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.

Tour of the Truckee River Water System

Last Friday we took a tour of the Reno water system that was offered by the Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA). TMWA has been offering this free tour annually for the last few years. We started at the TMWA headquarters. From there we went to the Lake Tahoe Dam in Tahoe City where the Truckee River Exits the lake. The picture below shows that two of the 17 gates at the dam were open when we were there. From Tahoe we went to Donner Lake, Stampede Reservoir and Boca Reservoir. We had a tour and a picnic lunch at the Verdi Hydro-power Plant and finally a tour of the Chalk Bluff Water Treatment Plant.

The top 6.1 feet of water between the natural rim and the highest elevation of Lake Tahoe is the primary water storage for Reno but the water authority also gets water from reservoirs and wells. It was fascinating to learn how the water is shared and how they plan for droughts and growth. The hydroelectric facilities that are owned by TMWA provide something like half the power the utility uses. The Verdi Hydroelectric Plant we toured was recently upgraded. The pictures below show the old control panel and the new control panel.

I was very impressed with the whole system. Our tour guide Andy was entertaining and very knowledgeable. TMWA has a great web site and a real time interactive graphic about Lake Tahoe and its elevations.

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Beer at the Top of Mount Rose – 8th Annual Silver Peak Brewery Mount Rose Hike

On a different subject – If you read to the end of my last post you might win a prize.

Now to today’s post.

On the last few Sierra Canyon Hiking Group hikes we have been hearing all about how doing the beer hike to the top of Mount Rose is something you have to do if you are a hiker living in Reno. Well today was the day. Some of the people from Silver Peak Restaurant and Brewery carry kegs of beer to the top of Mount Rose and then sell glasses of beer to hikers who get to the top. All of the proceeds goto the Nevada Land Conservancy.

Rose Peak is a challenging hike. Round trip is 11.9 miles. Elevation gain is 1,976 feet. The top of the mountain is 10,776 feet. Today to make it even more challenging the weather was clear and cool and extremely windy.

Seven of us from the Sierra Canyon hiking group met at the Sierra Canyon Lodge at 7:30. We car pooled to Mount Rose and started hiking at 8:30. In the early part of the hike I was wearing a light weight shirt, pants and cap, but at the top I had on gloves, stocking cap, pants, shirt, light weight fleece, heavy weight fleece jacket and my rain jacket and I was very glad I had every one of them. The last couple of miles of the trail are above the tree line and are on the ridge of the mountain and the wind was blowing like I have never experienced it. I leaned 45 degrees into the wind. I thought I might be blown over. I couldn’t stand up. I literally crawled up parts of the trail. We agreed that the wind had to be blowing 70 miles per hour. The wind chill made it very cold. Three of our seven hikers decided that the wind was just too much and waited for us back down in the trees. But Walt, Linda, Duke and I made it. At the very top there was shelter and the beer tasted REALLY good especially with Duke’s famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies.  The views were fantastic. We could see Mount Lassen, Reno, Truckee, Lake Tahoe and and lots more. Making it to the top was a thrill. I am so glad I did it.

Here are a few pictures. The rest can be seen here on Flickr.

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Lincoln: The Presidential Archives.

Blogging leads to serendipity. I had to look up the word serendipity to make sure I had the usage right. According to my Merriam-Webster Dictionary serendipity is the gift of finding valuable or agreeable things not sought for. In my case the agreeable thing not sought for was a free book.

A couple of weeks ago I received an email from Carroll an Assistant Manager of Online Marketing at DK Publishing offering me a review copy of a new book, Lincoln: The Presidential Archives. The book arrived the first of this week and I have been reading it ever since. I am enjoying it. If you have ever read any of the DK Eyewitness Travel Guides you will remember the wonderful pictures, illustrations and maps that make them such sumptuous books. Lincoln: The Presidential Archives does for history what the DK travel guides do for travel. The book contains many wonderful pictures but even better are the eight pockets containing reproduced, removable documents. Being able to hold and read even a reproduction of the Emancipation Proclamation or a letter from Mary Todd Lincoln immeasurably adds to the impact of this book.

The author, Chuck Wills, has written a very readable summary of Lincoln’s life. This is the third book I’ve read about Lincoln this year and it has substantially augmented what I knew and/or remembered about Lincoln and his life. I especially like the background chapters about Lincoln’s pre-presidential years.

I recommend Lincoln: The Presidential Archives. Even for someone who is not as enthralled by Presidential history as I am it is a fascinating book. I think its appeal for me is how real it makes Lincoln and his life.

As I said at the beginning of this post I received my copy of  Lincoln: The Presidential Archives from the DK Publishing. In her email Carroll also offered to give me a second copy of the book  to use for a give away contest on my blog. So, to the first person who comments on this blog entry and emails their address to me I will send you a free copy of Lincoln: The Presidential Archives. How’s that for serendipity!

Caveat: I guess it wouldn’t be fair for any member of my family to win the book. If they want a copy they will have to put it on their Christmas list. 

Thursday Hike with Sierra Canyon Hiking Group

I went on another beautiful hike yesterday. Seven of us from the Del Webb Sierra Canyon Hiking Group did the Marlette Lake Trail. According to the guide book it is a 9 mile round trip hike. It was a relatively easy hike. The trail starts at Spooner Lake which is one mile north of highway 50 on highway 28, the highway that goes around the east side of Lake Tahoe. There were lots of Aspen trees along the trail. They were just beginning to turn yellow. A few more weeks and they should be stunning. It was a beautiful day and a great day to be in the mountains.

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