Lake Tahoe Week in Review: December 23-29, 2012

Can you say, "snow?"

This week was a study in contrasts, from snow, snow, and more snow, to bright and brilliant sunshine and the bluest sky one can ever see. You'll need to forgive me for including so many photos of this area. Lake Tahoe is so beautiful; just couldn't decide which ones to include!

We were impressed with the tremendous snowfall in such a short amount of time. Sunday morning we awoke to yet another--or perhaps I should say "continuing" snowfall, which only added to the beauty of this area of Lake Tahoe. Hollee and David braved the elements to travel to South Lake Tahoe to deliver our granddaughter Schuyler to her dad for their trip back to the San Jose, CA area. (She stayed with us at Hollee's for Friday and Saturday nights, after our family Christmas dinner Friday night.) Hollee and David made the hairy round trip in about 2 1/2 hours, which is about 1 1/2 hours longer than usual.

Christmas Eve brought only snow showers, but it added to the heavy snow already gracing the trees. The snowplows went up and down the hill about 6 times that day, with ever larger berms at the side of the street. Later that day the sun came out with blinding brightness against the snow. Hollee and David attempted to go skiing, but the both parking lots were full at Mount Rose Ski Hill so they to returned home. Instead, they put on snowshoes and traversed the snowy forest for about an hour and a half. Dick and I hunkered down at home (since we didn't have good snow apparel with us in the trailer to bring with us). Snow fall so far was about 3 1/2 feet in as many days.

Cummings home on Jennifer Street

David with his Led Zeppelin CD set

Hollee added to her Green Bay
Packer's paraphernalia.

Christmas dawned bright and sunny, but soon transitioned into clouds and snow flurries. After opening gifts and having breakfast of waffles and sausage, we just enjoyed the day reading and watching "The Christmas Story," among other Christmas movies. Hollee and David went snowshoeing again rather than attempting to go skiing; the wind at the slopes was around 45 mph. That night a friend of Hollee and David came for salmon dinner. Gwendolyn was here for only about 4 hours, but during that time another foot of snow fell! We're now at about 4 1/2 feet! Impressive!

Wednesday morning brought with it the job of shoveling more snow--even though it was still snowing a bit. Dick tackled the deck and David the driveway with the snow blower.

Thursday was sunny and bright. No wind. Lovely, with temps reaching the high 20s. We decided on brunch at a local restaurant, The Log Cabin, located in Kings Beach just west around the lake from Incline. The Log Cabin  has been in business continuously since 1981, and is still run by the original owner. Open every day from 7 a.m-2 p.m., except Christmas and Thanksgiving, they are the oldest originally owned dedicated breakfast/lunch restaurant in Lake Tahoe. We dined sumptuously on lobster or Cajun-inspired Eggs Benedict, waffles, scrambled eggs and coffee. YUM!!!

Afterwards we took a scenic drive through Incline Village and the east side of Lake Tahoe. (The west side is closed during winter months due to the terrain and snow fall.) We stopped at Burnt Cedar Beach to take advantage of the beautiful scenery and photo ops. (After last week's post we learned that our friends Chris and Claire Berry from Washington State met here in Incline a few years ago. They married and have 2 great kids. I sent them a few photos, and although they met in August, they recognized the area where they played volleyball together along the lake.)

Then, we headed down to Sand Harbor on the east side. The snow was puffy, mostly virgin snow, so pure and white. It brought to mind the verse in Isaiah 1:18 where God told us, "Though your sins have stained you like the color red, you can become white like snow; though they are easy to see as the color scarlet, you can become white like wool."( This is possible only through believing that Jesus is the Son of God and accepting Him as Lord of your life. We pray this is true in your life.)

Friday we decided to go to Carson City, about 20 miles away, to have dinner and see "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey," in 3D! For those of you have not seen this movie, it's J.R.R.Tolkien's adventure of Bilbo Baggins (the Hobbit) who is swept into a quest to help reclaim the lost dwarf kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. The end of the movie left it wide open for a sequel.

Saturday started out sunny, but by noon was overcast with more snow, without too much accumulation--just enough to be a nuisance. Ha! It was beautiful, and thankfully there was no wind so the snow continued to pile up on the trees. We had a late brunch of chocolate chip waffles, sausages, raspberries, blueberries, OK and coffee. YUMMY!!!! What more could a person want!

Last week I posted a photo of the back deck area with snowfall on the patio furniture. Here are before and after photos of the same furniture, to give you an idea of the volume of snow. Impressive!

Before the snow storm.

After the snow storm!

Here are a few more photos of the street where Hollee and David live. Snow, snow, snow...

We hope this finds you enjoying the Christmas holidays. I know we are, and we're so thankful for all that God has blessed us with: family, friends, and the gift of His Son.

Blessings 'n' hugs,
Gail and Dick

Week in Review: December 16 through 22

Beautiful and warm Texas! Sunday blessed us with morning rain, afternoon sun, and 80 degrees by 3 p.m. Lovely. We were able to sit outside to read and enjoy the stillness of the day. We did take a little driving trip that afternoon to pick up a few items at our favorite store, but other than that it was a day of quiet, thankfulness and reflection on our trip so far, as we enjoyed the sunshine.

I was reminded of a verse: Psalm 84:11 - "For the Lord God is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless." Our prayer is that we walk in his favor, even as we are on the road.

Monday was another sunny and 80-ish day. Dick washed the black beast, and I did the laundry. Found that the laundry is a wonderful place to meet folks, and it's about the only place in this RV park that has decent cell phone service! Met Rebecca from Minnesota, Gail from Michigan, and Diana from "on the road."  Later that day as we sat outside, Robin from Ohio stopped by to introduce herself and her two dogs. We also connected with another full-time couple (whose mailbox is in Box Elder, SD), but didn't get their names.

Tuesday the 18th we packed for our trip to Lake Tahoe and Christmas with daughter Hollee and her husband David. Our plan was to drive to San Antonio, about 200 miles, spend the night and fly out Wednesday morning for Reno. We spent that night at the Drury Hotel and Suites in San Antonio--nice place, and it included free dinner and breakfast. A big plus was the ability to leave the black beast in the hotel parking garage while we were away.

Hollee picked us up at the Reno airport on Wednesday as David taught his Pilates classes; then we headed 35 minutes west over the Mt. Rose Pass and Highway to Incline Village. (Incline Village is located on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.) Although it was about 28 degrees and no snow in Reno, there was plenty in Incline, with the promise of TONS more to come over the weekend. The forecast was for another 3' by Monday morning, on top of the foot they already had on the ground. We were welcomed by Hollee and David's two cats, Grapejuice and Max-a-million. They continue to keep us entertained.

Grapejuice

Max-a-million

It's a picture postcard here, with the snow laying heavy on the trees and piled high along the streets. Here are a few photos taken before the storm hit on the weekend.

Hollee and David's home

Back deck

The street in front of their home

Thursday the 20th was quite mild and a bit windy, melting and blowing the snow off the trees. We took this opportunity to drive back to Reno to do a bit of shopping and have lunch. We ate at a lovely little place called the Cheese Board, which offers daily specials as well as soups, sandwiches and salads. Our selection was roasted red pepper soup, grilled cheese on multigrain bread and a salad. Yummy! Across the street from the restaurant is the Donald W. Reynolds Center for the Visual Arts, E.L. Weigard Gallery. Didn't go in, but these photos were taken outside.

On the way home we stopped at a couple of overlooks for photo ops.

Dick and Hollee took a bit of a walk along Lake Tahoe before the storm hit. Thought you'd enjoy seeing these:

Yard art in Incline Village. This is a very wealthy area
so you'll find extreme home construction/architecture and
yard art in the area.

Raging Lake Tahoe

Well, the world didn't end on Friday, as we knew it wouldn't. Jesus told us in Matthew 24:36 that, "no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son (Jesus) himself. Only the Father (God) knows." And, in Proverbs 14:8, God tells us that, "the prudent know where they are going, but fools deceive themselves." The book of Hebrews says, "(As believers) we must warn everyone every day, while it is still "today," so that none of you will be deceived (by sin) and hardened against God." Satan, the great deceiver, is working overtime to deceive folks so that they don't see the truth that is found in Jesus and the Bible. Our prayer is that you diligently seek the truth, and the peace and joy that can be find only in Him.

The snow started falling on Friday morning, and with the exception of just an hour or so, has not stopped yet! As of Saturday night about 2 1/2 ' of  snow had fallen, and IT'S STILL COMING DOWN! Friday night our son Scot, granddaughter Schuyler, Scot's girlfriend Mary, her brother Michael and sister Jayne drove up from San Jose, CA to join us for a Christmas turkey dinner. Oh, and Angus, Scott's black lab-mastiff mix came too. He is not a little puppy! (They're staying in South Lake Tahoe--about 45 minutes away--hoping to take advantage of some good snow play over the weekend.) Had a wonderful evening with them, eating, talking, laughing, and sharing fun stories of family. Did I mention eating??? Turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes and gravy, baked rosemary sweet potatoes, broccoli, cranberry chutney, and freshly baked baguettes for dinner, with pumpkin, very berry, and apple pies a ala mode for dessert. YUMMY! Due to the continuing "snow falling on cedars" and everything else they left by 9:30 to head back south. 

Angus the lap dog, granddaughter Schuyler and Janey

Hollee, David, Gail and Janey

Mary and Michael

Schuyler and Hollee

Scott

Saturday morning, the snow was still falling, and falling, and falling. Dick and David (Hollee's husband) went outside three times to shovel and use the snow-blower to clear the driveway and deck. (Today, as I write this blog, it is still snowing, and the wind has picked up too so the snow is literally "avalanching" off the trees onto the roofs.) Really impressive!!!  And, it's still snowing!!!

House taken during a lull in the storm. 

Compare this with the first photo!
And, its STILL SNOWING!!!

We'll include updated photos next week, after this first storm ends. The forecast is for more storm and snow towards the end of this week. Aren't we lucky!!!

A couple of weeks ago I was sent this story and a link to a song by Becky Kelley. Perhaps it will get you to thinking, as it did me, to put Christmas into the proper perspective.

About the Song

by Becky Kelley

While at the mall a couple of years ago, my then four year old nephew, Spencer, saw kids lined up to see Santa Claus. Having been taught as a toddler that Christmas is the holiday that Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus, he asked his mom, "Where's the line to see Jesus"?

My sister mentioned this to my dad, who immediately became inspired and jotted words down to a song in just a few minutes...

Out of the mouths of babes come profound truths that many adults can not understand. Hopefully Spencer's observation will cause people all over to reflect on the love of Jesus, and that one day we will all stand in line to see Him. We are most thankful to our Heavenly Father to have this chance to share our music with you. Merry Christmas everyone.

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=OExXItDyWEY&vq=medium

We hope this finds you well as we move into the Christmas holidays.
Merry Christmas everyone!

Love 'n' hugs,

Gail and Dick