Help Clair Tappaan Lodge annual fundraising weekend

Friday - Sunday, August 10 - 12, Clair Tappaan Lodge, Norden, CA.

Last year the theme was "Starry Nights" and this year "Meteor Showers". Why astronomy? It is because the sky at Donner Summit (7,000 feet) has very little light pollution and is practically noisy with stars. This year the Sustain Clair Tappaan Fundraiser will coincide with the spectacular Perseid Meteor Shower.

The weekend will be as full of events as the previous two years. After dinner on Friday, there will be a social mixer with s'mores and brandy, and then movies in the dining room, including "The Day the Water Died".

Saturday after breakfast we will offer several hikes with different themes and levels of difficulty. Leaders will include a local bird-watching expert and a Tahoe National Forest interpreter. The afternoon will include children's activities while parents and grandparents have a wine-and-cheese reception and silent auction. Last year we had 83 items, and this year we will have a variety of art works and items for children, as well as general items that adults will love.

Saturday's dinner will feature wild salmon. After dinner we'll hear a brief report on the state of Clair Tappaan and a talk and slide show on the Perseid Meteor Shower, and you can sign up to be wakened at 1 am to observe the spectacle at its peak. Simultaneously there will be live music in the library and swapping of stories around the fireplace at Hutchinson Lodge.

At Sunday breakfast we'll learn the winners of the door-prize raffle and results of the auction. More hikes will begin after breakfast.

The cost for the weekend, including two nights lodging and six meals, is $150 per adult and $70 for a child (4 - 13 years; children younger than four are free). Just Saturday activities are $100 for an adult and $30 for a child. The Sunday day rate is $25 and $10. Proceeds will go toward meeting the Lodge's break-even challenge in 2007.

For reservations call the Lodge at (800) 679-6775. For more information on this and other Lodge activities, visit www.ctl.sierraclub.org (click on "Activities" at upper left.)

If you can't join the fun but would like to help, send a donation to:

Clair Tappaan Lodge
P.O. Box 36
Norden, CA., 95724