The first presenter for our Friends of the Library Programs was Suzanne Roberts sharing her memoir...

After college, Suzanne and two girlfriends embarked on the John Muir Trail, the premier hiking trail in the United States. This adventure typically starts in Yosemite, and continues 215 miles through the Ansel Adams Wilderness, Sequoia National Park, King's Canyon National Park, and ends at the highest peak in continental United States, Mount Whitney at 14,496 ft.  But Suzanne's hiking partner reversed their path to get the hard part over first.

These tales, told with humor and fantastic photos, kept us mesmerized.

What a bang-up start to our FOL program year!  Suzanne Roberts has the ability to present a great deal of information of interest to a Tahoe audience in a fast-paced, humorous and always-interesting style.  We are lucky to have her among us and lucky to have you organizing such treats for our community.  The large audience was completely engaged.

Our friends, Bob, Jenny and Bruce, are active volunteers for Lake Tahoe Wildlife Care and today I was invited to witness an amazing event- the flight of an eagle.

This beautiful Bald Eagle was brought to the center in December with a hurt wing.  His rehab involved confinement and practice flights.

To transport him, he had to be hooded.

Dozens gathered at Carson Pass (el. 8,700') to witness the event.

If feistiness was any indicator of success, this guy was going to do great!

With strength and speed, the eagle flew.  His flight was long and spectacular, as if to say to LTWC, "You took great care of me.  Don't worry.  I'm going to be fine."  We stood and watched until we could no longer spy this majestic creature.  It was powerful, breathtaking and completely unforgettable.

Belonging to a Movie Group has a similar benefit of membership in a Book Club, someone opens your eyes to a plethora of possibilities you might not have chosen for yourself.  This week's cinematic selection '42', the story of Jackie Robinson, was just such a benefit.

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The promise of a 75° day made us want to be out in it all.  Bob and Jenny knew the perfect spot only a few miles from our homes.

Fallen Leaf Lake measures approximately 3 miles by 1 mile.  It was created by at least two glaciers which traveled northward down the Glen Alpine Valley.

This was the first of many waterfalls we meandered by.

This is Lily Lake, a small but photogenic lake literally cupped in the mountains.  It is hard to describe the beauty here.

A perfect picnic spot, with an unbelievable view.

Throughout our hike, we were escorted by this species of butterfly.  Our day was one of spectacular scenery and exceptional weather- an unforgettable sojourn into nature.  The photos do not do it justice.

When Brenton was three, he started begging, "If you give me a little brother or sister, I promise I will never ask you to play with me again."  Here was our answer...

We're not quite sure how this little guy got to be our big 22 year old Kegan but we are so happy Brenton was so persistent!

Through a series of communication errors, Annie, Robby and Stephanie arrived a day prior to when I thought they were, after touring San Francisco State, but we worked it all out and hit the ground...running.

After fueling up on a delicious lasagna lunch at home, we headed to Emerald Bay.  No trip is complete without a hike to the Lake's edge.  This was Steph's first Tahoe visit and I was going to make certain she saw as much as she could in four hours.

Rum Runners, at The Beacon in Historic Camp Richardson, were our rewards for the successful hike.

After dinner of 99¢ tacos at MontBleu, we strolled Stateline and ended at The Horizon.  Annie is a huge Elvis fan and since they all made a pilgrimage to Graceland last summer, I thought they should visit Tahoe's tribute to "The King".

The evening ended in pajamas playing Scrabble.  As you can see by my tiles, I did not win this round but it was an idyllic way to end the whirlwind adventure.  Tomorrow, they all head back to SoCal.  What a visit!

The United States Forest Service gathered all its winter volunteers together for an appreciation dinner.  We were in the company of some pretty exceptional people.

I received the honor of having the most hours logged of any of the other Winter Trek volunteers.  I can't take full credit for this award, weather played a large part in many of the sessions being canceled.  Thursdays seemed to have the most consistant snowshoeing weather.  My shift was only called off once, making it easy to be there the most.

Our Lake Tahoe Historical Society is a perfect place for me, a history addict!  Each visit has me discovering something intriguing, endearing Tahoe to me even more.

I discovered a box full of memorabilia, donated by Erline Christopherson.  On July 25, 1962, this then 16-year-old from Lodi, CA, became the first female to swim the axis of the Lake. After failing on two previous attempts, the undaunted teenager completed a seventeen-mile swim from Baldwin Beach to Dollar Point, covering the distance in 13 hours and 17 minutes- a major accomplishment for a woman at the time.  I was told she returns to Tahoe every summer, so I found her phone number and called her.  My goal is to have Erline share this event with our community, for them to meet the woman who said, as a girl, "I've wanted to swim Lake Tahoe ever since I first saw it, -when I was eight or nine years old."  She made history and I'm eager to hear it.