Author: marionvermazen

I am a traveler, hiker, avid reader, Sun alumnus, computer geek, Spanish and French language student, knitter and genealogist. I am retired after working for almost 30 years in the Computer Industry. I live in Reno, Nevada with my husband Duke.

Carson Pass and Fall Colors

Yesterday we did an all day drive with some friends from the Newcomers Club down to Carson Pass to see if the fall colors were out yet in the mountains. We were a bit early but it was still a beautiful day.

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Along the way we stopped to see Snow Shoe Thompson's cave.

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We also explored a bit a Carson pass where you can still see the marks on the trees from where the pioneers used chains to haul their wagons over the pass.

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We had some great sandwiches for lunch in Markleeville.

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If you would like to see all of my pictures from our drive they are available on Flickr here.

Todd Martin – Chief Chef, Owner and Founder of the Tucson Tamale Company – Episode 7 Marion Vermazen Podcast

Todd Martin, the founder, owner and chief chef of the Tucson Tamale Company is my guest for this episode of the Marion Vermazen Podcast. Todd started the Tucson Tamale Company in November of 2008. We talked about starting a business, about making tamales, about his plans to grow the company and much more.

To listen to the  podcast you can use the following link.

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You can subscribe to the Marion Vermazen Podcast by clicking on the
link at
the top of the column to the right.

To subscribe in iTunes,
from the iTunes Advanced menu select Subscribe to Podcast and copy the
feed URL.

"  http://marionvermazen.blogs.com/mv-podcast/rss.xml  "

I love feedback so let me know what you think of the show.

Chris Christensen Host of The Amateur Traveler – Episode 6 Marion Vermazen Podcast

Chris Christensen, host of the Amateur Traveler Podcast is my guest for episode 6 of the Marion Vermazen Podcast. The Amateur Traveler is an iTunes featured travel podcast and it is one of my favorites.

In our conversation Chris and I discuss travel, podcasting, and how he creates the show. We also discussed his approach to traveling, podcasts he listens to and studying languages.

If you would like to listen to the interview you can click on the following link. When you run your mouse over the gray bar below you will see a play button to click on.

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Chris Christensen headshot

Links to things we discussed 

You can subscribe to the Marion Vermazen Podcast by clicking on the
link at
the top of the column to the right.

To subscribe in iTunes,
from the iTunes Advanced menu select Subscribe to Podcast and copy the
feed URL.

"  http://marionvermazen.blogs.com/mv-podcast/rss.xml  "

I love feedback so let me know what you think of the show.

Silver Peak Mount Rose Hike

For ten years the Silver Peak Brewery which has two great restaurants in Reno has sponsored a hike to the top of Mount Rose. For a donation you get a t-shirt and beer at the top. The hike benefits the Nevada Land Conservancy. Their web site says that they have been so successful that because of over use this is the last year that the hike will be on Mount Rose.

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Mount Rose overlooks Reno and at 10,775 ft high is the highest peak around Reno.

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We did the Silver Peak Mount Rose Hike one other time two years ago.  I blogged about it here. It was cold, there was snow at the top, and it was VERY windy but still fun. This time the weather was unseasonably warm. Getting to the top was relatively easy. I’m sure that was because Duke and I hiked 32.5 miles with packs on our backs on the Tahoe Rim Trail about a week ago. Saturday afternoon it was wonderful to sit on top with all the people and dogs and enjoy the views and a beer.

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From the top we saw a helicopter land in the meadow way below. Apparently they were there to evacuate someone who was having heart problems. We started down and about an hour from the top came upon two guys who had just found a guy collapsed and unconscious on the trail. As we approached he started vomiting and they turned him on his side.  I called 911 and explained that we were were about half a mile above the helicopter that was already there. The man was coming around by this point. He said he was 75 and didn’t have a  history of heart problems. He had already been to the top.

We think it was probably the altitude and the heat that got to him. The paramedics hiked up from the meadow and reached in about ten minutes. Apparently in addition to the helicopter guys some more paramedics had hiked in to help with the first guy. We hiked on down and watched the LifeCare helicopter lift of with the first guy who they had carried down the trail and loaded on the helicopter. Another helicopter came in and circled but I don’t think it landed so I am guessing that the guy we helped hiked out after he felt better.

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If you would like to see all the pictures from this hike they are available on Google here.

Two more Books

I recently finished reading Sense and Sensability by Jane Austin and Julie and Julia by Julie Powell. I have seen and enjoyed movies made from both of these books.

I like to read Jane Austin books. Having seen the movie of Sense and Sensability made reading the book even more fun than it would have been otherwise. There are differences between the book and the movie which allowed the book to surprise me and I was able to visualize Emma Thompson, Hugh Grant and Kate Winslet as Elinor, Marianne, and Edward.

While I enjoyed both the movie and the book of Julie and Julia I thought the movie was wonderful and book just OK. In the book  Julie often seemed silly and annoying but in the movie she is likable. In both movie and book Julia Child is awesome. Meryl Steep IS Julia Child. I greatly admire her passion, hard work and dedication. Over a year ago I read My Life in France, Julia Child's memoir. I highly recommend it.

I've added these two books to my list of books read this year.