Bowling with friends is always fun and on Wednesday nights, very affordable.

Combine our dinner of 99¢ tacos and Margaritas at Montbleu Casino with $2 bowling and you have hours of really inexpensive entertainment. Who says you have to spend a lot to have fun?

The Lake Tahoe Historical Society introduced David Long, who for 1 1/2 hours, held our undivided attention while he shared An Incomplete History of Hatcheries and Sports Fishing at Lake Tahoe.

I can't even begin to reiterate all the incredible information Mr. Long shared. What surprised me the most was how very interesting it all was.
Native people fished the streams around Tahoe for thousands of years. Yet in 1870, the California State Legislature passed "An Act to provide for the restoration and preservation of fish in the waters of this State", creating rules to help save native species and unfortunately introduce some non-native ones as well. In 1889, a permanent hatchery was built at Lake Tahoe in Tahoe City. Millions of Lahontan cutthroat trout were reared annually here and yet none exist in the Lake today.
Also surprising was the fact that John Steinbeck worked for the Tahoe City fish hatchery and while giving a tour, he met his future wife. Just another tidbit we learned. We enjoyed this history lesson at Historic Camp Richardson. Who knew fish were so interesting!

In a fun conclusion to our Gold Rush exploring, we watched the 1969 movie, Paint Your Wagon. Steve had childhood memories of seeing this Western musical film starring Lee Marvin, Clint Eastwood, and Jean Seberg. Yes, a western musical that was quite entertaining and set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California.

What struck me the most was the bold depiction of the 60's Feminist Movement which was happening when the film was made. The male leads are both married to the female character because she was in love with them both. Interestingly, she is the only woman in the mining town of 400 men until six French tarts are kidnapped and brought there. Hysterical.

This is one of those films that is worth watching especially since we've been visiting mining towns. I suspect, excluding all the singing, this film is a close representation, to a certain extent, of what life was like during the Gold Rush.

During last month's WordWave, I had the pleasure of meeting author Lewis Buzbee. Unfortunately, I hadn't read any of his books. So on a snowy Tahoe day, I finished the first of many I plan to read- The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History.

This book has given me permission to be a book luster. There is something magical about owning a book... a stack of books. Lewis clearly details this magic through his personal stories of literature discoveries while educating us on the incredible history of books, booksellers and one of my favorite places- the bookstore. I absolutely love this book. It's one that should be on every shelf or nightstand. A must-read!

“‎It’s not as if I don’t have anything to read; there’s a tower of perfectly good unread books next to my bed, not to mention the shelves of books in the living room I’ve been meaning to reread. I find myself, maddeningly, hungry for the next one, as yet unknown. I no longer try to analyze this hunger; I capitulated long ago to the book lust that’s afflicted me most of my life.” ― Lewis Buzbee, The Yellow-Lighted Bookshop: A Memoir, a History

The drought is very evident when one visits Folsom Lake. Its normal level is 466 feet. Today, it is 115 below that, exposing remnants of the Gold Rush mining town of Mormon Island. Never mind that there is no signage, docents or information pamphlets, we wanted to explore this museum.

Mormon Island was once a mining community, which had an abundance of Mormon immigrants, seeking fortune along the American River. Early in March 1848, W. Sidney, S. Willis, and Wilford Hudson, members of the Mormon Battalion, set out from Sutter's Fort to hunt deer. Stopping on the south fork of the American River, they found gold. They told their story on returning to the fort, and soon about 150 Mormons and other miners flocked to the site, which was named Mormon Island. This was the first major gold strike in California after James W. Marshall's discovery at Coloma.
By 1853, the population of the town was 2,500 with four hotels, three dry goods stores, five general merchandise stores and seven saloons. The first ball in Sacramento County was held here on December 25, 1849. A fire destroyed the town in 1856, and it was never rebuilt. The community dwindled after the California gold rush and only a scattered few families were left in the 1940s.


Foundations, tools, pottery and various other remnants remain.



What was left of Mormon Island was eventually razed, as the Folsom Dam project was set to flood the town (1955). It is only in times of drought, that the town reappears. This was so incredibly interesting.
Wandering here was like a scavenger hunt in history. It was a great way to spend the morning before the rains came.

Ready for another brief getaway, we met up with Bob and Jenny in Folsom, a town mostly known for its Prison (thank you Johnny Cash). Yet beyond that, the history is rich and the historic downtown is worth an explore.

After fueling up, we were off to the Farmer's Market held every Saturday all year through.
It was a taste and sight sensation!

The establishment of Folsom Prison came in 1880, when the Livermore family, owners of most of the area, made an agreement with the State to donate land for the prison in exchange for inmate labor. They planned to build a hydro-electric dam from the American River for a sawmill. Though the sawmill did not work out, the Livermores soon realized that the natural force of running water could provide enough power to transmit to Sacramento, and the Folsom Powerhouse, now a National Historic Landmark, was opened (1895).
At the time it was opened, it had the longest overhead run of electricity (22 miles) in the country. The powerhouse operated until 1952 and shortly thereafter became a California State Park.
Bob was shocked by how interesting it all was.
I thought this thing was pretty cool. To allow parallel alternators and power grid, a Synchroscope was added to the Switch Panel.
The two-story brick and granite Powerhouse looks much as it did in 1895. Its imposing generators, and the Tennessee marble-faced control switchboard stand as imposingly as they did more than a hundred years ago.
After hitting some garage sales and meandering about town, we met at our hotel pool for wine and cheese.
Seeing the historical depot at night was pretty magical. It was an ideal evening for a stroll.
We came to Folsom specifically for Opening Night of The 39 Steps in the Sutter Street Theatre. How fun that we were warmly greeted with wine and treats in this cozy performing arts space right in the heart of the Historic District.
On the way back to the hotel, we laughed out loud, recounting how much fun this entire day had been. New discoveries with old friends- fun stuff.

The holidays really do come alive at the historic Tallac site and we will be there, getting into the Christmas spirit.

Celebrate the holidays at the 20th annual Valhalla Holiday Faire, in Valhalla’s Grand Hall, November 20th to the 22nd. Enjoy the festively decorated rustic estate at this free event, which will feature a Christmas tree, holiday music, 30 local vendors and artisans, as well as performances by the South Lake Tahoe Children’s Choral Society with a special appearance by Santa Claus!

We began our evening by welcoming Asiago’s Pizzeria & Deli to the South Shore Community and the Tahoe Chamber. We met with the owner, Mike, and mingled with the Chamber members.

Asiago’s provided us with a sampling of their menu. Everything was tasty and the place has a small town casual feel to it. We liked it.
After tiramisu at home, we headed to our local community college for The World Expo and the Future of Culture: Reflections from World Expo 2015 Milan presented by Dr. Scott Lukas, a sociology and anthropology instructor here.
This was a very thorough recount of his experiences with the specific focus being the importance of the world exposition in terms of its showcasing of culture, technology, and architecture, its overall effect on culture and politics, and some of the controversies that impacted the Expo.


Through various images, Dr. Lukas shared the successes and failures of this Expo and discussed Expos of the past, with their controversies (at the Alaska-Yukon-Pacific Exposition in 1909 they raffled off a one month old orphan baby named Ernest).

I left understanding more the reasons behind an Expo and appreciated the brief trip to Milan through Dr. Lukas' lens. E 'stata una buona giornata italiana.

The five minute writing prompt for today's Talking on Paper was for us to share how we felt about Winter while the scene below was just outside the window.

Plus, nature is shown in so many unique ways in a Sierra Winter.

Traveling east over Echo Summit, we were greeted with glorious, welcomed snow. We are gleeful.

According to The Tahoe Daily Snow: Rain fell overnight and then snow levels fell to near lake level just before sunrise this morning.  Snow is now falling across the Tahoe basin.  The heaviest snow will fall this morning with another band of snow this afternoon.  Scattered snow showers are possible through Tuesday.  Several inches expected on the mountains and a couple possible to lake level today.  Much colder air is moving in and highs will only be in the 30's through Wednesday. Bring it on!

Those were the words gleefully shouted all day today in Carson City for the 151st anniversary of Nevada becoming a state. We were blown away by the enthusiasm and genuine kindness of our neighbors just off the hill.

We headed out early to watch the majesty of several balloons taking off right on Carson Street. The RE/MAX Nevada Day Balloon Launch is operated under the assistance of the Great Reno Balloon Race - another first I hope to accomplish one day.


Next stop was the Republican Women's Pancake Breakfast at the Governor's Mansion.
Our $6 breakfast included pancakes, eggs, ham, orange juice and coffee, and was a scholarship fundraiser.

The highlight of today was the Nevada Day Parade. We watched for over two hours and saw only 90 of the 180 entries. Wow!
One of the Grand Marshals was actor, Jack Waggon, a local boy done good.

Ben Rupert rode with Sherry Rupert, the parade's first Native American Female Grand Marshal.  
Día de Muertos was celebrated with costumed equestrians.
New cars and old were proudly on display.

Governor Brian Sandoval walked amongst his people.
This is a "Where's Denise?" moment. Somewhere in there is our own Tahoe Bagpiper, Seán Cummings.
Military of all kinds were showcased in the parade.
This Paws 4 Passengers pup wandered the crowd for petting opportunities.
Law enforcement was represented in many ways. I loved this old Highway Patrol car best.
I am incredibly emotional when it comes to Veterans. Every war was represented, and the cheers were hopefully enough for them to know how much we appreciate their service.
While the parade marched on, we decided to explore more of the Day. Intriguing to me was the 41st annual World Championship Single Jack Rock Drilling Contest.
Contestants use 4 1/2 pound hammers and 3/4" steel bits to drill as deep and as fast as they can in a 4,320 lb piece of Sierra White Granite from the Yosemite area (the hardest known granite in the region). Contestants have 10 minutes to pound the drills into the solid stone, their only help is from an assistant who runs water into the hole so the loose stone chips are splashed out with every stroke of the hammer on steel. The deepest hole wins. The contest goes back to the Comstock mining skills of earlier times, when blast holes for dynamite were punched into ore bodies by hand. Steve could hardly watch. The thought of a hand getting mangled was too much for him.
Okay, so we missed a couple of events. I'm most sad about the beard growing contest. There's always another year... And with all the hoopla of Nevada Day, we almost forgot it was Halloween. These two lovers reminded us. This was a diverse and unique day of small town fun and sincere State pride. We loved it all.