Tool Time Friday | A Shovel, A Snowblower and an Axe!

I have a treat for you, well maybe not a treat, but some personal information to share with you, like it or not.

Cindy, my wife, and I live in a small town called Truckee about 30 miles west of Reno, in California. The reason we moved here 12 years ago was to get out of the insanity, where all the ‘lowlanders’ live. We’re about 15 miles north of Lake Tahoe, which is a lake shared by both the state of Nevada and California. If you’ve ever watched one of the ‘God Father’ movies, the house on the lake wherein Michael’s brother Freddie got whacked in the boat while fishing, well that’s Lake Tahoe. Years ago we were fortunate enough to know somebody who knew somebody and we able to tour the estate and grounds.

Truckee has the honor of being the town which has the largest subdivision in the entire United States. It’s called ‘Tahoe Donner’ and that’s where most of the tourists either have a second home or rent out someone else’s home. That’s also where we go to do 90% of our ‘day job’ business. More on that later.

We, ourselves, live in a smallish community called ‘Sierra Meadows’ – the name says it all. Practically everyone who lives in our neighborhood lives here full time. We know the names of all our neighbors as well as their dogs. I do believe there are more dogs in this town, per capita, than anywhere else in the U.S.of A. At least it’s the most dog friendliest town.

We’re at about 6500′ – where as Tahoe Donner’s highest point is around 7300′. Due to the altitude in which we live, there is absolutely zip for humidity. Also at this height, you need to drink water – a lot of water – a ton of water. We also don’t have mosquitoes or flies – well, maybe a few but I don’t remember the last time I saw one or the other.

Our town has changed in the last 12 years and soon we are to be like Vail, CO. or other towns who cater to the ‘visitors’ and don’t give a crap about the locals. But that’s okay as I don’t give a crap about the people who run this town and they know that – if only you could read the ‘letters to the editor’ from our podunk newspaper. (Did you know that the name ‘podunk’ is of Algonquin origin and denotes the Podunk people and/or marshy locations?) Anyway -

We are only minutes away from Squaw Valley which held the 1960 Winter Olympics. It’s a gorgeous place to go. You can ride a tram up to the top where you’ll be 8200′ in the air. I’d tell you more but I’m not writing a travel brochure.

If any of you have been watching the Weather Channel you’ll know that we have been getting hammered. In the last 10 days we have had approximately 10-15′ of snow fall on our front yard. Of course it packs down, but still, you gotta get it off your driveway, decks, and possibly your roof. And then there’s always the berm which the snow plow leaves at the end of your driveway.

Just so you don’t think I’m exaggerating, here’s some pictures. You ask why Cindy isn’t in any of them? We’ll, she’s shy. When I meet her she was so shy she couldn’t even lead the church group in silent prayer.

P.S. Don’t get me wrong, I love the town and the people that live here. It’s just the town council who is pissing all over themselves, doing whatever the out-of-towners want them to do. A case of the tail wagging the dog. Enough bitching.

So, without further ado, here’s some photos. Enjoy.

I’m 6′ tall – you can see the snow is almost as high as the eave. And we have a 4′ crawl space under the house.

Don’t ask me, Cindy liked this one, and who am I to disagree with her.

Thanks for dropping by!