Last year, a group of local business people located on Ski Run Boulevard came up with the idea that as El Dorado County is such a bountiful place in the areas of food, wine, and art, we should celebrate it.  And of course, taste it!  So they wisely came up with the Sample the Sierra Festival.  The first year was a big hit so they are doing it again. 

Ski Run Boulevard will be closed on Sunday, Sept. 4 to accommodate the Festival. The event is from 12 – 5 pm, and the tickets cost for tasting is $25.  You can purchase a $5 admission ticket but you may want to make sure you can partake in the food and wine offerings.  There will also be visual arts and music.

In addition to the main Festival, there will be Winemaker Dinners on Friday, Sept. 2nd, and demonstrations on Saturday, Sept. 3rd.  And to top off the entire weekend, there will be fireworks on Sunday! 

So come on up.  It’s a great time.  For more information, go to www.SampletheSierra.com

Starting on Wednesday May 11, Highway 50 will be closed for two weeks.  Not just road control with one way traffic, but completely closed.  The rock walls that line the highway on the east side of Echo Summit  have deteriorated so badly that some sections of the wall are non-existent.  And if you are the passenger coming down Echo Summit and all you see is over the cliff, it can be a little unnerving.  I know people who say ‘yahoo!’ when they reach the edge and come down the grade, and others who get nauseous. 

It’s been several decades since the safety walls have been replaced and it’s high time.  The fastest way to repair them is to close the road completely.  Otherwise, it will take all summer to fix it with way too many interruptions.  The replacement walls will be made of concrete, as opposed to rock, but they will be formed like a rock wall.  The results look pretty good.  It’s nice to know that CalTrans is thinking about the aesthetics as well as the safety of the road.

So how to get to Tahoe?  If you’re coming from the Bay area or Sacramento, the best way is to take Highway 12 or 49 south to Highway 88 to Pickett’s Junction. Then take Highway 89 to Highway 50.  Make the right on Highway 50 and cruise into town. 

And cruise is the operable word.  This route adds a few miles to your journey(ok, about 35 miles), but it adds lots of interest.  This is prime scenic country!  You will be driving through lots of farm land with fruit and vegie stands galore, wineries, antique stores, and a couple of lakes.  You can stop by the Kirkwood Inn and have one of their famous hamburgers.  Make it a mini road trip instead of a blast to Tahoe.  Enjoy the journey!

The 2011 Amgen Tour of California is coming to Lake Tahoe and we are really excited.  The race dates are May 15-22, with the official Stage One start on Sunday, May 15th. The race starts in South Lake Tahoe, on the California/Nevada border in front of Montbleu Resort and Casino.  The peloton (or field of racers) will circle around Lake Tahoe in a clockwise direction one and a half times, ending up at Northstar-at-Tahoe.  The beginning of stage two will be at Squaw Valley USA and end in Sacramento. 

Starting the race at 6,300 elevation is the highest start in the history of the Amgen.  Crossing the state line from California to Nevada is also a first, as the tour has always been contained with the state of California. 

But there is quite the community buildup for this event.  As Lake Tahoe is one of the recreational centers of the world, we are very excited to host such an event.   Everyone should see this!

 www.AmgenTourofCalifornia.com

Northstar-at-Tahoe is now part of VailResorts!  This is great news to the community and really great news to those who have Double Whammy passes!  Double Whammy passes gives access to Sierra-at-Tahoe and Northstar.  With a Heavenly pass, that means access to all three resorts for this year.  That is a pretty sweet  deal! We’re still learning about the new arrangement but it seems there are blackout dates for Double Whammy pass holders.

If you have an Epic season pass, that pass will get you unlimited skiing at Heavenly, Sierra-at-Tahoe, Northstar, Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone, and Arapahoe Basin. That’s a lot of skiing. So look into it.  For more information, call 1.800.842.8062

On October 5, 2010, the Accommodation Station was acquired by VailResorts. VailResorts is the parent company to Heavenly Ski Resort, which is about 3 miles up the street from the office. So now we all have Heavenly ski passes, new things to learn and new people to meet. It’s very exciting!