Outdoors

Chautauqua presenters Dana Lee Fruend, Yvonne Sullivan, Janet Baker and Judy Quinlan will portray Nevada pioneer women “Nellie Mighels Davis”, “Elizabeth ‘Lizzie’ Kincead”, “Whilhelmina Springmeyer” and “Hannah Clapp” in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Saturday, August 15, at 10:00 am.

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While many bicycle enthusiasts enjoy riding the dirt trails of South Lake Tahoe, there is now a new way to enjoy the ride: in the dark. You've heard of Critical Mass...now it's Critical Glow, Tahoe style.

Tahoe Games Bike Nights have quickly become the "go-to" family friendly event at the Lake Tahoe Golf Course. They are cross-country bike races on a custom-made illuminated set of trails, 6 miles in all.

Ride the fairways, sand traps and into the rough as the race takes riders over bridges, along the river and back to the clubhouse.

August is prime time for meteor watching in the northern hemisphere. The Perseid meteor shower reigns king during the warm evenings of midsummer, attracting stargazers to dark sky locations in hope of catching a glimpse of a falling star. This year is especially good since there will be no moon to wash out the celestial fireworks.

Get inspired to transform your home’s landscape into a mountain oasis at the 8th Annual Conservation Landscape Tour on Wednesday, August 19 from 4:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. This year’s theme is discovering the many approaches to Tahoe Friendly Landscaping.

Historian and author Frank X. Mullen will present his program “Westward Ho, Nevada” in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Saturday, August 29, at 10:00 am.

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Who? American Conservation Experience Americorps member Sarah Markowitz, Tahoe Area Sierra Club, Clean Tahoe, Washoe Meadows Community and YOU

What? Wear comfortable walking shoes and use sunscreen. Snacks, water, gloves, and trash bags will be provided.

When? Saturday August 8th from 9 a.m.-Noon

Where? Meet at the Lake Tahoe Blvd entrance to Washoe Meadows State Park near Tahoe Mountain Rd. to pick up instructions and supplies and sign in

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Karla Huntsman will combine the art of storytelling with her talent as a musician, in a performance at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Wednesday August 26, at 6:30 pm. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

Making meaning through story and theater activities has been Karla Huntsman’s life work. Huntsman believes in the power of storytelling to infuse life, joy, connection with self, and connection with others no matter the age of the listener. She sings, plays guitar, autoharp, washboard and djembe drum as part of her storytelling performances.

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There is nothing quite like rich mahogany reflecting off the pure blue waters of Lake Tahoe, and there will be plenty of it to see as over 85 of the world's rarest wooden boats come to the Tahoe Keys Marina as part of the 8th Annual Wooden Boat Classic this weekend.

Each year, over 3,000 people walk through the boat slips, checking out the rare boats. There will be music, wine, food and vendors to enjoy as well. The Wooden Boat Classic brings together the fascinating and priceless history behind these elegant machines.

The U.S. Forest Service will begin the first phase of their retrofitting of the Camp Richardson campground on July 21, something that has been in the planning stages since 2009.

During this first phase, they will remove approximately 250 trees in the campground on the north side of Highway 89. This portion of the project will last about two weeks. Work will be completed on this side of Highway 89 in October.

Phase two on the south side of Highway 89 is anticipated to begin in September 2015 and be finished by June 2016.

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will resume work this week at Angora Creek near South Lake Tahoe. Crews will construct 700 feet of new stream channel to replace the existing Angora Creek channel, which was rerouted and straightened in the early 1900s to accommodate livestock grazing. Seneca Pond, constructed in 1964 when the area was under private ownership, will be returned to a wetland.

Chautauqua performer Lisa Bommarito will present “The Extraordinary Life of Eilley Orrum Bowers” at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Wednesday August 5, at 6:30 p.m. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

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Carson Valley Quilt Guild will demonstrate a Bed Turning in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Saturday, July 18, at 10:00 am.

A Bed Turning is an opportunity to share the art and stories of heritage quilts. In this program, members of the guild will display a collection of quilts, share the story of each quilt and discuss the history of quilting.

The presentation is part of the park’s Western Arts & Crafts Series and is sponsored by Bently Ranch, SoaringNV, The Record-Courier and the Frances C. and William P. Smallwood Foundation.

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The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag Warning for the Lake Tahoe Basin as well as other parts of Northern California.

High pressure has settled in over Nevada and will remain through the weekend. Temperatures will be well above noromal with moisture slowly working its way North into the Sierra and Western Nevada.

Isolated thundershowers are expected to become more numerous over the weekend. The storms will begin dry, becoming a hybrid of wet and dry by Sunday, then primarily wet by early next week.

Chautauqua performer Juanita Westbrook will present “Elizabeth ‘Bessie’ Coleman: Pioneer Aviator” at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Wednesday July 8, at 6:30 pm. The event is open to the public and free to attend.

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The National Weather Service has issued a dense smoke advisory for areas downwind of the ‪Washington Fire burning a few miles south of Markleville.

Dense smoke is expected in Smith Valley, Mason Valley, and Antelope Valley. Other areas may also be impacted by smoke.

Please take precautions to avoid activities outdoors when there is smoke present. http://goo.gl/KLpcln

The warning is in effect until 5 a.m. Monday. Visibility is at 1/2 mile to 1 mile.

Chautauqua performer Kim Copél will portray Genoa Candy Dance creator Lillian Virgin Finnegan in a free presentation at the Dangberg Home Ranch Historic Park on Sunday, June 28, at 10:00 ..

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The 2nd annual Cycle Celebration will culminate the Tahoe Bike Challenge where 315 riders made 2,706 trips and covered 17,299 miles in the Lake Tahoe area on their bikes between June 1 and 14. All of those miles saved participants $3,845 in gasoline.

Bellamy Court at the back of Heavenly Village (by the parking garage) will be closed off for the celebration on Saturday, June 20 for a plethora of activities to celebrate biking in Lake Tahoe from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.

Winds hampered firefighting efforts at the lightening caused Saddle Fire on Saturday. As of 6 p.m., the fire has burned 1,480 acres in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest, halfway between Redding and Eureka, California.

866 personnel are fighting the fire which is now 15% contained.

Firefighters have been protecting the homes along County Road 311, and as of June 13, no structures have been burned.

Challenges to firefighters include a heavy component of dead and down vegetation (from previous fires), hot, dry conditions, steep terrain, and ongoing drought.

During times of drought, homeowners turn to water conservation not only in their daily habits but in their gardens as well.

There is even a word for this: xeriscape. The definition of xeriscape is landscaping and gardening that reduces or eliminates the need for supplemental water from irrigation.

The Tahoe Resource Conservation District is hold a free workshop on xeriscping on Wednesday, June 17 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the South Tahoe Public Utility District.

Those of us living in the Sierra Nevada are well aware of the drought and of the growing threat of wildfires caused by dry conditions. Due to the threat of catastrophic wildfires in the West, three major players at the government level have called for reforms in the way the federal government funds wildfire suppression efforts.

Off-road enthusiasts will be flocking to the Rubicon Trail once again this summer, and the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office Off-Highway Vehicle (OHV) team will be there to keep it safe.

The mission of the team is to provide education to the public, maintain the family friendly atmosphere and when necessary, use enforcement to support that education. In its fifteenth year on the Rubicon Trail, the OHV team is again helmed by Sergeant Bryan Brown and staffed with one full-time seasonal deputy and eight part-time deputies who work the OHV team, in addition to their usual duties.

The Master Gardeners of Lake Tahoe, a group of volunteers trained through the UC of California, will be holding their annual June Day Jamboree and Plant Sale on June 13 at the Lake Tahoe Community College Demonstration Garden from 9 a.m.- 2 p.m.

Chautauqua performer Steve Hale will present “George Whittell, Jr." who lived off the interest generated by the millions he inherited from his parents. His enormous assets allowed him to purchase the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe where he built the Thunderbird Lodge in the 1930s. The house was designed by prominent Reno architect Frederick DeLongchamps. This included a six-hundred-foot tunnel connected to a boat house to berth the “Thunderbird”, his fifty-five-foot mahogany yacht.

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The Tahoe Institute for Natural Science (TINS) in partnership with the U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit (LTBMU) will host the sixth annual Lake Tahoe Bird Festival on Saturday June 13, 2015 at the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, located three miles north of South Lake Tahoe on Highway 89.

Residents and visitors are invited to attend this free family event from 10 a.m. until 3:30 p.m.