When John Muir coined the phrase “Range of Light” in the late 1880s, few people had seen the spectacular Sierra Nevada. John Muir’s writings provided the world a window into this magnificent landscape. His writing and activism helped bring attention to the threats to the natural ecosystem of the Sierra Nevada. Due to the visionary actions of an earlier generation, many regions of the Sierra Nevada are now protected in National Parks and Wilderness Areas. The images of landscape photographer Ansel Adams also played an important role in the protection of important regions of the Sierra.

Photographers still gain inspiration and imagery from the beautiful landscapes of the Sierra Nevada. Elizabeth Carmel is a Truckee-based photographer who will present on her new book “The Changing Range of Light: Portraits of the Sierra Nevada”. The landscape photography book focuses on climate change issues in the Lake Tahoe and Sierra Nevada region of California.

Accompanying her presentation are prominent climate change scientists Geoff Schladow and Robert Coats. The scientists contributed insights in the book’s introduction and within the text that accompanies the photography, and will talk about the recent scientific results and ideas on climate change, particularly as it affects the Sierra Nevada.

Elizabeth Carmel

Elizabeth Carmel is a Sierra-based photographer specializing in unique, expressive landscapes and “waterscapes.” Her prints combine dramatic photography, vivid colors, and artistic touches to create new, captivating visions of the natural world. She has spent years exploring and photographing the diverse landscapes of the world, often traveling on foot or skis in wilderness terrain far from roads in order to capture her unique images. Her award winning images are in numerous galleries and private collections throughout the United States. Elizabeth and her husband, Olof Carmel, own and operate a photography gallery in Truckee.

Geoffrey Schladow

Geoff Schladow has a doctorate in civil and environmental engineering from the University of Western Australia. His research at Lake Tahoe focuses on the physical processes that control water quality and the lake ecosystems. A changing climate, and its impacts on both the watershed and the lake, is currently at the forefront of his research. Dr Schladow is the founding director of the UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center.

Robert Coats

Bob Coats has a doctorate in Wildland Resource Science from Cal. His recent research in the Tahoe basin, concentrates on the effects of land disturbance on water quality and on the regional trends and impacts of climate change in the Basin. He lives and works in Berkeley where maintains the consulting firm of Hydroikos Ltd. Coat’s work outdoors sometimes provides inspiration for his poetry; which has been published in arrange of anthologies.

Program is presented by Squaw Valley Institute and UC Davis Tahoe Environmental Research Center. For additional information, visit www.squawvalleyinstitute.org or terc.ucdavis.edu.

Date: June 17

Time: 6:30pm no-host bar/door opens; 7pm program

Cost: $10. No-host bar

Location: Assembly Rooms 139 and 141 Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences, 291 Country Club Drive, Incline Village.

By Denise Sloan Smart

SACRAMENTO — One would think that roaming among more than a dozen dead bodies might be creepy, but at Bodies Revealed, it’s fascinating, even captivating.

Bodies Revealed is currently on display in Sacramento.

Bodies Revealed lets you explore deep within the human body in a way that is informative, but not frightening. As you move from gallery to gallery, the exhibition uses 14 full body human specimens and more than 200 human organs to tell the story of the miraculous systems at work within each of us every second of our existence.

The bodies are all small as they were, “Chinese men, all of whom died of natural causes,” according to the docent who was working the day we toured the exhibit.

The full-body specimens are complemented by presentation cases of related individual organs, both healthy and diseased, that provide a detailed look into the elements that comprise each system that makes us tick. One body is nothing but a nervous system. Another body is stripped of everything but the circulatory system.

Did you know you have 100,000 miles of vascular system in you? And that you were born with 300 bones that grew into 206 bones?

One tour of Bodies Revealed and you learn our bodies are intricately developed machines; more complex and wondrous than all the computers and gadgetry we surround ourselves with today.

Yet most of us do not know what makes us tick. We don’t know how we function, what we need to survive, what destroys us or what revives us.

Bodies Revealed is an attempt to remedy that lack of knowledge by presenting to the lay public material that was previously only available to the medical profession: A three-dimensional tour of the human body.

A tour of Bodies Revealed will give you a new connection to your own body because you will understand better how you work.

The Polymer Preservation process is a technique in which human tissue is permanently preserved using liquid silicone rubber. Polymer preservation provides a closer look at the skeletal, muscular, nervous, respiratory, digestive, urinary, reproductive, endocrine and circulatory systems. The end product of the preservation process is a dry, odorless specimen that resists decomposition. The “specimen,” as the bodies are referred to, are so “plasticized” that you forget they were once living, breathing humans until you see eyebrows or get close enough to see eyelashes, then you remind yourself, they were real people. But they are so interesting that you can’t stop staring, closely!

There is a fetal exhibit that is equally educational that has deceased fetuses at various stages of growth from 6 weeks to several months old. A sign explained that all had died “envitro” and of natural causes.

We skipped the $5 audio headset and didn’t feel like we missed a thing. The last date tickets are available is Oct. 24. The exhibit, at 2040 Alta Arden Expressway, opens at 10am seven days a week. Tickets range from $12 for students to $22 for adults, not counting TicketMaster fees and surcharges.

Our self-guided tour lasted 1 hour, 20 minutes. We read every sign, looked at every specimen and didn’t miss a thing.

Bodies Revealed is an exhibit that is not without controversy, but it is the most fascinating exhibit I’ve seen in many years. I’d go back again tomorrow.

By Kristi Buffo

Animals, people and the planet are all connected.

So says Karla Majewski, creator of Planet Animal. She will be at the El Dorado County Fair in Placerville June 17-20.

Majewski, who lives with her family and more than 200 exotic animals on 4 acres in Southern California, says “discovery and exploration” await fairgoers as they venture into Planet Animal — designed to be a fun and educational exhibit where everyone can safely see and touch exotic animals from around the world, such as monkeys, parrots, sloths, kinjajous, snakes, alligators and many more.

It's not just farm animals that will be at the El Dorado County Fair. Photo/Provided

“A large 3D Earth suspended from above and flags from many countries greet you as you enter Planet Animal, says Majewski, “creating the feeling that you’re entering one big wide world where plants and animals and humans are all connected.”

Planet Animal is all about bringing people closer together.

There will be two shows daily.

By Kathryn Reed

STATELINE — Hoofing it through Nevada starts today as Pony Express riders leave their overnight rest stop of Woodfords this morning en route to Genoa, Carson City and destinations farther east along Highway 50.

“I think the unique part about the Pony Express was the endurance where you had man and beast trying to beat the elements,” said Les Bennington, president of the National Pony Express Association.

Les Bennington and Rich Tatman with the National Poney Express Assocation in Stateline on June 8. Photo/Kathryn Reed

He and others from the association spoke to a couple dozen people gathered in front of the famous Pony Express statue at Harrah’s Tahoe on Tuesday morning about this being the 150th anniversary of the famous mail delivery system.

Indian troubles along the way were normal. One rider died while on horseback. Others were ambushed at the stations.

Although the Pony Express was only in existence from April 1860 to November 1861, the lore of days gone by lingers on.

“Everyone enjoys history of the West. Everyone grew up wanting to be a cowboy,” said Rich Tatman, California division president.

Bill Cody’s “Wild West” shows helped spread the romantic notion of the bygone era. Better known as Buffalo Bill, he often had a Pony Express rider being chased by an Indian in his shows that were performed all over the States as well as in Europe.

The volunteer association was formed in 1978, with this being 31st year the ride has been re-created. Normally it goes 24 hours – just like the real one did. And usually it takes 10 days from Sacramento to St. Joseph, Mo.

Because of the significance of the anniversary, the route started in San Francisco on Sunday, which is where the western terminus was, and riders are stopping.

More than 500 people will have ridden part of the route by the time the last horse arrives in St. Joe on June 26. Each only goes for a handful of miles before someone new is in the saddle. Some people ride more than one leg.

Most years the riders come through the South Shore to the enjoyment of crowds that often top 50 people.

Click here for more information about the anniversary ride.

Sunset, Bonsai Rock by Elizabeth Carmel has been selected as the Tahoe Arts and Mountain Culture collectible sticker No. 4 to honor the alpine lake sanctuary and the interconnectedness with nature and one another.

“It was calling me all day,” Carmel, a landscape photographer and retired urban planner from Truckee, said in a press release.

She captured the intensity of an early December evening when alpenglow saturated the sky and lake surface, gently bathing Carmel on the shore.

To promote the local art community, each year TAMC Editor Becky Bell creates a collectible sticker featuring artwork from a local artist that captures the essence of Lake Tahoe. With only a limited print run, the TAMC stickers can be found at shops and events throughout Lake Tahoe and Truckee.

As part of the annual summer-long Valhalla Arts, Music and Theatre Festival, An Evening of Intimate Chamber Music at the historic Boathouse Theatre will be June 11.

Performers playing the works of Mozart, Bruch, Reger and Francaiz include David Brock, piano, Pat Crane, viola and Darrell Morre, clarinet. And, Maureen Leonard will perform Chopin on solo piano.

The show begins at 7:30pm and ticket prices are $15 for ages 18 to 54, $12 for ages 13 to 17 and 55+ (military and students too) and $5 for children 12 and under. The Boathouse Theatre is a structure dating two turn-of-the centuries ago, distinguishing it as one of Tahoe’s earliest preserved buildings.

Brock is a principal member of TOCCATA (The Orchestra and Community Choral Artists of the Tahoe Area) where he serves as organist, and continuo accompanist. Crane, performs in Nevada ensembles as well as regularly in local church services. Leonard performs solo works in voice, piano and organ with the Tahoe Choir and Toccata. She is the music director and organist at St. Theresa Church, South Lake Tahoe. Moore of Kings Beach acts, sings, and dances in Tahoe Mountain Musicals, Tahoe Players, Truckee Actors Guild and Tahoe Arts and is a founding member of TOCCATA.

The annual Valhalla Arts, Music and Theatre festival is located on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe at the historic Tallac Site. For tickets and information, click here or call (530) 541.4975.

The Virginia & Truckee Railroad has expanded operations to Friday–Sunday rides through Oct. 31.

Round-trip steam trains operate every Saturday and Sunday with tickets $48 per adult, $40 for seniors 65 and better, $30 for children 12 and under.

One-way steam train rides on Saturdays and Sundays are $29 per adult, $25 for senior, $20 for children.

Round-trip tickets on V&T diesel trains operating Fridays are $29 for adults, $25 seniors and $20 for children.

One-way diesel trains running Fridays are $17, $15 seniors and $12 for children.

The V&T Railroad’s 16 miles of track re-opened last August after 70 years of non-operation. Each 75-minute ride includes scenic vistas of the snow capped Sierra Nevada, passing through tunnels, by abandoned mine shafts, old cemeteries and offering occasional sightings of wild mustangs. The V&T travels the same silver path paved by the excesses of the Virginia City mines of the infamous 1860s Comstock silver boom.

In addition to the V&T’s Carson City-Virginia City 16-mile excursion, known as the “Sisters in History” route, the V&T also offers its popular 4-mile, 35-minute loop through Virginia City and Gold Hill, or the “Historic Route.” Here, the V&T has run since 1972 under the ownership of the Gray family who have preserved the railway’s heritage.

The Saturday round-trip train feature a 1916 Baldwin consolidation 2-8-0 steam engine pulling two 1914 Pullman cars displaying the distinctive yellow and green of the V&T. Private group discounted charters for 20 or more passengers are also available to organizations or businesses.

For more information on the “Sisters in History” route between Carson City and Virginia City, go to www.VisitCarsonCity.com and for details on the “Historic Route” between Virginia City and Gold Hill, visit www.VirginiaTruckee.com or call (775) 847.0380.

The best beards and moustaches in the nation were on display Monday in Bend, Ore., at the country’s first National Beard and Moustache Championships.

The 189 beardsmen marched from the hotel to the Les Schwab Amphitheater where they strutted their stuff on a catwalk before a cheering crowd.

Toot Joslin of Tahoe City has award-winning facial hair. Photo/Provided

Contestants were judged by their whiskers, costumes, and overall presentations by an eight-member jury. At the end of the day, five beardsmen were named winners.

* Best moustache: Larry McClure, Walnut Creek

* Best partial beard: Toot Joslin, Tahoe City

* Best full beard: Aarne Bielefeldt, Willits

* Freestyle: Willi Chevalier, Sigmaringen, Germany

Each won $1,000.

Chevalier won the “Best in Show: Dockers King of Whiskers” along with a year’s supply of Dockers pants.

The 2010 National Beard and Moustache Championships included live music, craft beer, food vendors and live music, and it coincided with the annual Balloons Over Bend celebration. Organizers estimate the events drew abut 3,000 visitors.

Phil Olsen, self-appointed captain Beard Team USA and a lawyer from Lake Tahoe, worked with Visit Bend to bring the event to Bend. He chose Bend, in part, because of its appeal as an outdoor recreation mecca, but also because of its many craft breweries. Bend is one of the top breweries-per-capita cities in the nation, with seven per 75,000.

By Kathryn Reed

With each swipe of the tissue, a little bit more of the man behind the makeup emerged. “I am what I am” is all about going from a feminine woman to a masculine man – in appearance and mannerism.

“He did the finale, which is one of the hardest numbers to perform,” said Dan Gore, producer of “Carnival Cabaret” at the Horizon in Stateline.

Edward Murillo ready to take the stage in 'Carnival Cabaret' at Horizon. Photo/Provided

Gore was speaking about Edward Murillo, a senior at South Tahoe High School.

Delving into the world of female impersonation is what Murillo chose as his senior project. On Wednesday he will go before a panel of judges from the school and public at large as the final part of the project. He already received an A for the performance on stage and a B for his paper.

“It was a big jump for me. I’ve been in shows at high school, but I’ve never been someone you looked at right there. I was always in the background,” Murillo said.

For two nights in May he performed the final act of the female impersonation show.

“The makeup was the hardest part. It was an hour’s worth of makeup,” Murillo said. “It’s easy to mess up. Depending on how big of a mess-up you might have to start all over again.”

He watched the other performers apply their makeup and from there combined their styles to create his. Murillo said he learned the most from Kevin Wiley – especially his eyes.

“He was able to tell me how to make me look normal for my tone of skin,” Murillo said.

This was the first time Gore had a high school student in one of his performances. He would do it again.

“He was eager to be part of this. He was here many days when he did not need to be,” Gore said of Murillo.

Gore explained to the 18-year-old, “This project is about the art form and not the lifestyle. The lifestyle is something else. (The show) is the art form.”

It’s an art form that is not as robust as it once was where productions with 30 or 40 performers were on both coasts, playing to sold-out houses.

Not all men who dress as women are gay. Murillo said his research found 50 percent of men who dress in drag are heterosexual.

“They find some reason they are more comfortable in women’s clothing,” Murillo said. “I find it annoying guys can wear only tuxes and girls can wear all different colors, sparkles and express how they feel.”

He doesn’t even think wearing heals is a big deal.

Murillo isn’t sure where this experience will take him. He plans to attend Lake Tahoe Community College in the fall. He said his dad sees job opportunities in the world of female impersonation. He said his mom hated the project and would not tell her friends about it.

“I said, ‘Why does it matter?’ It’s acting,” Murillo said.

When his classmates found out what his senior project was he said most were supportive, and the ones who already didn’t like him were the ones to talk smack.

Many were in the audience last month to watch his debut as a female impersonator. So was his teacher. Collectively he wowed them based on receiving an A for the performance.

Carnival Cabaret runs Wednesday-Saturday at 8pm at the Horizon. Tickets are discounted most nights in June, with Saturday being full price at $31.85.

Every Monday in June, people are invited to express themselves at the Summer Trans Dance Series.

Led by Ann Thennes, participants are encouraged to let their energy connect and flow with nature. A fitness, dance, movement teacher at Lake Tahoe Community College for 15 years, Thennes uses meditation through dance.

The series takes place at the Valhalla Grand Hall at 6pm and is free of charge.

Thennes works with the elements, energies, rhythms and animals that surround the Tahoe basin and has experience in classical ballet, West African dance and free form dance meditation.

The Summer Trans Dance Series is part of the line-up of the annual Valhalla Arts, Music and Theatre festival located on the South Shore of Lake Tahoe at the historic Tallac Site.

For more information, click here.