Hiking Freel Peak

Fall is a beautiful time in the mountains, and one of the most spectacular views of Lake Tahoe can be seen from the summit of Freel Peak, at 10,881 feet the highest of the peaks in the Carson Range that surrounds the Lake. Still relatively snow free, the summit and trail leading to it nevertheless are already dotted with patches of ice-hard snow. In a few weeks, gaining the peak will require snow shoes and winter gear.

Despite a late start and shorter days, four of us decided to slog up to the summit for a brisk Sunday hike. The beautiful fall afternoon rewarded us with spectacular views of the rugged mountaintop, the starkly blue sky, and the shimmering blue Lake to the west. Click on the photo for a magnified view of the vista from the top of the mountain. More photos from the hike can be seen at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jstrolin/FreelPeak102509 .

Desolation and Beauty

The view of beautiful Lake Tahoe (with Fallen Leaf Lake in the foreground) from the top of Keith's Dome in the Desolation Wilderness. More photos from a hike into the Desolation from Echo Lake on August 9th are on the web at:

http://picasaweb.google.com/jstrolin/EchoLakeHike892009

Spring in the Mountains

Here are some photos of the mountains and the different ways they show themselves as spring tries to overcome winter in Northern Nevada. The first photo was taken from my driveway in mid-March as a spring snow storm descended on the mountains. The other two photos are views while cycling March 28th along the eastern edge of the Sierra mountains in the Carson Valley. Other pictures of this spectacular spring day are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jstrolin/KingsburyToMarkleeville32809

Return to Winter

The weekend after Christmas, I headed up to the mountains and into a beautiful winter wonderland created by the first big snowstorm of the season. Here are some photos I took on Friday, December 26th while skiing at Heavenly Valley - looking southeast with the Carson Valley laid out below. Mid-winter conditions with fresh powder even!

On Saturday, Sean, Debra and I trudged up into the Mt. Rose wilderness area via the Thomas Creek trailhead for some snowshoeing and more spectacular winter vistas. More photos are at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jstrolin/SnowshoeingThomasCreek122708

Thanksgiving

On Thanksgiving morning, 2008, I got up early and loaded the car with the groceries I had bought the day before, including the 12 pound turkey with the label that read, "Freezer to Oven," and headed to Andrew's and Jennifer's home in Reno. Jennifer had to work until almost 2 pm, so it was left to Andrew and me to prepare things and cook the dinner. Here's Andrew making his famous mashed potatoes:









We had a lot of help with dinner. Andrew's and Jennifer's three dogs were ready and waiting for any little morsel that might find its way to the floor.

More photos are on my Picasa web page at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jstrolin/Thanksgiving2008

Beach Blanket Babylon and San Francisco

Karen and I drove into San Francisco on Sunday, November 23, 2008 to catch the afternoon performance of Beach Blanket Babylon at Club Fugazi in the North Beach section of SF. The show is a musical spoof on politicians and celebrities, and it's really a kick. Here are some pictures from the show's web site - Hillary; Palin and McCain; and the Obamas:

More photos from around the Warf in San Francisco are on the web at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jstrolin/SanFrancisco112308

One neat thing we did was tour the USS Pampanito, a WW II submarine that has been restored and converted into a museum. There's an interesting web site with information about the submarine at: http://www.maritime.org/pamphome.htm .

Wine Harvest Festival in St. Helena - November 1, 2008



Every year, the growers' association in the northern Napa Valley sponsors a big harvest festival that features great food (prepared in large quantities by some fantastic Hispanic chefs) and cases of great wine contributed by the various participating wineries. The festival takes place in the forested hills adjacent to a large vineyard. This year, because of a steady rain that fell all day - and all night before - the sponsors put up huge circus-like tents, and the festivities went on without interruption.

The festival is unique not only for the great wines that are just laid out on the tables for anyone to partake, but especially for the eclectic mix of people who participate. There are lowly field hands mixing and rubbing shoulders with wealthy vineyard owners; professional people from town sharing tables with laborers; old time residents of the area mixing with brand new immigrant families. There were clowns making balloon animals for kids; a local woman spent the entire day painting faces of beaming kids; families with dogs; old people and young people. For more photos of the festival, check out the album at: http://picasaweb.google.com/jstrolin/RainyHarvestFestivalStHelenaNovember12008