< Back to Community News

Local New Years Eve Events Roundup

December 28, 2022 | Grace Hubrig

If you’re looking to ring in 2023 having a blast in town, you’ve come to the right place! Here’s a roundup of the local New Years Eve events:

New Year’s Eve Party & Buffet at Bowl Incline

Includes buffet dinner, late night buffet, unlimited bowling, unlimited arcade and billiards, champagne toast at midnight, DJ and dancing in upstairs lounge (upstairs lounge is 21+ only), NYE party favors, raffle drawing every hour (prizes include Bowl Incline Gear & Gift Cards). Tickets required.


New Year’s Eve: The Motet w/ Special Guests The Main Squeeze at Crystal Bay Club

VIP Meet & Greet with The Main Squeeze is also available. Includes special meet and greet with The Main Squeeze, a photo with The Main Squeeze, exclusive access to the private pre-show soundcheck with The Main Squeeze. Tickets required for the show and the optional meet & greet.


6th Annual East Coast New Years Party at Glasses Wine Bar

Be the first at the lake to welcome in 2023! Doors open at 6:30, DJ starts at 7pm. Ticket includes hats, appetizers, noisemakers, sparkling wine at “midnight” as we watch the ball drop in Times Square. Celebration attire suggested. NOTE: THIS EVENT IS NOW SOLD OUT


New Years Eve Party at Grand Lodge Casino

Bring in the New Year at the Grand Lodge Casino! We will have a live DJ from 8 pm to 1 am to kick off the New Year!


< Back to Community News

Raymond Smith, Architect of Incline Village

December 28, 2022 | Member Submitted

Written by rich

Once Art Wood’s team of Oklahoma investors had secured the purchase of some 9,000 acres of mostly second growth forest land on the northern shores of Lake Tahoe from George Whittell in 1959, nothing more determined the look and feel of the community they planned to create than the efforts of one Raymond M. Smith. Smith’s name and accomplishments are often lost in accounts of the history of Incline Village but Raymond is pretty much responsible for creating the actual design of the community we now call home.

Born in San Francisco in 1923, only child Raymond graduated from Lowell High School and then enrolled in nearby Stanford University. When WWII changed everybody’s plans he enlisted in the Army Air Corps and then served as a B-24 bombardier on the Italian front beginning in 1944. After the war Lt. Smith returned to Stanford to complete his BA degree and then continued his education at Harvard University where he was in the first class to earn a masters degree in city planning in 1949. Smith became Nevada’s first professionally trained city planner and in1960 left his position heading Washoe County’s planning department to accept Art Woods’ offer to lay out the plans for the new town Crystal Bay Development Company was about to build which Wood suggested would become “the Pebble Beach” of Lake Tahoe.

What follows is an introduction to Raymond Smith’s vision of what the town he first suggested be named “Incline Village”—emphasis on the Village part—for locals nearby had long referred to the area as “Incline” as one might casually refer to other areas around the Lake as “South Shore” or “Spooner.” The map spread across this page and the next is what is believed to be Smith’s final first plan for Incline Village. It was probably finished in late 1960 or early1961 and the original draft from which this is copied contained on the upper left hand corner a grid which called out the planned section quadrants which are not relevant here. What this author hopes readers will find of most interest in viewing this map is to realize that Smith’s plan—reflecting Wood’s et all vision for Incline Village—is remarkably consistent in many respects with what we see about us today. In other critical regards it differs considerably from what was originally drawn.

In interviewing two of Raymond’s surviving sons for the article, Gage Smith, who still lives in the Minden/Gardnerville area for part of the year near his brother Cole, said that one of the first things you need to understand about Raymond’s plans “was that he hated straight lines.” Raymond also had an abiding respect for the land, and his designs always attempted to reflect what Mother Nature had done with the surface of the earth. In fact starting at a very early time in his career in Nevada, Raymond spent much of his free time traveling to every corner of Nevada and nearby states exploring old ghost towns and defunct mining operations and documenting them with amazingly accomplished drawings and water color paintings. Smith wrote about these journeys in a dozen books—many still available on line. His boys accompanied him on many of these trips, and those stories are fascinating reads but for another time. Before putting pencil to drafting paper Raymond walked almost every square yard of Incline and the mountain sides around it, and spent hours talking with Art Wood and partner Harold Tiller to identify all the elements of the community they proposed to create, and then he went to work,

The original offices of the Crystal Bay Development Company were on the lower floors of Eugene’s Crystal Bay Chalet, a trendy restaurant off the lake side of highway 28 going up the hill into Crystal Bay. Raymond’s office and drafting tables were in that office and unfortunately for historians trying to document those early days, the restaurant and CBDC offices were destroyed in a “suspicious” fire on New Year’s Eve,1960. But by that time the layout and plans for the new community were well along and Raymond continued his work from the (ironically) Swiss Chalet style home he had built for his family on Shoreline Circle while CBDC found new digs. Raymond Smith completed his work in 1963 and although the family continued to live in Incline Village where his sons attended area schools, he himself opened a consulting business in Reno and commuted over the newly reconstructed Mount Rose Highway until the family moved to Reno in 1964. The Smiths moved back again to Incline in 1968 where son Cole was a member of the new Incline Village High School’s first graduating class.

So let us now consider several key aspects of Raymond Smith’s original plan for Incline Village.

First, please note that the plan shows only a small portion of the shoreline along Lake Tahoe to be available for development. This is because a good portion of that land had already been sold by George Whittell and although it was later included in the jurisdiction of the Incline Village General Improvement District, it was not included in the land which CBDC had purchased.

Second, Lakeshore Blvd. which was the original path of traffic through the area was to be bypassed by a new road called on the map “Central Parkway.” The junction between that new road and the “New Mount Rose State Hwy. No. 27” was planned to “T” into Lakeshore Drive near where the exact opposite now happens—Lakeshore T’s into SR 28 as the Central Parkway has since been numbered.

Third, the “Old Mount Rose Road” (SR 431) which left Country Club Drive just east of the Central Parkway (now route 28) was planned to parallel the new alignment of SR 431 along the latter and above a new neighborhood development labeled Chateau Acres where the lot sizes were to be much larger and more expensive than many of the other lots platted down below. According to Paul Franklin, a local builder who was a contemporary of the Smith family back in the day, Chateau Acres was one of the first subdivisions to be developed in Incline even though it was farthest from the lake. Paul remembers that the other neighborhoods that were first developed by CBDC in addition to Chateau Acres were Ponderosa (where the Tiller family built), Woodridge, Lakeview (where the Wood and Smith families built), and Millcreek.

Fourth, although the map does not show utilities, they were a major consideration and all electrical and phone service was to be above ground except for Shoreline Circle which was planned as one of the most prestigious neighborhoods and those utilities placed underground from the start. All waste disposal (sewers) were initially via septic systems and that fact determined lot sizes initially. Later, Village sewers had to be underground and a treatment plant built to comply with increasingly strict regulations promulgated by the TRPA starting in the late 1960’s. This was a massive project and part of the reason CBCD sold to Boise Cascade in 1968.

Fifth and very critical, the center of activity for the new town was planned to be arranged around a yacht harbor to be built where the Village Green now sits and surrounded by half a dozen large hotels, hotel casinos and motel complexes. The area was to house a park which would stretch from the Central Parkway all the way down to the yacht harbor and would also include an upscale shopping center with a north/south boulevard punctuated by traffic circles crossing the area between the Mill Creek Estates and a commercial area at the junction of Village Blvd and the Central Parkway.

Sixth, a High School was to be located exactly where it was subsequently constructed. The first golf course and “Country Club” were also located where subsequently built. Two “Community Beaches” were located where Ski and Burnt Cedar beaches exist today.

Seventh, a large shopping center was to be situated in the whole area where the Raleys supermarket stands today using only a small part of what was originally envisioned. Several other school sites were specified as was as a hospital to be built in what is now the residential area at the start of the Old Mount Rose Road just above Country Club Drive.

Lastly, at least for this overview, half a dozen areas were designated “Multiple” for apartment and condominium construction for what one might well imagine was later to be called “workforce housing” with one such area even bordering the lake on the way to Crystal Bay. None of the current town above Mount Rose Highway (now Tyner Road, etc.) was proposed in the original plan except for the aforementioned Ponderosa and Woodridge Subdivisions close to present SR 28.

So please now consider the original vision Raymond Smith and his colleagues had for our community and ponder how things evolved for better or worse over the next sixty years.

< Back to Community News

Tahoe Rim Trail Association Enjoys Busy Summer

December 28, 2022 | Member Submitted

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune on 12/23/22. View the original article here.

Written by Morgan Steel. Photos provided by Tahoe Rim Trail Association.

Volunteers rebuild trail near Lower Echo Lake.

Fortunately, the sun rises early in the summer. At the Tahoe Rim Trail Association, we soak it up and maximize each precious moment of sunny smoke-free skies.

Our early mornings are a burst of activity. At the office, tools are loaded and coolers of drinks are prepped as the work truck heads off to one of several weekly workdays to meet enthusiastic volunteers ready to dig into maintaining the Tahoe Rim Trail’s 200-mile system.

Post fire tree clearing.

Downstairs at our gear storage, our dedicated youth programs instructors are wrangling the newest crop of preteens, ready to turn in their phones for backpacks. They’ll spend the next four days exploring Tahoe’s trails on their Youth Backcountry Camp.

West of our office out in Desolation Wilderness, our backcountry trail crew of staff and volunteers are packing up camp for the day and preparing to head towards Phipps Creek to finish a tread maintenance project. Sixty some trail miles away, our intrepid guided Thru Hike turns south from Mt. Rose on the tail end of their 15-day journey around the TRT.

The Boy Scouts learn tools.

To cap off this busy day, our Taskforce Trailhead crew is setting up shop at Van Sickle Bi-State Park to spend the morning greeting trail users and providing trail information and essential tips on trail etiquette.

As the sun makes its languid journey east to west, TRTA staff, participants, and volunteers make their mark on the trail ensuring a world-class experience for trail users today and in the future and inspiring others to protect this incredible resource in the Tahoe Basin. Summers on the Tahoe Rim Trail are a blur of activity, and 2022 has been another productive year for the Tahoe Rim Trail Association. Specifically, we’ve

• Hosted more than 60 public workdays on the trail
• Cleared over 400 down trees from the trail corridor
• Guided 326 new Tahoe Rim Trail advocates on the trail
• Implemented 20 trailhead outreach events
• Provided backpacking trips to 195 youth, 73% of which were provided on scholarship
• Reopened and repaired sections of trail closed due to recent fires
• Protected essential Peregrine Falcon habitat
• Completed a 1.3-mile reroute of the trail northeast of Tahoe City
• Assessed and maintained over 150 miles of trail
• Planned major trail improvement projects for upcoming seasons,
• Received the incredible support of over 400 volunteers who have provided more than 17,500 hours of service to recreation in the Tahoe Basin.

Morgan Steele is executive director for the Tahoe Rim Trail Association.

< Back to Community News

72 Mile Spirits Showcases ‘Spirit’ of Lake Tahoe

December 28, 2022 | Member Submitted

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune on 12/10/22. View the original article here.

Written by Madison Schultz. Photos by Rob Galloway / Tahoe Daily Tribune.

From left to right: Eric Roe, Brianna Roe, and Paul Pruteanu at their distillery location in Reno, Nev.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. – The 72 miles that span around Lake Tahoe are a host to quaint mountain towns and endless outdoor recreation options, all lining the icy, crystal blue waters.

Born in the Sierra Nevada mountains and encompassing the “spirit” of Lake Tahoe, 72 Mile Spirits was founded deep in the crystal-clear waters of Lake Tahoe and built on the foundation of Tahoe’s purity and clarity, distilling all their spirits with water sourced solely from Lake Tahoe.

“It was incredibly important to us from the beginning to only distill our products with Lake Tahoe water,” Eric Roe, co-founder of 72 Mile Spirits said. “It makes everything taste cleaner, smoother, and it just made sense when building the foundation of our brand.”

Founded in 2019 by Eric, his wife Brianna Roe, and close family friends Paola and Paul Pruteanu, the group was passionate from the beginning to sacrifice it all to make quality, high-end spirits – and thus, 72 Mile Spirits was born.

“Our goal from the beginning has been to be a brand that is truly authentic to Lake Tahoe, and not just for the name of our company, but who we serve and our mission,” Eric said. “This has always been a passion of mine, we’ve looked at different avenues over the years to try and bring this dream to a reality, and we’re excited it’s finally coming to fruition.”

When initially bringing the dream together, the Roe’s and Preteanu’s wanted to start the business specifically for their signature rye whiskey. Several years in, the distillery utilizes a small batch processing technique, making each blend come out impressively clean and smooth.

A whiskey barrel at 72 Mile Spirits.

“I was never a big fan of rye whiskey, and now that’s arguably the best spirit we have here,” Eric said. “Rye traditionally has a bit more of an earthier flavor, and that was never my thing. The mash and smoking process we do for our rye still provides a distinct rye flavor, but it’s not as pronounced as others on the market.”

Since opening, 72 Mile Spirits has grown their one signature whiskey into four core spirits: Desolation Rye Whiskey, Cascade Blended Bourbon, Clarity Vodka and Backcountry Gin; and two of the four core spirits are made in-house at 72 Mile Spirits’ distillery location in Reno.

The four core spirits of 72 Mile Spirits.

“We produce our rye and our Bourbon here and source our gin and vodka from the best of the best out there,” Eric said. “The gin and vodka are produced as a ‘neutral spirit’, then we blend it, proof it, and bottle it here in-house. While the distillation doesn’t take place here it’s still produced by us.”

For the distillery’s rye and Bourbon blends, the process starts in 150-gallon batches with mashing and adding grains to the blends. The mash is then transferred to a fermentation tank, allowing time for the small batch to properly ferment. Then, the batches are distilled by transferring the fermented mash to the pot, where heat is applied. The alcohol is vaporized before the water is collected in the columns of the still, resulting in a truly small-batched spirit.

While the Roe’s and Preteanu’s worked towards bringing 72 Mile Spirits to Lake Tahoe, they harp on the distillery being family owned and operated at its core, and collaboratively work with each other to effectively grow together.

“It’s truly a family business, which makes it fun,” Brianna said. “Whether it be your life partner or business partner, all of us working together has been a great experience. We all have children of our own, but we also consider 72 Mile Spirits our shared baby, too.”

Although the distillery’s physical location is in Reno, both the Roe’s and Preteanu’s live in Incline Village, and are eager about bringing 72 Mile Spirits’ physical location up the mountain so the distillery will be a 100% Lake Tahoe operation.

72 Mile Spirits can be found dominantly in Northern Nevada in bars, restaurants, and grocery stores. According to the distillery’s website, their spirits are currently in 25 locations, but are eager to continue to expand.

“Our goal is to be all around Lake Tahoe and be a premier spirit in the Tahoe Basin,” Eric said. “We’re eager to continue to grow and excited to see what’s in store for us moving forward.”

For more information on 72 Mile Spirits, visit their website.

< Back to Community News

Tahoe Projects Get Boost from Nevada’s $167 Million Funding Package

December 28, 2022 | Member Submitted

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune on 12/22/22. View the original article here.

Written by Staff Report.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — A few projects at Lake Tahoe received a boost on Wednesday from the 2023 omnibus appropriations package that will distribute $167.62 million in community project funding to 85 programs across Nevada.

The money will fund a variety of projects, including the expansion of mental and physical health outreach programs across the state, and critical upgrades to rural water infrastructure. The funding will also expand nurse training programs at several colleges and universities, provide additional housing for service members, update transportation infrastructure and invest in education services. 

U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and Jackie Rosen (D-Nev.) announced the funding on Wednesday. Both senators submitted these project funding requests in the summer of 2022 and ensured they were included in the bipartisan omnibus funding bill expected to pass the Senate and House of Representatives and be signed into law.

The Incline Village General Improvement District is receiving $1.6 million for its effluent pipeline project. The money will be used to help replace five miles of the original pipeline that services Incline and Crystal Bay.

Douglas County is receiving $1.385 million for the Kahle Drive street project. The funds will help re-construction of Kahle Drive, including improving stormwater drainage and treatment; upgrading an outdated water main and hydrants; repairing wastewater infrastructure; adding sidewalks, bike lanes, crosswalks, and intersection safety improvements; and undergrounding overhead utilities.

The Tahoe Transportation District will receive $2 million to help construct a new maintenance and administrative facility to replace the existing, inadequate, and outdated transit yard in order to provide ongoing fleet maintenance, allow for efficient bus-related administrative activities, and afford adequate storage for the existing fleet.

Washoe County School District is receiving $1.535 million to add 11 mental health professionals to the district to provide greater therapeutic support to students, giving them immediate help during a crisis.

The district is also receiving $1.024 million to battle chronic absenteeism by expanding school-based student support staff and increase the number of family resource centers available

“The community project funding I secured this year for Nevada will help support families, save lives, expand economic opportunity, and foster growth across the Silver State,” said Cortez Masto in a news release. “I’ll keep working to make sure these dollars get out into our communities as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

“With more than $167 million in funding for much-needed local projects included, this bipartisan package will invest in our communities, create good-paying jobs, and improve quality of life across our state,” said Rosen. “The funding I secured for these projects will support local law enforcement, deliver clean drinking water, expand mental health services, improve our transportation infrastructure, and more. I will always fight to ensure Nevada receives our fair share of federal dollars.”

A full list of projects in Nevada receiving community project funding can be found here.

< Back to Community News

UC Davis Environmental Research Center Fundamental at Lake Tahoe

December 27, 2022 | Member Submitted

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune on 12/26/22. View the original article here.

Written by Madison Schultz. Photos provided by Katie Senft from the Tahoe Environmental Research Center.

A mantra trawl after skimming the surface of Lake Tahoe for buoyant microplastics.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The 72-mile circumference of Lake Tahoe is home to a variety of native plants and wildlife and endures a full, four seasons each calendar year. With Lake Tahoe hosting mild summers, frigid, snowy winters, and even natural disasters such as wildfire — the largest freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada region has undergone substantial environmental change.

UC Davis’ Tahoe Environmental Research Center, also known as TERC, is one of the local pillars in the Lake Tahoe Basin that supports, promotes, and avidly works towards gaining insight and knowledge on Tahoe’s ever-changing environment, external forces, and how the local community can better mitigate the negative environmental factors that have occurred in the Lake Tahoe Basin. TERC has a core staff of over 20 scientists and researchers that each individually follow their specified area of study and consistently work towards new findings in the Tahoe area. Here is a preview on some of the scientists avidly working towards a sustainable Lake Tahoe.

Katie Senft has been with TERC for over 10 years as a staff research associate studying various projects including water quality monitoring, invasive species studies, and microplastics. As a multi-faceted scientist, Senft initially went to school for aquatic ecology, which in turn translates to her field work for TERC.

“My typical day-to-day is when we meet out at the field station in Tahoe City around 8:30 a.m. and load up all our gear for the day, which can be instrumentation for water quality monitoring, scuba gear if we plan to go diving, or sometimes the Secchi disk for water clarity,” Senft said.

A mantra trawl after skimming the surface of Lake Tahoe for buoyant microplastics.

While Senft studies various elements of Tahoe aquatics, her main area of focus as of recent is in microplastics. After preliminary work done in 2018, it is definitive that there are microplastics in Lake Tahoe, and Senft has been working towards finding what those plastic sources are.

“We ultimately want to know where the plastics are going once, they’re in the lake,” Senft said. “We’ve collected all the samples from the field and we’re working with the lab to analyze the plastics that we pull out. Every piece will be singularly looked at to identify what type of plastic each piece specifically is.”

Senft urges the local community to keep the lake clean by disposing of any garbage.

“Just clean up, make sure your trash is in a trash can where it belongs,” Senft said. “Any trash that’s on the landscape will most likely end up in the lake with spring runoff, so just throw your garbage away and clean up any trash you find.”

Geoff Schladow, Water Resources & Environmental Engineering, TERC director and professor

Dr. Geoff Schladow has been the founding director of TERC since 2004. Holding his doctoral degree in civil engineering, Schladow’s specified area of study is in environmental fluid mechanics, water quality modeling, and the dynamics of inland waters. As an expert on the movement and mechanics of water, Schladow has spent an impressive amount of time and effort studying the environmental factors to Lake Tahoe.

A petri dish of field samples of microplastics that are being isolated and individually studied.

“It’s not just the highs and lows that influence the lake to change, it’s a lot of factors,” Schladow said. “Water quality, warmer and colder temperatures year-round, and even natural disasters that the Tahoe community has witnessed all play an extremely vital role in how Tahoe changes.”

With Schladow serving as a TERC scientist for decades, his findings have been impressive.

“Everything was predicated on the idea that everything is just nutrients and if we can control nutrients, we can bring back [lake] clarity,” Schladow said. “What we found 20-25 years ago is that it actually is very fine particles that control Tahoe’s water clarity; not the nutrients.”

While nutrients aren’t directly linked back to the lake’s water clarity, they still play a vital role in Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem, being the main source for algae growth, and according to Schladow, this can pose an ‘existential threat’ to Lake Tahoe’s ecosystem.

“Because of increasing algae and the effects of climate change, we talk about the potential for Lake Tahoe to lose its oxygen at the bottom of the lake,” Schladow said. “When you talk about climate change in Lake Tahoe, most people don’t consider this – but it’s a really pressing issue that TERC has been prioritizing and working towards solving.”

While the TERC team is actively working towards problem-solving this concern for a better Lake Tahoe in the decades to come, Schladow notes that there are ways that the community work towards achieving a better, sustainable Lake Tahoe such as decreasing your drive time around the lake, avoiding lawn fertilizer, and avoiding single-use plastic.

“Once you mention climate change everyone rolls their eyes and silently says ‘well it’s not me,’ but there are lots of little things that we can do,” Schladow said. “Adding nutrients to the lake is something we’re all guilty of for our daily conveniences, so being aware of those day-to-day habits is a great way to limit adding negative impacts to the lake.”

Patricia Maloney, Plant Pathology, associate director and project scientist

As a forest and conservation biologist for over 25 years, Patricia Maloney has served as TERC scientist for over 10 years. Joining the team in 2007 and with a background in forest health and botany, Maloney is consistently working towards seeking better climate-resilient forest restoration strategies for the Lake Tahoe area.

“Local adaptation is more important than people think and one of my big pushes is sustainable management of forest genetic resources,” Maloney said.

In fact, when sustainable management of forests is practiced, in her studies, Maloney has witnessed significant local adaptation when testing local stressors such as water drought or bark beetle outbreaks in the Lake Tahoe Basin, which has led her towards actively pushing against the ideas of implementing assisted migration into the area, the act of moving plants or animals to a different habitat.

“There’s a lot of push for assisted migration, and I’m not a supporter of that for the Tahoe area, at all,” Maloney said. “From our research, we see local adaptation at the scale of the Tahoe Basin. When you do [forest] restoration, use local and diverse seed sources, because they are actively adapting. We are seeing adaptation happen in real-time throughout the region.”

Sourcing and studying native plants and animals to continue the longevity of the Lake Tahoe Basin’s ecosystem is vital to the long-term growth of Tahoe’s forests. Maloney notes that while the forest will be ever-changing, the timeline to see the change in real-time is long, and the longevity of Tahoe forests shouldn’t rely on a short-term plan such as assisted migration.

“With climate and environmental changes, we will see changes and shifts in species composition and structure, there is no doubt; but it won’t be this dramatic change overnight, it will play out over decades,” Maloney said. “One of the things that people don’t think about are the shifts and changes in genetic structure and architecture. People can’t see it and they don’t think about it, but myself and the other forest geneticists, we see it, and we think about it.”

While each of these TERC scientists are in a different field of study, they all share the same suggestions when working towards a better Lake Tahoe — to actively be mindful, understanding, and respectful of Tahoe’s environment is vital for a sustainable future for the lake and the surrounding region. Making small changes in daily habits is advocating for a better Lake Tahoe.

Editor’s Note: While these three TERC scientists are actively working towards a sustainable, healthy environment for the Lake Tahoe Basin, there is a full staff of other scientists at the Tahoe Environmental Research Center that are doing the same and proactively working towards scientific findings and sustainable measures throughout the Tahoe Basin in all environmental areas.

< Back to Community News

Get to Know the Locals: Chris Talbot of Talbot Fine Art Gallery and Around Tahoe Tours

December 27, 2022 | Member Submitted

Originally Published in Lake Tahoe This Week (from Tahoe.com) on 12/20/22. View the original article here.

Written by Shanie Matthews. Photography courtesy of Chris Talbot.

With the beauty that Lake Tahoe offers, it is no wonder that our community is blessed with many great photographers who capture her splendor with impressive expertise.

One of these awe-inspiring photographic artists, who shows a keen eye for the stunning visuals that can arise both in this special landscape and abroad, is Chris Talbot. Chris not only has impressive talents behind the lens, but also is a beloved part of the community. From running one of the most popular galleries in the basin to being a sought-after wedding photographer, from providing one of the more entertaining tours in the area to offering custom photographic courses to help people learn technical and practical aspects of photography so that they can create their own beautiful imagery, Chris is a glowing example of the positive entrepreneurial mindset that is a backbone of the area.

I was so excited when Chris offered his time to partake in our Get to Know the Locals series. This is a man who makes all of our lives more appealing through his art, and his responses give us a chance to know him a little better. Keep reading to learn the how, what and why behind the man who brings sparkle to life via his camera.

How long have you lived on Lake Tahoe? I’ve lived in Incline Village since 1977.

Where did you grow up and live before you came here? I grew up in Malibu, California, until I was 11 years old, and then I was dragged here to Incline Village with my skateboard in hand.

What inspired you to create a local business? I needed money and my only skill at the time was bartending and photography. Plus, I realized I could talk to people really well. With that Talbot Photography was born. That was 1992. In 2015 my brother and I saw the need for a tour company, and we started Around Tahoe Tours.

What’s your favorite Lake Tahoe town or village? My favorite Lake Tahoe town is Incline village, but I also like Kings Beach and Tahoe City where it all began. For example, in 1868 there were only 28 year-round residents in Tahoe City.

What’s your favorite season in Tahoe? Everybody likes the summer for sure. I do like the spring a lot as well as the fall. Pretty much for me, any time of year when things are quieter and there are fewer people.

What’s your favorite Lake Tahoe beach access? My favorite beach access is hard to get to nowadays. I usually go to the Incline beaches because I have quick access, but if I had it my way, I would be able to be dropped off at Hidden Beach for a good day of fun and swimming. My good friend Carole Buck just passed away. I used to love going to her house because she has the best beach.

Do you have a favorite trail or area to access the mountains? Anywhere where we can get above and look down is a fantastic place to hike and enjoy the view.

What do you do for fun? What do I do for fun? I enjoy my life always. I like to travel out of the country. I also like to go to my family’s ranch, Pesky Ranch.

Describe your perfect day off. My perfect day off would include being at the beach, swimming with my brother and friends. Spending time with my daughter also ranks up there as a perfect day. A good dinner somewhere in town would be the cherry on top.

Do you see more sunsets or sunrises? I have seen more sunsets, for sure. Nobody likes to get up in the morning. LOL.

What’s one thing you wish more Lake Tahoe visitors knew? I wish that Lake Tahoe visitors knew that they did not have to use their car. The amount of traffic in the basin is sadly ruining our beloved Lake Tahoe.

Where do you go on vacation? My vacations are in Southeast Asia, primarily Vietnam. I’m doing a book about 25 journeys through Vietnam that I’m very excited about. I’m almost finished and look forward to seeing the final product.

For a celebratory dinner, would you rather order take-out, go out to eat or cook something at home? I like going out to dinner. My favorite places to frequent include the Old Range Steakhouse or The Soule Domain.

What’s your favorite meal of the day, and where in Lake Tahoe would you get it? I’d have to say lunch. I really like chicken salad, and the best one is at Tahoe Central Market in Kings Beach. It is so yummy with cashews. All it needs to finish it off perfectly, in my opinion, is just a couple of crackers.

What’s your favorite thing about your job? My favorite thing about my job is that I can make my own schedule, always. Before Facebook photography was very different and used to be something that I took a lot of pride in because there were very few people who did what I did. Travel photography is special. You either can do it or you can’t do it. I can do it. Not to toot my own horn, but I’m probably the best travel photographer on earth. I’m more proud of that than anything else. It’s not for everybody.

Do you have any side hustles? Of course I have side hustles. Unless you are filthy rich, you need some money to stick around Lake Tahoe.

What’s your favorite way to unwind after a busy day? For me, a cold beer and a short tequila paired with enjoying the company of good friends can’t be beat.

What’s one item on your bucket list? I have a few locations I want to go to around the world with my daughter, including the South Pacific and the North Island of Japan.

Be sure to check out Talbot Fine Images to see Chris’s stunning photography.

< Back to Community News

IVCBA Growing, Making Impact on Tahoe’s North Shore

December 26, 2022 | Member Submitted

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune on 12/28/22.

Written by Miranda Jacobson.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — The Incline Village Crystal Bay Community and Business Association has made an impact on Lake Tahoe’s North Shore and Executive Director Linda Offerdahl is grateful to lead the growing organization.

“My husband and I have lived here for 34 years and it has given me great pleasure to bring the community together and start organizing our community in ways that could lead to advocacy and some issues that we often get neglected,” Offerdahl said.

IVCBA has added more than 300 members in less than two years that include three levels of business members and community supporters. In addition, they’ve been able to produce their own magazine and a newsletter that comes out weekly.

Read the rest of the article here >

< Back to Community News

Pine Nuts – Everybody Has a Funny Bone

December 26, 2022 | McAvoy Lane

Yes, everybody has a funny bone, and it’s the only bone in our body that gives us a longer life. Levity is a healer, and an essential melody of human conversation. In fact, if conversation is music, humor is its jazz. Imagine the musical score that is the Looney Tunes bed for Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner, “Beep Beep!” By the way, Chuck Jones got his idea for that comic series from Mark Twain’s description of the Coyote and the Jackass Rabbit in his book, Roughing It.

To get the full value of levity one must take a step-up from maintaining a sense of humor, and embrace a humorous outlook on life. We must constantly be on the lookout for justifications to be elated. Levity is the grease that keeps the wheels of relaxation rolling, while diminishing depression and anxiety that left unattended, might deliver an early grave.

In this year’s happiest place on Earth, Finland, half the Finns are taking anti-depressants. But thanks to anti-depressants, conversation with friends, religion, and yes, humor, we shall survive, and live to help others survive.

Sometimes painting a humorous picture will elicit a smile. Mark Twain tells us, “I remember the day I was born. Everybody came around to look me over, and I shouldn’t have minded if somebody had paid me a compliment, but nobody did…might have been the mustache.”

As a caution, there are only seven jokes. The rest are variations of those seven jokes. So if your friend is 40 years of age or older, she has probably heard your joke twice before, maybe more. A personal anecdote is always preferable to a moldy old joke, ‘positivity’ being the key to an uplifting anecdote.
As to age, my friends in their 90’s who are active, engaged, and in possession of a sense of humor, are vigorous, productive and healthy. If anything, our sense of humor furnishes us with a felicity to see things in a sunny light.

Mark Twain tells us a little about humor, “Genuine humor is replete with wisdom; and it must do two things to live forever. It must teach and it must preach. If it does those two things effectively, that piece of humor will last forever -which is thirty years.”

Twain’s humor is subtle. He’s not looking so much for a laugh as he is for the hint of a smile, or a nod of acknowledgment. Quote, “I intend to live within my means this year, even if I have to borrow money to do it.”

Is there humor in the Bible? Yes. There is a street in Damascus called, “Straight!” But you really need to see the street to appreciate the humor. So in closing, Pura Vida! Live Joyfully! Vivez Joyeux! And yes, Happy New Year…

Listen to the audio here.

< Back to Community News

Pet Network Offering Sponsored Adoptions Through December

December 26, 2022 | Member Submitted

Originally published in the Tahoe Daily Tribune on 12/21/22. View the original article here.

Written by Miranda Jacobson. Photos provided Pet Network.

INCLINE VILLAGE, Nev. — Pet Network has been able to offer sponsored adoptions for the month of December and has seen 44 adoptions since the sponsorship has begun.

The sponsored adoptions will continue for the rest of the month, and staff are hoping to surpass their adoptions numbers from last year.

“We did 60 adoptions in the month of December last year, which was really great,” said Pet Network Marketing Manager Sybile Moser. “To see that many animals go home in one month was pretty incredible.”

The homing of so many animals was made possible by the generous donation of The Gately Family Foundation. This year, they are not only sponsoring the adoption fees for each animal, but providing a years worth of vet care at the Pet Network Community Hospital.

“It just really reduces the barriers to adoptions and helps animals get into loving homes that much quicker,” said Moser.

Even though the shelter has seen a high number of adoptions this month, there are still plenty of animals still waiting to find their forever homes due to overcrowding at other shelters.

“We are just doing our part as a small, rural shelter to kind of help alleviate the pressure on those overcrowded shelters and get some animals exposure in communities that they wouldn’t have necessarily been in before,” said Moser. “So that’s a huge part of it for us. We’re constantly taking in and transferring in animals from overcrowded shelters in Nevada and California.”

With the holiday season in full swing in the basin, Moser pointed out that research from the ASPCA shows giving an animal as a gift does not increase the likelihood of the animal being returned to the shelter, or re-homed in the future.

“It actually decreases the likelihood of that happening,” said Moser. “So we certainly don’t discourage giving animals as gifts based on that research. There are always factors to consider when bringing a pet into your home, but as an adopter welcome shelter, we believe in giving our adopters the benefit of the doubt. We trust that if you’re coming into our shelter to adopt an animal, whether that be for yourself or for someone else, you know what you’re getting into and you’ve done your due diligence to know that is what you truly want because it is a big commitment.”

Sign up for our weekly SnapShot newsletter

Translate