What A Castle, Vikingsholm!

Last week, I was invited to give a talk at the Vikingsholm Castle for a Trivia/Murder Mystery event.

My talk was fun, and I gave it to a sold-out crowd assembled in the courtyard behind the castle. My name might have been on the invitation, but the star of the show was of course the Vikingsholm Castle. No finer place like it exists.

If any of you haven't been there, go. The castle was built by Lora Knight in 1929. It is considered as good example of this type of Scandinavian architecture as anywhere on the planet. Add to that its location at the head of Emerald Bay, one of the most beautiful and most photographed places on the planet, and you have an amazing experience.

Look it up and visit. Bring your camera. Plan to spend some time taking the tour, hiking the short distance to Eagle Falls, maybe renting a kayak and paddling out to Fannette Island.

You'll be glad you went. Here's a link: Vikingsholm Castle

Another Roundabout Coming To Tahoe

By several measures, Highway 50 is the busiest route into the Tahoe Basin.
And, by several other measures, the intersection where Highway 89 comes from the south and ends at a "T" at Highway 50 in Meyers, is one of the most accident-prone, delay-causing places in the basin.

The powers that be have long debated if there should be a traffic signal or roundabout at that intersection.

The roundabout won the debate.

Construction has begun. Completion is expected in the fall.

Let's hope that traffic will flow better. (Although we locals fully expect that congestion will still be a feature of all our roads during the tourist season.)

Check Out Summer Snow At Kirkwood!

We just drove out to Kirkwood, the base of which sits at 7800 feet. Talk about beautiful, summer back-country skiing. Round Top (10,400 feet) and The Sisters (slightly lower) are buried in snow. Caples Lake is still mostly frozen, and the runs at Kirkwood could be covered with skiers. Except the skiers are all thinking about summer stuff. But with this much snow, summer stuff should include skiing.

Round Top is on the left, The Sisters on the right.

In the middle of June, the runs at Kirkwood are still heavy with snow.

Summer Skiing At Squaw For $5

My wife and I once skied at Alpine Meadows in June. It was a wonderful combination of hot sun, great snow, and purple butterflies that filled the air all over the mountain.

Now you can enjoy June skiing for $5.

Really? $5 Skiing? Skiing in June?

Yes, it's true. Squaw Valley, which is planning to stay open until July 7th, is offering $5 Fridays in June.

There are a couple of catches. (Of course!) You have buy the ticket a couple of days in advance. You have to do it with a special app. And there are only 500 cheap tickets available for each Friday. (Otherwise, the ticket is still a cheap $39.)

Here's the link to $5 Fridays.

How Literate Are Bears?

Back in 2004 there was a very fun and informative book about punctuation titled Eats Shoots and Leaves.

The title was a fun joke. With no commas (Eats Shoots and Leaves), it referred to what Panda Bears eat.

With the addition of commas (Eats, Shoots, and Leaves), it referred to a robber who has a meal at a diner, then pulls out a gun and shoots it as he's robbing the place.

I think of that book every time I see one of these dumpsters. Do you see the period after the word 'Bears?' I always have the urge to get out some white paint and change the period to a comma!