One unique feature on Lake Tahoe's north shore is definitely under-used, mostly because it is off the beaten track for tourists and locals alike. The pools of the Lake's one and only waterside hot springs sit empty much of the time.

The source of the hot springs bubbles up on the Brockway Springs Lakefront Resort's property and there is no public access to this gated community of privately owned condominiums.

However, the hot springs' outflow trickles down into natural rock walled pools sitting on the edge of the Lake. These pools, located below Tahoe's high water mark, are always waiting for the serious soakers arriving on SUPs, or in kayaks, or motor boats.

It is less than a mile's paddle from the King's Beach boat ramp to the soaking pools. H...

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The story goes that a tourist, exploring the Tahoe Basin, asked a local how to drive down the Lake. The local replied that the drive had to be around the Lake. Hearing that, the tourist pointed to a map with a black line running north-south, just east of the middle of Lake Tahoe. That was the road the tourist wanted to access and drive.

And that particular black line, a border, has caused confusion and trouble ever since two states began to share it. What is more, it may have been John C. Fremont's original 1844 mapping errors that started the whole thing. 

Early surveying equipment was scarce, and not very effective, leading to boundary line errors that ranged from miles to only yards. Measuring longitude requires the precise time. A one-second error in time equates to a quarter-mile mistake in distance. Having a precise time-piece in the 1800s was not exactly the norm, especially if one was trekking through snowy mountains, or acro...

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Most people who hear the expression tree hugger picture stubborn, barefoot hippies either chaining themselves to trees, or setting up camp high in the branches, as their way of fighting lumbering. But, the term goes back much farther in time.

In 1730, the original tree huggers were villagers belonging to the Bishnois branch of Hinduism. Following a village woman's cry of "A chopped head is cheaper than a felled tree", 363 people, trying to protect their trees, had their heads quickly removed from their bodies by the swords of soldiers under orders from a local...

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Our Sierra Nevada mountain range is home to Sequoia National Park, which is home to the General Sherman, the largest tree, by volume, in the world. Sequoia Park is also home to a tiny, blind, glow-in-the-dark millipede, Motyxia sequoia alia, which because of its bioluminescence, is unlike any other millepede in the world.

Motyxia is a genus of millipedes native to the western United States. Unlike most bioluminescent organisms that emit light continuously, motyxia millipedes emit light in short bursts or pulses.

The inch long creature that calls this dark, damp forest home, adds a unique charm to Sequoia National Park as they emerge each night to illuminate the forest floor with their green-blue glow.

Why do they glow?  As these millipedes are blind,...

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Downslope winds in the Sierra Nevada mountains are meteorological phenomena that greatly influence the region's weather patterns and local ecosystems. These winds often occur when air descends rapidly down the eastern slopes of the Sierra Nevada range. As the air moves from higher elevations to lower elevations, it compresses and warms due to adiabatic heating, which leads to significant temperature increases over short distances.

One of the most notable downslope winds in this region is the "Tahoe Gap Wind," which occurs around Lake Tahoe. During periods of high pressure and clear skies, cool air from the Sierra Nevada's western slopes accelerates downslope, funneling through gaps in the mountain range. This wind can be strong and gusty, affecting local weather conditions by quickly...

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