Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Mountain High
Lower Echo Lake
Tamarack Lake
Keiths Dome
Upper & Lower Echo Lakes
Autumn leaves
Last week, I spent two days at a legal conference in South Lake Tahoe, a resort town with casinos, a large lake, and beautiful mountain scenery. Whenever I go up to Lake Tahoe 太 浩 湖/塔 何 湖 or Reno 李 糯, I forget about eating Chinese food. Why? Because I have never found anything worth a damn up there. One time, when I was in Reno, I went into a tiny place called 鴨 子 館 Chinese Duck House. The waitress, who spoke Cantonese, got the chef to cook something authentic for me 豆 角 炒 牛 肉 (dau6 gok3 chaau2 ngau4 yuk6) stir-fried beef with green beans. Otherwise, the food would have been mediocre. This time, rather than chance the Chinese food up at Lake Tahoe, I enjoyed American food--four-cheese pizza, Caesar salad, butternut squash soup, and a hamburger made with ground filet mignon. Yum! :P
After dinner on Thursday, I wanted to see a show. Walking around several casinos, I noticed a show at the Horizon called Fusion 2. According to the poster, the show was a combination of magic, comedy, and illusion. One thing that caught my attention was the illusionist's assistant--a young Asian woman dressed in a sexy leather outfit (check her out). The show was cool and upbeat, a perfect mixture of skillful tricks, hilarious jokes, and hip music and lights. The illusions and juggling were especially good. One illusion started out with the assistant (Pamela) standing up and then lying sideways suspended in mid air. What made it so convincing is that, as the illusionist (Alexander) moved Pamela's body in mid air, first parallel and then at a steeper angle, Pamela kicked her legs about freely. It all looked so natural. Alexander even dragged a large ring around Pamela's body to show that there were no wires or other things holding up her body. What amazed me about Pamela's performance was how quick and nimble she was in jumping in and out of the boxes and other magic props. After the show, the four performers walked onto the casino floor, where the audience was able to talk with them, shake hands, etc. Pamela was dressed in her leather bikini and appeared to me to be Southeast Asian (Thai?). What a cool experience!
After the conference ended on Friday, I wanted to go on a half-day hike in the nearby Desolation Wilderness, which is one of the more scenic areas of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Whenever I go hiking in the Sierras, I like to use Kathy Morey's book "Hot Showers, Soft Beds, and Dayhikes in the Sierra." That title sounds so appealing! Friday afternoon, I did a 9-mile loop hike, visiting four different lakes--Lower Echo Lake, Upper Echo Lake, Tamarack Lake, and Triangle Lake. The combination of white granite, green forest, and deep blue water was breathtaking (see photos above). And what surprised me is how few people I ran into on the trail. For me, this is hiking at its finest. ¶ 9:22 PM
Lower Echo Lake
Tamarack Lake
Keiths Dome
Upper & Lower Echo Lakes
Autumn leaves
Last week, I spent two days at a legal conference in South Lake Tahoe, a resort town with casinos, a large lake, and beautiful mountain scenery. Whenever I go up to Lake Tahoe 太 浩 湖/塔 何 湖 or Reno 李 糯, I forget about eating Chinese food. Why? Because I have never found anything worth a damn up there. One time, when I was in Reno, I went into a tiny place called 鴨 子 館 Chinese Duck House. The waitress, who spoke Cantonese, got the chef to cook something authentic for me 豆 角 炒 牛 肉 (dau6 gok3 chaau2 ngau4 yuk6) stir-fried beef with green beans. Otherwise, the food would have been mediocre. This time, rather than chance the Chinese food up at Lake Tahoe, I enjoyed American food--four-cheese pizza, Caesar salad, butternut squash soup, and a hamburger made with ground filet mignon. Yum! :P
After dinner on Thursday, I wanted to see a show. Walking around several casinos, I noticed a show at the Horizon called Fusion 2. According to the poster, the show was a combination of magic, comedy, and illusion. One thing that caught my attention was the illusionist's assistant--a young Asian woman dressed in a sexy leather outfit (check her out). The show was cool and upbeat, a perfect mixture of skillful tricks, hilarious jokes, and hip music and lights. The illusions and juggling were especially good. One illusion started out with the assistant (Pamela) standing up and then lying sideways suspended in mid air. What made it so convincing is that, as the illusionist (Alexander) moved Pamela's body in mid air, first parallel and then at a steeper angle, Pamela kicked her legs about freely. It all looked so natural. Alexander even dragged a large ring around Pamela's body to show that there were no wires or other things holding up her body. What amazed me about Pamela's performance was how quick and nimble she was in jumping in and out of the boxes and other magic props. After the show, the four performers walked onto the casino floor, where the audience was able to talk with them, shake hands, etc. Pamela was dressed in her leather bikini and appeared to me to be Southeast Asian (Thai?). What a cool experience!
After the conference ended on Friday, I wanted to go on a half-day hike in the nearby Desolation Wilderness, which is one of the more scenic areas of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Whenever I go hiking in the Sierras, I like to use Kathy Morey's book "Hot Showers, Soft Beds, and Dayhikes in the Sierra." That title sounds so appealing! Friday afternoon, I did a 9-mile loop hike, visiting four different lakes--Lower Echo Lake, Upper Echo Lake, Tamarack Lake, and Triangle Lake. The combination of white granite, green forest, and deep blue water was breathtaking (see photos above). And what surprised me is how few people I ran into on the trail. For me, this is hiking at its finest. ¶ 9:22 PM
