We are huge fans of David and Gayle Woodruff’s historic lectures and this one,  Reflections of Bonanza, has been highly anticipated.

Laura and Steve joined us as we were encouraged to "Take a look back at one of the most popular and socially groundbreaking television shows of all time in an entertaining and fun-filled 55-minute slideshow presentation. Why did the Cartwrights seem to always wear the same clothes? How many scenes were actually filmed at Lake Tahoe? Who built the Ponderosa Ranch? Why did Pernell Roberts leave the show? You will find out the answers to these questions and dozens more, as local author and historian David Woodruff delves deep into this classic show from the 1960s."Bonanza, an American Western television series, ran for 14 seasons on NBC from 1959 to 1973, making it NBC's longest-running Western and the second-longest-running American Western series overall. The show focused on the Cartwright family, owners of the Ponderosa Ranch near Virginia City, Nevada, and their adventures during and after the Civil War.
Bonanza was notable for being one of the first to be broadcast in color and often dealt with conflicts between the Cartwrights and outsiders, as well as exploring themes relevant to the 1960s, such as racism, morality, and environmental concerns. During his hour on stage, David answered all the questions he posed in the descriptive paragraph and shared so much more. We were truly on the edge of our seats and surprised at how much we didn't know.
We went a few times, never seeing the Cartwrights but enjoying the early morning hayride that took us to an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast. The Park closed in 2004, leaving both our sons sad that the Ponderosa tradition couldn't be continued.

I'm hosting my AAUW Talking on Paper writing group on Tuesday and I thought I'd share the piece I will be reading. It's quite the tome but I hope you enjoy a glimpse of younger Me.

When I'm alone in my car, my first music choice is iHeartRadio's 80s, especially if it's a weekend because the songs are aired commercial-free.

Steve and I are recent re-enrolled members of the always intriguing Nevada Museum of Art in Reno (it's a 60 mile drive and a whole lot of fun).

We trekked to experience the exhibit Deep Time: Sea Dragons of Nevada. "Long before humans walked the Earth, Nevada was submerged beneath the waters of an ancient sea. Explore this underwater realm and meet the giant sea creatures—also known as ichthyosaurs—that called it home. These marine reptiles lived 250 million years ago and this exhibition debuts many of Nevada’s spectacular, but never-before-seen fossils." How totally cool, right?
How could we resist "Dive into Nevada’s prehistoric past through the display of original fossils, including a 33-foot specimen. Hear stories of Nevada’s early and present-day paleontologists and fossil hunters, including John C. Merriam, Annie Alexander, Charles Camp, and Martin Sander. And learn how Nevada’s extinct underwater animals connect us to a larger global community of scientific discovery."
"Through a unique blend of paleontology, art, history, and design, this groundbreaking exhibition explores the rise and fall of these ancient sea creatures, revealing how an understanding of the prehistoric past and evolutionary change over time may in fact help us to anticipate our own future."
I was mesmerized by this 84-foot long, 3-D, animated, amazing, immersive wall installation where an 80-foot ichthyosaur comes to life and responds to the visitor’s movement. The artist worked directly with the scientist Martin Sander, showcasing a collaboration between art and science which unfolded before our very eyes. Wow.
This exhibit was amazing as it allowed us to wander through displays representing Nevada mountain ranges where we ogled more than 20 fossil specimens excavated between 1868 and 2022.
Did you know that Nevada has a state fossil? It is the place where there is the largest number of species of ichthyosaur of anytime, anyplace, and it’s the place with the largest shape diversity—large, small, large head, small head, largest body size. All the interesting parts in ichthyosaur evolution happened in the Triassic, and the hot spot is Nevada.
I found this fossil of a pregnant ichthyosaur, with several baby skeletons, so interesting. It suggests that they gave birth to live young!

We met paleontologist Annie Alexander who, in 1905, joined an expedition to Nevada’s Humboldt Range in search of fossils. During the trip, her team excavated 25 ichthyosaur specimens, some of which were the largest and most complete of their kind ever discovered in North America. The museum shared her 1905 photographs and field journal pages. I need to learn more about Annie.

We also learned the story of fossil hunter Mary Anning, the first woman to discover an ichthyosaur fossil in Great Britain in 1811. She is considered the unsung hero of fossil discovery. Despite her growing reputation for finding and identifying fossils, the scientific community was hesitant to recognize her work. Male scientists - who frequently bought the fossils Mary would uncover, clean, prepare and identify - often did not credit her discoveries in their scientific papers on the finds, even when writing about her groundbreaking ichthyosaur discovery. How wonderful to see she is finally getting the recognition she deserves.
As we turned a corner, we were faced with a sign that read, "YOU ARE NOW ENTERING DEEP TIME. 250 MILLION YEARS AGO." We were asked to think of this room-sized artwork titled Swell as a portal or a time machine that took us to an ancient world where sea dragons ruled the oceans and humans were nowhere to be found.
I'm not 100% sure we were transported but we were certainly entranced by the imagery undulating before us. And humans were found.
The image 'popping' up is Steve's head. Just watching this gif cracks me up.
The next exhibit made my heart happy. FOSSILS TO FIGURES: A BOY'S DINOSAUR DREAM tells the story of a young boy named Jack Arata who traveled with his family from California to Berlin, Nevada, to visit the newly opened Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park (in 1956). His family had read about the opening of the new attraction in Sunset Magazine.
After his visit, Jack's enthusiasm for fossils and prehistoric animals remained. He constantly drew and sketched dinosaurs and played with small plastic dinosaur toys from the local five-and-dime. Later in life, his childhood interest evolved into a fervent hobby: collecting vintage toy dinosaurs. Over time, his collection grew to include rare pieces, ranging from models made for the 1933 Chicago World's Fair to toys advertising early silent films and Sinclair Oil. From pewter and brass to rubber, ceramic, plaster, and plastic, each toy tells a story, reflecting the place and time of its creation. Today, the Arata collection is one of the largest vintage toy dinosaur collections in the United States.
Steve and I, along with Bob and Jenny, explored the fascinating Berlin-Ichthyosaur State Park in 2022 (blog link here). I think if I had been a young child when I first visited, like Jack, I too would have amassed quite the collection. So amazing.
This was fun as we were introduced to Great Basin Brewery when we moved to Tahoe in 2012. Interestingly, we learned that another not-so-ancient discovery during those digs led scientists to an enduring friendship and collaboration. It was a beer bottle from the Great Basin Brewery in Sparks—owned by Tom and Bonda Young at the time—that featured an ichthyosaur on the label.
What brought us to the museum on this particular day was its Art Bite lecture series whose title was The Birth of Icky IPA. "Tom Young, Founder and Brewmaster, recounts the origin story of the Icky IPA, its iconic logo and the history of the Great Basin Brewing Company." What a perfect tie-in with this exhibit!
A geologist before turning his attention to brewing, Tom named one of his first beers after the creature. When the Sander team sought him out, they found a willing and able partner in Young who even helped on excavations (physically and financially) and made Great Basin beer trucks available to the scientists to transport fossils and materials to and from the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles. In turn, Sander named the new species of ichthyosaur after the Youngs: Cymbospondylus youngorum.

Every concert, lakeside, instills in us a special Summer glee. The music genre is different each week, as is the crowd it draws. Each week surprises and delights. It really is SUMMER.

The opening act was a mesmerizing musician. Tim Snider was described by Essentially Pop as “a multi-instrumentalist whose talents are spread far and wide between violin, guitar, and warm and welcoming vocals.”  Music-News said of him, “Snider is the sort of musician who can assemble an entire folk-rock symphony from looped passages and then follow it up with a composition of exquisite simplicity and directness.” We said of this talented guy, "We need to see him again!"
The headliner, Ashley Flynn & The Riveters was, well, riveting. "The all-female band aims for joy and connection with music fans via their energized live show and ability to shred as well as the boys do. But technical musical skills aside, there are compelling layers throughout Flynn’s seasoned songwriting that shed light on the human corners of darkness and in turn, uplift listeners in the same way her favorite artists have done for her."



The music so so good it made you want to dance! Just another magical night in South Lake Tahoe!

My very busy Wednesday was spent doing two activities known to improve one's Mental Health: Crafting and Volunteering. How fun is that?

I spent the morning in the company of creative, delightful women embracing the new research which suggests that doing Arts & Crafts can improve your mental health. Actually, everyone gathered already knew this fact. We created greeting cards while sharing stories of 'life as we know it'.

Again, my circle already knows that volunteering can significantly improve mental health by reducing stress, combating depression and anxiety, and increasing feelings of purpose and happiness. Engaging in volunteer work fosters social connections, combats loneliness, and provides a sense of belonging, all of which contribute to positive mental well-being. In most cases, it also allows one to be surrounded by fun, like-minded people like those at the South Lake Tahoe Library booth at Meyers Mountain Market. What a fabulous, positive Mental Health Day!

There was no way I was going to miss this event!

"Join us for a Local Author Showcase featuring a dozen authors from the Lake Tahoe region. We will have author tables as well as readings from the writers."

This was a Who's Who of the literary greats in our little mountain town: Hillary Bittman, Tanja Hester, Robert Max, Kat Medina, Lisa Michelle, Eve Quesnel, Bruce Rettig, Suzanne Roberts, Ben Rogers, Oliver Starr, Bridey Thelen-Heidel, and Trish Tomer. WOW... I was so impressed.

What an opportunity to mingle and get to know these talented people on a one-to-one level.

I wanted to purchase one of each author's offerings but I knew Steve would not approve so I made the difficult decision to only buy one, The Joys of Jet Lag: How to Use a Traveler’s Mindset to Not be an A-Hole in Daily Life by Kat Medina. I spent a lot of time talking with this delightful author and after her book reading I was hooked. I thoroughly love this part of the book's description, "With captivating travel stories, simple exercises, and refreshingly real self-help advice without any of the rah-rah, this hilarious how-to guide will help you discover the keys to living your best life with no passport required." It screams beach read to me. What a great night!