What it was like to grow up in Lake Tahoe

I meet new people down here at UCSB everyday, and the normal conversation starts out with “What is your major?” “What year are you?” blah blah blah. But when the question of “Where are you from?” arises in the conversation, my simple answer is “Lake Tahoe.”

With this answer I usually get a very surprised faced intrigued about knowing what is like to live in a place where most people enjoy their vacations. To simply put, Tahoe is fucking epic. As I, and many of my former classmates embark on new journeys away from the place we call home, Tahoe is much easier appreciated as a community that is beautiful, laid-back, and distinctive to the worlds’ eyes. Through pictures that my friends have so kindly given me, I will take you all on a short journey of what it is like to grow up in Lake Tahoe.

Tahoe is a small town, with grand scenery

Yeah we all know it, Tahoe has views that last a lifetime. When people explore the mountainous area, one can look to the left and see the crystal clear lake waves gently reaching for the rocky shores of the beach, and simply turn their head to the right to see the snow covered mountains which surround a beautiful valley. It would seem like the locals would appreciate the scenery to the fullest, but we sometimes don’t. Often times locals take it for granted and do not realize what a stunning place we live in (leaving for college and coming back always helps the appreciation aspect).

I also find that many of my friend’s parents complain about their neighbors or their streets being too busy, well in Tahoe, you most likely live in the middle of the woods with only a few houses on your streets. Sometimes, the only occasional visitors will be bears, coyotes, squirrels, rabbits, and the many other critters Tahoe houses.

This is a normal scene around the Tahoe Basin, bears are always hungry, especially after hibernation.

Being an outdoorsman

Some of us started skiing before we could walk, others learned how to chop wood, some learned how to live in the forests (no joke), and few gained the knowledge of growing fruits and vegetables in a greenhouse sitting by the one of many rivers, but the one commonalty between the Tahoe kids is that we all learned to make way with the outdoors. Sure we had video games, but starting at a young age I remember mountain bike riding, skiing, building forts in the woods, hiking, swimming, boating, and building little knives out of kindling wood that was supposed to be used to start the fire that night.

We were always dirty, constantly running around chasing pesky geese, and building camp fires on the beach. In the winter, the snow would fall on stormy nights and we would all wait in the morning for the “snow day” call to come in (best phone calls to reach my home line to be honest). Waking up to three feet of snow in the driveway is also a nice feeling until your parents tell you to get your ass out there to shovel it in below freezing temperatures. Yeah shoveling sucked, but there was never love lost with the outdoors, and the connection between mother nature and a young Tahoe native can never be replaced.

Laidback, everybody knows everybody, and no traffic (other than when y’all tourists come into town)

Let us just be honest, Tahoe is a ski bum town. People are running on “Tahoe-Time” so do not expect arrangements to be on time, EVER. But I’m okay with that. When you enter the basin, one gets a sense of a sleepy old town with snow, and that is exactly what it is. Sure news spreads like wildfire in a place like UCSB, but in Tahoe, rumors get around within 10 minutes; most people I see, I know.

It often time sucks when you do something bad at school and your teacher sees your parents at the only god damn Raley’s in town and the conversation leads to how shitty your grades are (always happens at the wrong times). Other than busy weekends and holidays, the traffic is almost obsolete, until you find the one idiot who chains his tires when there is no snow on the ground.

This was just a very quick peak at what life is like growing up in Lake Tahoe, but I hope you enjoyed it. As for tourists and non-locals, get the hell out of town.  just kidding. Come enjoy what Tahoe has to offer but always remember that people do live here and respect what the world has given to us.

As for locals, appreciate the fortune of Tahoe, because after leaving, I can personally say that growing up in the basin has been one experience I would not trade for anything. Keep Tahoe Blue, Go Vikings, and Drink that Tahoe Tap (Yes, all you southern California people, the tap water is fucking bomb).