Relive some of the pageantry of the 1960 Olympic Winter Games as the California Department of Parks and Recreation celebrates Olympic Heritage Week from Sunday through Jan. 15 at Lake Tahoe.
Activities include two historic cross-country ski tours, a reception featuring several past winter Olympians, an Olympian dinner at Granlibakken Resort and Citizens Against the Clock, a short cross-country ski followed by shooting at an electronic rifle range.
The week officially kicks off with the lighting of an Olympic cauldron at 2:30 p.m. Sunday near the campground entrance of Sugar Pine Point State Park. Hot cider and cookies will be provided.
For a full schedule of events, go to www.westshorecafe.com and click on the events link.Historical mining is topic
Dr. Charles Alpers, research chemist with the U.S. Geological Survey, will be featured speaker at the Yolo Basin Foundation's Flyway Nights Speaker Series at 7 p.m. today. The event takes place at the Department of Fish and Game's Yolo Wildlife Area Headquarters, 45211 Chiles Road.
Alpers, who has led water-quality investigations involving environmental effects of historical mining, will talk on mercury contamination in the coast ranges and the Sierra Nevada.
Yolo Basin members may attend free. A $5 donation is suggested for nonmembers. For information, visit www.yolobasin.org.
Winter Trails Day at Tahoe
Join the Tahoe Rim Trail Association for a day of guided snowshoe hikes, drawings and gear demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday on the north and south shores of Lake Tahoe.
National Winter Trails Day was created to help introduce more people to using the backcountry in winter. The free hikes will be one to two miles on easy, rolling terrain followed by warming parties with food and drink.
Participants are encouraged to register at www.tahoe- rimtrail.org. The event is subject to cancellation due to winter weather. The alternate snow date will be Jan. 14. Registrants will be notified by email of any date change.
Tour the Yolo Basin
A free tour sponsored by the Yolo Basin Foundation will explore the connection between winter water levels at the city of Davis wetlands and the migrating winter waterfowl of the Pacific flyway.
Foundation docents will lead the tour from 3 to 5 p.m. Saturday, starting at the gate in front of the city's wastewater treatment plan, east of the Yolo County landfill on Road 28H.
Participants, who are asked to meet a few minutes before 3 p.m., should bring their own binoculars, water and field guides. Docents will have spotting scopes to enhance wildlife viewing. Most of the tour is by car on firm gravel roads, with a couple of optional short walks in the wetlands.
No reservations are required for the tour, which will be held regardless of weather conditions.
For more information and driving directions, visit www.yolobasin.org.
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