Bongo

Bongo is a very sweet bloodhound who is 4 years old.

He’s a big boy, about 90 pounds, and he’s very well-behaved and walks nicely on his leash. Bongo will do well in just about any household, but potential adopters might research the breed to be informed about their traits and tendencies. He’s a great dog who has a big bay to match those ears.

Bongo is neutered, microchipped, and vaccinated. He is at the El Dorado County Animal Services shelter in Meyers, along with many other dogs and cats who are waiting for their new homes.

Go online to see photos and descriptions of all pets at the shelter.

Call (530) 573.7925 for directions, hours, and other information on adopting a pet.

— Karen Kuentz

Services have been delivered at St. Francis of the Mountains at Fallen Leaf Lake for 90 years. Photos/Kathryn Reed

By Kathryn Reed

FALLEN LEAF LAKE – Many people say their church is found outside immersed in the mountains. The chapel at Fallen Leaf Lake takes that to another level.

Bells ring through the forest to announce the start of the 8am service on Sunday.

And while St. Francis of the Mountains is a traditional church in most ways, it embraces nature. Walking up the slate path it’s like being in a lush green garden. A chill is in the air on this last Sunday of July.

This seasonal church welcomes more than those who call Fallen Leaf Lake home.

Inside it’s like the walls are a warm coat – even for those who prefer a church of granite.

The stone – even on the floor – and the wood interior bring the outdoors inside.

This chapel was a vision of those who helped establish the enclave at the base of Desolation Wilderness on the South Shore. It was in 1921 that the stone foundation was laid by William Price and Walter Hansen.

A variety of fundraisers were conducted to raise the money to make the sanctuary a reality.

The Rev. David Evans delivered the first service in 1923; with the chapel being dedicated to Price.

When first built, the church was non-denominational. It was in 1978 that the Price family deeded the chapel to the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California.

“The cross upon the altar came from the temporary chapel at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco after the earthquake and the fire of 1906. The marble credence table is made from the only unbroken pillar of the communion rail of the old Stanford University Chapel that survived the quake,” Janet Beales Kaidantzis writes in the book “Fallen Leaf: A Lake and Its People 1850-1950”.

The interior is simple – proving that opulence is not needed to commune with God.

Debra Warwick-Sabino, in white, welcomes first-time congregates Cleo Reed, Sue Wood and Pam Valentine.

Guest ministers deliver sermons on a rotating basis. On July 28 it is Debra Warwick-Sabino from Grace Church in Fairfield at the pulpit. She has been coming to Fallen Leaf Lake for 13 years.

“We are all one. We really get that at this place,” Warwick-Sabino tells the more than dozen people gathered for the first service.

Most people have attended previous services. This is also a more packed room than usual for the early session. Warwick-Sabino asks how long people’s roots at Fallen Leaf Lake go back. Fifty years for two people.

Someone has requested music. Warwick-Sabino’s husband, Rob, is quick to accommodate. He is a music director at a Catholic church. He uses the tiny piano off in the corner to provide the accompaniment for the small congregation.

A memorial garden is to the left of the chapel. Names of those who have died line a wall of stone. One area is dedicated to volunteers for Fallen Leaf’s fire department. A large round is set aside for remembrance to people’s four-legged family members.

This area is a bit overgrown in a natural way that allows one to commune with Mother Nature while remembering those who are gone.

—-

Notes:

• The chapel is located at the far end of Fallen Leaf Lake just before the fire station.

• Services are June-September at 8am and 10am; and are open to anyone.

The 39th annual Truckee Antiques Show is Aug. 2-4 from 10am-5pm the first two days and until 4pm that Sunday.

The event is at Truckee High School, 11725 Donner Pass Road.

The cost is $5, with proceeds going to the high school booster club.

For more info, call (530) 241.4063.

By Norimitsu Onishi, New York Times

YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK — Far humbler corners of America have faced a similar dilemma: How much human activity should be allowed in a natural setting that is also promoted as a tourist destination?

The National Park Service is proposing a significant makeover of Yosemite National Park that would change the way future generations of visitors experience the park, especially the seven-mile-long Yosemite Valley at its heart. The Park Service’s plan would restore more than 200 acres of meadows, reorganize transportation and reduce traffic congestion. To shrink the human presence along the Merced River, park officials are also proposing closing nearby rental facilities for bicycling, horseback riding and rafting, as well as removing swimming pools, an ice rink and a stone bridge.

As with most things related to one of the nation’s most beloved national parks, the plan has ignited fierce debate among environmentalists, campers, and officials in California and Washington.

Rep. Tom McClintock, a Republican whose district includes Yosemite, said at a recent House hearing that the idea of removing commercial facilities was meant to satisfy “the most radical and nihilistic fringe of the environmental left.” But some environmentalists said the plan did not go far enough in protecting Yosemite Valley and the Merced River, which flows through 81 miles of the park.

Read the whole story

When Burning Man launched in 1990 all of 60 people showed up. Thousands more than that number will be allowed to gather in the Nevada desert this year.

The Bureau of Land Management has granted a four-year special use permit to event organizers. The maximum number of people allowed is 68,000; with the event being Aug. 26-Sept. 2 this year.

In 2012, 56,000 people attended.

— Lake Tahoe News staff report

The U.S. Forest Service Lake Tahoe Basin Management Unit will resurface the road and parking areas at the Echo Chalet near Echo Lakes the week of July 29.

The parking area at the resort and the Desolation Wilderness trailhead parking area will be completely closed July 30. Striping of both parking areas will take place Aug. 1. Portions of both parking areas will be closed during the striping, but some parking will be available.

Alternate parking is available approximately one mile from the resort at the Echo Lake Sno-Park on Johnson Pass Road.

Resurfacing of the Echo Lake Resort Road will take place July 31. Travelers can expect delays of up to one hour. Access will be limited on this day and it may be necessary to walk in to access the resort, cabins, Echo Lakes, Desolation Wilderness and the Pacific Crest Trail.

The road and both parking areas will reopen Aug. 2.

For more information, call (530) 543.2694.

By Vanessa Allen, Daily Mail

If you’re middle-aged and miserable, don’t despair: Give it a decade or two and you’ll be feeling like a carefree young person again.

Researchers have revealed that life satisfaction peaks at 23 and 69. People in their early 20s overestimate their future life satisfaction by an average of around 10 percent, before the disappointments of life kick in.

They face decades of declining expectation before hitting their lowest point in their mid-fifties, when regrets over unrealized dreams are at their greatest.

Satisfaction levels finally start to rise again after 55 and peak once more at 69, according to a study by the Centre for Economic Performance at the London School of Economics.

Those aged 68 underestimate their future happiness by 4.5 percent, meaning they no longer face disappointment, the researchers found.

Previous studies have found that human contentment follows a U-shaped pattern, with those in their early 20s and the retired ranking highest.

The pattern has been observed in more than 50 nations and across class and financial divides.

And a study by the National Academy of Sciences in the U.S. found evidence that even great apes can suffer a mid-life crisis.

The CEP paper, published last week, is the first to examine how our expectations compare to reality at different life stages.

Researcher Hannes Schwandt, 30, analyzed happiness levels for 23,161 Germans aged 17 to 85.

Schwandt, who is based at Princeton University, but is a visiting researcher at the London center, said: “One theory is that the U-shape is driven by unmet aspirations which are painfully felt in midlife but beneficially abandoned later in life.

“People in their 50s could learn from the elderly, who generally feel less regret. They should try not to be frustrated by their unmet expectations because they are probably not feeling much worse than their peers.”

Peter McGugan

Peter McGugan, a best-selling author, award-winning filmmaker and international speaker, will be giving two presentations at the Boat House Theater on the South Shore in August.

His goals are to boost people’s careers or a business or organization’s success.

McGugan will talk Aug. 28 and Aug. 29 at 7pm.

Cost is $10.

For more information, call (530) 541.4975.

Battle of the Best South Shore Bands is returning to Lakeview Commons.

The free event is a fundraiser for CASA El Dorado. The event is Aug. 23 from 3:30-8:30pm.

The Cash Only band will be returning to defend its title. The audience decides who wins by voting with their wallets.

In addition to the music, there will be food, a beer and wine garden, raffle and live auction. All proceeds from everything goes directly to helping abused and neglected children.

Park at the recreation center for free.

For more info, call (530) 573.3072.

The 24th annual Lake in the Sky Air Show at Lake Tahoe Airport is Aug. 24.

This year’s Air Show events will span three days from Aug. 23-25. It starts with a pre-flight party at the Flight Deck restaurant at the airport at 5:30pm. Triple Ace “Bud” Anderson will be a special guest speaker along with two Vietnam fighter pilots.

On that Saturday from 8am-4pm is the air show.

Young Eagles flights are scheduled for Aug. 25, with sign up for the flights on the day of the air show.

Air show tickets are $10/adults, $8/kids, and youth 5-years-old and younger are free. Free transportation will be provided from the South Y transit center.

For additional information, call (530) 208.9901.