Summer!

Travels with Heart, by Annie Bowler, vol 5 July 31, 2023

Recently, I headed east on Highway 50 through the area that was burned by the

Caldor fire. It’s the first time I’ve driven that way since the Caldor fire, which

burned for 69 days while consuming 221,835 acres and 1,003 structures and

temporarily displaced more than 50,000 residents.

Map of Caldor Fire (below)

Clearly, the Caldor Fire was horrific, but it could have been much worse. The

Caldor fire crested highway 50 and was heading into the city of South Lake Tahoe

when Cal Fire and many brave firefighters did everything possible to stop the inferno in its tracks. Seeing how close the fire came to South Lake Tahoe’s homes and businesses gave me the shivers.

After driving the length of Lake Tahoe along its west shore and hiking in one of its

beautiful meadows with my dear friend, Sheri Fischer, I was even more grateful

that most of the Tahoe Basin was left unscathed by this horrific fire. I am grateful

to all firefighters and to Cal Fire for protecting this gorgeous region. As we are

now in the warmest months of the year, I wish all firefighters, and all of us, the

very best of luck!

Though fire season is scary for us all, summer is still one of my favorite seasons. I especially love summer’s slow pace, walking as the sun sets and things begin to cool, swimming on hot summer days and enjoying our garden’s bounty. We are lucky to have lakes by both our house and our cabin. There is nothing

better than a dip into cool water on a hot summer day! In recent years, I

have taken up paddling boarding, which is always a true adventure with my

enthusiastic dog Buster, on board!

This week's bounty! Young turtles sunning themselves

I am grateful to have a cabin at Serene Lakes, which in the high Sierras near

Donner Summit. No matter what the season, it is always 20’ cooler up the hill

thus, we tend to head to our cabin, if possible, when it’s over 100’ in the valley.

Serene Lakes is an incredible community. Last weekend was “Serene Lakes Days,”

which means all kinds of games, races, potlucks, a street dance, and open mic

night, and much more, went on all weekend long. You don’t need to compete to

enjoy the incredible fun and community spirit!

The Tevis Cup, which is held on the last Saturday in July, normally starts at

Tahoe’s Olympic Village, but this year’s high snowpack and fast rivers made that

path unsafe for both horses and riders. Tevis planners created a “snow course’

which as luck would have it, meant this year’s Tevis started in Soda Spring and

would go right by our cabin this last weekend as well.

As someone who has loved horses all my life, this was too good to miss! Thus, a

group of our friends, John and I got up well before dawn to watch many excited

horses and riders take off at 5:00am as they began their 100-mile trek toward Auburn.

Video of Tevis Cup horse and riders trotting out in the dark

Tierney Beloberk and her Pre-race vet check Tierney & HighhTreason on the trail

trusty horse Highh Treason

Of course, we hoped that ever horse and rider would make it to Auburn safely;

there is no guarantee that they would as the Tevis Cup is considered the most

difficult horse race in the world. That said, we were especially rooting for a

longtime family friend, Tierney Beloberk, who at 14 was the youngest rider in the

‘23 Tevis. Tierney made us all proud as she and her horse, Highh Treason, crossed

the finish line in 23rd place. This was Tierney’s second Tevis race, so she now has

two shiny buckles to commemorate her incredible accomplishment.

John and I hiking Buster with stick! John fixing window broken

by too much snow!

Summer is a time to do repairs especially in the high country after such a long,

hard winter. Thankfully there has been to time to hike, as well. Hope you and

yours are having an enjoyable summer!