San Francisco Bay Area to Fresno and thousands of miles away to the Himalayas is better today...
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Faulty sensor sends large quantity of water flowing into forest
With the sound of flowing water getting louder with each step, something was clearly wrong. Even in spring the snowmelt doesn’t sound like this on Gardner Mountain. The culprit turned out to be the two massive tanks owned by South Tahoe Public Utility District. Water...
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Mexico once the standard-Bearer for pure vanilla
Considering so many recipes only call for a teaspoon of vanilla, is it really that important which extract one uses? The answer, like so many things, all depends upon who you ask. Pure vanilla is definitely better than imitation. But what about the country it came...
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Supporting independent bookstores also helps authors
The last Saturday of April is designated Independent Bookstore Day. Not this year. It’s been pushed back to Aug. 29 in the hopes bookstores will actually be open. Reading is one thing people have been doing more than usual in all the doom and gloom/self-isolation of...
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Book Review: ‘Queen of America’ a story of intrigue
Even though “Queen of America” (Little, Brown and Company, 2011) is the sequel to “The Hummingbird’s Daughter,” it would not be necessary to have read the first one. However, I would recommend doing so. You will get so much more out of the second book. Author Luis...
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Court upholds ban on in-person church services in California https://bayareane.ws/2LRATxI
