The Wanderlust Festival, a one-of-a-kind yoga and music festival, returns for a fourth year to Squaw Valley July 26-29.

The yogis teaching and speaking at this year’s North Lake Tahoe festival include Baron Baptiste, Shiva Rea, Jonny Kest, Baxter Bell, Adam Rinder and Seane Corn.

The music lineup includes the reggae sounds of Ziggy Marley, Beats Antique who got their start in the San Francisco underground performance art scene and MC Yogi with their dose of hip hop, reggae, dancehall and dub sounds. Also playing at Squaw Valley is Shpongle Presents the Masquerade, a new world of traditional sounds, acoustic guitars, Moroccan drums, Turkish operatic singing, cello, double bass, backing vocals and silver flute blended together with computer wizardry.

The Wanderlust Festival will also host a high-end dining experience at Squaw Valley’s High Camp July 26 and July 27, 7:30pm. This food journey is comprised of the freshest ingredients and flavors from area growers, including the Carson Valley and nearby Grass Valley.

The onsite Wanderlust Healing Sanctuary at Squaw Valley offers healing services from some of the most talented healers across the country, with each of the trained practitioners devoted to supporting festivalgoer’s unique journey and experience.

Kids get in the mix too with the Wanderkind Kids Program, geared for ages 4-10 years, that includes yoga, live music, hooping, as well as arts and crafts.

For more information about the Wanderlust Festival in Squaw Valley, a complete lineup of events, photos and videos, as well as to register, go online.

Bona Fide Books annually awards the Melissa Lanitis Gregory Poetry Prize for an unpublished collection of poems.

Submissions for this year’s contest are being taken until Aug. 31.

The winner will receive publication, 10 copies, a $500 cash award, and a reading at Lake Tahoe. Submit a previously unpublished, full-length poetry manuscript of between 48 and 100 pages. For more information, go here.

Lexa Hillyer, winner of the 2011 prize for her collection, “Acquainted with the Cold” (to be published by Bona Fide Books this year), will be in South Lake Tahoe to read on Nov. 2 as part of Lake Tahoe Community College’s Writers’ Series.

AAUW home tour focuses on old cabins

By Jessie Marchesseau

Original old Tahoe cabins all over the area. The little box-like ones clad in weathered wood siding or just plain logs. It’s hard not to wonder what those little gems look like inside and what they looked like way back when.

Saturday’s American Association of University Women Home Tour provided an opportunity to find out.

The tour is a biennial event and past tours have been in the Angora burn area, Cascade Properties, the Tahoe Keys and other prominent South Shore neighborhoods. This year’s tour, entitled At Home in Al Tahoe: Historic Retreats at The Lake, featured eight cabins in South Lake Tahoe’s oldest neighborhood. The cabins, all built between the 1920s and 1940s, have been extensively maintained, restored, updated and upgraded by their respective owners.

The AAUW home tour in Al Tahoe on June 23 was sold-out. Photo/Jessie Marchesseau

The self-guided tour started on Cave Rock Avenue at a cabin built in 1937. The front deck is almost as big as the cabin. A step inside revealed that this was one that had been more restored than upgraded. The beams, though redone, still showed signs of the bark that had been left in place when the cabin was erected. The steep log staircase leading to a loft above looked more like a ladder than an actual stairway and made many tour-goers more than a little nervous on the descent. A stove against the wall and refrigerator in the corner were the only real indications of where the kitchen area was in the big room that served as kitchen, living and dining space.

Carolyn MacRae, interior designer and owner of The Design Shoppe in South Lake Tahoe, purchased the cabin for her father in 2003. She took on the task of redoing some of the previous remodel work to make it appear more original and creating a space for her father to house his extensive collection of Native American artifacts, including a totem pole standing proudly in the living room.

“One of the goals with it is to make the setting feel like the collection feels, and like it’s always been here,” MacRae said.

But not all the cabins on the tour were redone with the intension of making them look and feel original.

Some still had logs or wood paneling for walls, while others had been upgraded to sheet rock. Nearly all have experienced some sort of expansion, as the tiny footprint of these cabins does not leave much room for modern conveniences. Some additions were designed to blend seamlessly with the original architecture, but others had details such as granite countertops and two-person Jacuzzi bathtubs which were dead giveaways of modern upgrades.

Many cabins in Tahoe have the same footprint as when they were built decades ago. Photo/Provided

Barb Childs, president of AAUW South Lake Tahoe branch since 2010, said part of her criteria in choosing the cabins for the tour were that they had been not so much remodeled as restored, maintaining the original integrity of the era.

Though some cabins flaunted more contemporary updates than others, they all managed to maintain original elements that make it almost immediately known to any visitor that this home has a story to tell. All of the cabins displayed a great deal of wood; from floors to walls, ceilings to cabinetry, the warm ambience of natural wood prevailed. Nearly all the homeowners managed to work some antlers into their décor and there was no shortage of the obligatory pinecones, bears and photos from the TV show “Bonanza” – which was filmed in Lake Tahoe.

Janet De La Motte of San Luis Obispo attended the tour with her daughter. As the owner of an Al Tahoe cabin built in 1939, something that has been in her family since the day it was built, De La Motte said she loved the rustic charm displayed by all the homes.

“It shows you that you don’t have to go and remodel as soon as you buy a vintage home,” she said, noting that on HGTV the first thing anyone does when they buy an older property is completely gut it.

De La Motte and her daughter, Janelle, gathered some ideas for their cabin from the tour and were delighted that they were able to walk the entire route, a detail that was no accident.

Childs said with the opening of Lakeview Commons, the AAUW, in addition to their focus on a historical tour, wanted to do something to encourage people to bike, walk and enjoy the entire area.

As the final stop, refreshments and silent auction items were available to attendees at Pichetti Winery.

The event, which is always well-attended, sold-out of the 350 available tickets on Friday. Tickets were $20 in advance.

One hundred percent of the proceeds from the event go toward AAUW’s scholarship funds. The group awards scholarship to women transferring from LTCC to four-year universities, as well as to middle school girls who wish to attend Tech Trek, a science, math and computer summer camp at UC Davis. AAUW focuses on advancing equity for women and girls.

“You can’t change the world,” said Kay Henderson, chairman for this year’s Home Tour, “but sometimes you can change a little part of it.”

By Mandy Kendall

In today’s fast-paced world circumstances arise in most of our lives that have our stress levels rising, along with our blood pressure. Although occasional increases in blood pressure are not dangerous, it does become an issue when the pressure levels don’t drop again.

Mandy Kendall

Unfortunately high blood pressure often has no detectable symptoms and can lead to an increased risk in serious health problems including heart attack and stroke; this is why this condition is often referred to as the “silent killer.”

What is blood pressure? It refers to the amount of pressure exerted on the blood vessel walls as the heart pumps blood around the body. A blood pressure reading will have two numbers. The first (top or Systolic) number refers to the pressure in the blood vessels while the heart is beating. The second (bottom or Diastolic) number refers to the pressure while the heart is relaxing between beats.

What should my blood pressure be? The Mayo clinic offers the following guidelines:

Our lifestyles have a huge effect on our health and there are many things we can do to help prevent the onset of high HBP or to reduce it.

Here are some Qwik-e tips to help the fight against this silent killer:

1. Cut down on salt. No more than 2,300mg (a teaspoon) of salt is recommended per day per adult under 50 years of age with no more than 1,500 mg (just over half a teaspoon) being recommended for children and adults over 50. Just remember hidden salt (in processed foods like soups and convenience foods) can often give you much more than your daily allowance.

2. Reduce your waistline. Studies have shown that waist measurements are a better indicator (compared to weight or BMI) of risk factors for heart disease and other serious conditions. If waist measurements (measuring at the level of the belly button) are greater than 35 inches for women or 40 inches for men, it could indicate an increase in the risk of cardiovascular disease, diabetes and HBP along with other metabolic problems. Even a loss of just 5 pounds can lower your blood pressure.

3. Maintaining a healthy diet can help control HBP. The Mayo Clinic recommends the “Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension” (DASH) diet, which promotes fruits, vegetables, whole grain foods along with plenty of potassium which can help prevent and control high blood pressure.

4. Exercise. Thirty minutes a day (even if it’s just a brisk walk) can help lower your blood pressure.

5. Limit alcohol. Even if you have normal blood pressure alcohol will tend to increase pressure levels. The Mayo Clinic recommends limiting consumption to one drink per day for women and two drinks per day for men. There is also, however, strong advice against saving-up personal quotas until the weekend for what is considered binge-type drinking as this can also strongly increase blood pressure levels.

6. Stop smoking. As well as causing damage to the whole body, smoking speeds up the process of hardening of the arteries, which in turn can increase the risk and dangers of HBP.

7. Reduce stress. Stress can be a huge contributor to HBP. Relaxation techniques, meditation, deep breathing, anger management and plenty of sleep can go a long way to reducing risks of HBP. (Just saying “no” occasionally to that extra demand on your time and energy will also help too!)

8. Monitor yourself. Advances in modern technology now means blood pressure monitoring at home is possible. Even if these machines are not as highly accurate as clinic machines, taking readings at different times of the day and at regular intervals will allow you to chart patterns and changes in your pressure. Blood pressure readings taken in clinics can also often be affected by “white coat syndrome.” This is a phenomenon where patients, possibly due to nervousness, unwittingly exhibit higher blood pressure readings in a clinic setting than they would normally. This sometimes leads to an incorrect diagnosis, and monitoring pressure at home can be a useful comparison to lessen the chances of this happening.

9. Symptoms not to be ignored. Symptoms like frequent headaches, dizzy spells, disorientation, tightness in the chest, prolonged fatigue, irregular heartbeat or blurred vision should not be ignored as they could be an indication of HBP or other serious health conditions.

As will all things health-related, consult your doctor before making any changes to your lifestyle and health regime.

Until next time.

Mandy Kendall operates Health Connective in South Lake Tahoe. If you have any questions, would like some advice, or would like to request some Qwik-e tips on any health and wellbeing topic, please feel free to drop me an email at healthconnective@gmail.com, visit us on Facebook, or keep an eye out on Lake Tahoe News for regular Qwik-e tips on how to make healthy changes one Quick and Easy step at a time.

TOCCATA continues its summer season with a chamber music series performed by Trios Las Americas.

The trio consists of Argentians Maria Luciana Gallo, cello and Pablo Rocchietti, piano; and American clarinetist, Karl Busch. They will perform works by Piazzolla, Bruch, Beethoven, and Brahms.

Concerts are July 11 at 7 pm at the TOCCATA Performing Arts Theater in Incline Village and July 12 at 7 pm at the Squaw Valley Chapel in Olympic Valley.

Tickets on July 12 are $20, with those under 12 free and may be purchased in advance by credit card online or at the door by cash or check 30 minutes prior to the concert.

Donations are appreciated at the July 11 concert.

In an effort to encourage families to attend this year’s Lake Tahoe Reggae Festival, tickets for kids 12 and under are $10, and all children 6 and younger are free. These special kids’ tickets can be picked up at the box office only. Kids must be present with adult ticketholders.

June 30 is the inaugural Lake Tahoe Reggae Festival at the MontBleu outdoor. The all-day festival will feature reggae-dub-rock band Pepper, along with New Zealand’s Katchafire, Hawaiian Reggae sensation, J Boog, Hot Rain, Keyser Soze, The Mark Sexton Band, UpRising, and Squarefield Massive from Sacramento.

General admission tickets are $39 – (775) 588.3515.

Doors open at 1:30pm, first band starts at 2pm.

By Dina Kupfer, KRNV-TV

SPARKS — Call it ironic that Bruce Osgood would have the word “good” in his last name.

Four times a week, this retired 72 year old can be seen doing a good deed – picking up trash along Pyramid Highway.

“My goal right now is to keep the Pyramid Lake Highway clean for the six-mile stretch between Queens Way and Eagle Canyon Drive,” explains Osgood.

Osgood began hiking Pyramid Highway to train for bigger feats, like hiking Mt. Whitney and the Tahoe Rim Trail, but after suffering from two strokes over the last few years, this 12-mile round trip journey now serves as Osgood’s pathway to a healthy life.

Read the whole story

The audiences will likely be dancing in their seats at Sierra Tahoe Children’s Theater’s performances of the “The Rockin’ Tale of Snow White” on Friday.

This doo wop, be bop, hip hop rendition of the fairytale features a cast of 39 local children who have participated in the annual theater workshop for the last two weeks. Snow White is portrayed by Kristen Harnett, Prince Charming by Nick Husiak and the blues singing Evil Queen is Aurora Gooch.

There are salsa dancing dwarves, back up dancers who hip hop for Tyler Martin the rapping mirror, along with a cast of other fun characters in the show.

The performances are at noon and 6pm June 29 in the multipurpose room at Tahoe Valley Elementary School.

Admission is free.

“The Lake burst upon us – a noble sheet of blue water lifted six thousand three hundred feet above the level of the sea, and walled in by a rim of snow-clad mountain peaks that towered aloft full three thousand feet higher still! It was a vast oval, and one would have to use up eighty or a hundred good miles in traveling around it. As it lay there with the shadows of the mountains brilliantly photographed upon its still surface I thought it must surely be the fairest picture the whole earth affords.”

– Mark Twain

By Katherine E. Hill

TAHOE CITY – The debate rages on about the location of Sam Clemens’ campsite along Lake Tahoe’s shores in September 1861 when he and a companion burned down a swath of forest while trying to stake a timber claim.

“I must confess to you that my memory is not what it when to be,” Mark Twain, as portrayed by McAvoy Layne, said before the debate. “When John Kenny and I hiked over we camped at … I seem to be getting a headache. Let’s see if one of these fine gentlemen can restore my aged memory.”

McAvoy Lane won't cast the deciding vote on where Sam Clemens started the fire in Lake Tahoe. Photos/Katherine E. Hill

The North Lake Tahoe Historical Society hosted the debate between authors David Antonucci and Robert Stewart at the Gatekeeper’s Museum last week. Antonucci advocates a site near present-day Speedboat Beach on the North Shore based on scientific research, while Stewart believes the campsite was located south of present-day Sand Harbor State Park on the East Shore based on historical documentation from the 1860s. Both authors are adamant in their theories of the location of Clemens’ campsite – one located in California, the other in Nevada.

In September 1861, Clemens, who later adopted the pen name Mark Twain, traveled to Lake Tahoe with John Kenny to stake a timber claim and become wealthy timber barons. Clemens recounted his journey to Tahoe in his 1872 book “Roughing It” in which he and Kenny walked to Tahoe. During their journey, the pair starting a forest fire where they were attempting to lay a claim. After the fire, the claim was abandoned. It is the location of Clemens’ claim that has remained a mystery since.

Campsite in Tahoe Vista

Using scientific research as his basis, Antonucci asserts that Clemens’ timber stake was located in Tahoe Vista, which he also details in his book “Fairest Picture: Mark Twain at Lake Tahoe.” Antonucci’s debate is based on Twain’s description of the adventure in “Roughing It.” He compared the descriptions to conditions at Lake Tahoe in 1861 – the water level of the lake (before the Truckee River was dammed at Tahoe City) and the beaches that existed during this time period, the diameter of trees described by Twain, the presence of both grey and white boulders, and the route by which the pair hiked from Carson City to Lake Tahoe.

David Antonucci

Antonucci says his evidence is based on “the intersection of literature, science and history,” noting that he believes Clemens and Kenny travelled up Ash Canyon and the Washoe Trail from Carson City to reach Tahoe before coming to Hidden Beach. They then rowed across Crystal Bay to Stateline Point, according to Antonucci, where they then traveled to a site near Speedboat Beach where they staked their claim.

“In the analysis of his descriptions (in ‘Roughing It’), it’s the only route that meet all six criteria given by Mark Twain,” Antonucci said.

“I say, look at both sides and decide for yourself,” he said.

 East Shore location for campsite

Stewart, on the other hand, looked at original, historical documents to draw his conclusion that Clemens’ claim was on the East Shore of the lake. Using surveys, letters and court documents from the 1860s, Stewart, author of “Finding Sam Clemens Cove,” puts the claim about one-quarter of a mile above the present-day Thunderbird Lodge.

Robert Stewart

Clemens and Kenny traveled to Lake Tahoe over an existing road near Spooner Summit to a site located just north of The Brigade Claim, made by companions of Clemens, according to Stewart. The location of The Brigade Claim is important in making his assertions because of Clemens’ relationship with the men. Stewart claims that Clemens’ would have traveled to The Brigade Claim and then used their skiff and food stores to make his own stake.

Clemens and Kenny traveled down to present-day Glenbrook, Stewart claims, before rowing across Glenbrook Bay and continuing on to a site south of Sand Harbor State Park.

Stewart said his research is “based on documentation and the survey by the Ormsby County surveyor, so the plate (for The Brigade Claim) had to be in Ormsby County,” which was a former county in Nevada that incorporated the East Shore. Stewart argues that since The Brigade Claim was in Nevada, so must be Clemens’ stake.

Both historians refuted the others claims in a rebuttal, but left much of the audience split down the middle on which site seemed to be the correct one.

“It comes down to (Stewart’s) historical narrative versus Antonucci’s empirical data,” as one audience member noted.

Even Clemens remained confused about the location of his claim.

“I feel like an envelope without an address … I’m the most mixed up person at the lake.”

The debate was part of the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society first Thursday series, which continues in July and August. For more information, go online. The debate will continue on the website, where comments are welcome on this ongoing issue.

By Fu-Tong Liu

We think of our skin as protecting us but often ignore the importance of protecting our skin. With summer here, this is risky.

Melanoma, a deadly type of skin cancer, is on the rise. Among the 3.5 million skin cancers that will be diagnosed in the U.S. this year, about 76,000 will be melanomas, according to the American Cancer Society.

Skin cancer is common, accounting for more than half of all other cancers combined. Most non-melanoma skin cancers are basal cell, the slowest growing type, or squamous cell carcinoma. Melanomas develop from the pigment-making cells of the skin. In California, new melanoma cases are expected to top 7,050 in 2012, with 4,180 cases occurring in men and 2,870 in women, and 925 deaths.

Skin cancer is more common in sunny regions, like Lake Tahoe, where the sun shines more than 75 percent of the time, 300-plus days per year on average.

In 2012, 270 new cases of melanoma are expected in Sacramento County; 150 in Placer County and 75 in El Dorado County. These are risk factors associated with melanoma skin cancer:

• Unprotected exposure to natural (sun) and artificial sources of Ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Individuals using sunlamps and tanning booths before age 30 are at increased risk.

• Having three or more severe, blistering sunburns puts individuals at a greater risk.

• Personal and family (two or more relatives) histories of melanoma.

• Genetic characteristics such as pale or freckled skin, red or blond hair or blue or gray eyes.

• Multiple or unusual moles.

Experts believe one reason for the skin cancer increase is better vigilance; people are spending more time checking their skin for unusual growths. Early detection is improving with whole-body checks and individuals watching regularly for changes on their skin, including new moles. You can detect beginning signs of melanoma by looking at moles using the “ABCDEs”:

• Asymmetry where one half of the mole looks different than the other half.

• Border that is irregular, ragged, notched or blurred.

• Color that is uneven.

• Diameter that increases, usually wider than 6 millimeters or about one-quarter inch.

• Evolving appearance of the mole over the past few weeks or months.

Melanoma is curable if detected early. You can prevent the disease by doing simple things:

• Limit your time in the sun, particularly between 10am and 4pm when the rays are the strongest. If you’re outside during that time, stay in the shade.

• Generously apply sunscreen with a 30 SPF (sun protection factor) or higher up to 30 minutes before going outside. Apply regularly every two hours and immediately after swimming.

• Protect your head, face, neck and ears with a wide-brimmed hat.

• Wear long sleeves and pants made from tightly woven fabrics

• Wear UV radiation protection sunglasses.

• For individuals 20 years and older, get a skin examination checkup with your physician during a periodic health examination.

• Conduct monthly ABCDE self -examinations.

Whether it’s sunny or gloomy outside, cancer experts urge you to protect your skin and as the American Cancer Society’s campaign slogan suggests “Slip, Slop, Slap and Wrap” as a reminder to slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen, slap on a hat and wrap on sunglasses.

Fu-Tong Liu is a medical doctor and a distinguished professor and chair of dermatology at UC Davis Health System and a member of the National Cancer Institute-designated UC Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center.