The wonderful thing about living in Sacramento is being able to visit Winter, enjoy for a few hours and come back to mild temperatures and no snow! Oh, I forgot to mention that if you time it right, you won’t need snow tires or chains to get to the snow and ski resorts. But timing is critical.

I remember taking two members of my Skillbuilders Toastmasters Club to Reno, Nevada for a District 39 conference. We didn’t see any snow on the 2-hour ride up to Reno. We were just about to find a place to eat dinner when my husband called and said to come home. There was a big storm ready to hit Reno and further west. We didn’t hesitate. By the time we got to the car, the snow was already falling. When we got to the California border, I couldn’t see in front of me; the snow was falling that heavy. I managed to get down the mountain by following truck tracks that sort of plowed the road. I didn’t have snow tires or chains. However, the scenery was simply beautiful. Freshly fallen snow on pine trees; a photographer’s dream. It’s too bad I was driving. I would have been taking pictures.

While the timing was wrong for that trip, it was right for our February 2016 trip to the small town of Donner Lake, near Truckee, in Nevada County. The weather was perfect, roads were plowed and plenty of snow available to photograph. Linda drove and Marlene and I went along. It was an amazing day, topped off by the best pizza. Yes, we are foodies of sort.

Thank you Ann-Christine, and this challenge, for taking me back to a wonderful day! Check the captions for image details.




  • Donner Lake as seen from Donner Pass Road.
  • We assumed these homeowners would have to dig themselves in!
  • Icicles are beautiful.
  • There were many snowmen guarding the roads.
  • The small town lake side.
  • Mirror reflection.
  • Donner lake as seen from the snow tunnels no longer used by the trains.
  • On the way to lunch, we stopped at the Truckee River.
  • On the way home, we stopped at Cisco Grove.

I’ve been up the mountain to shoot snow since, but never experienced a day like this. Isn’t it wonderful that we have our images to help us remember. Keep beauty in your heart!

21 thoughts on “Lens-Artist Challenge #107: Winter”

  2. Lovely images Anne and I understand exactly what you mean about the snowstorms up there. One year we rented a place with friends and it started snowing that evening. By daybreak the snow was literally higher than our car and the plows had created what seemed like a tunnel all round us as we drove the road. It was atruly beautiful, as are your images. Thanks for the fond memory, haven’t thought of that one in years!

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  4. Back in the day when I skied a lot I would experience what you did but I wasn’t into photography then. Thanks for sharing . . .

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  8. Stunning images. And great wording to go along with it. Thanks for posting. I loved it. Made me want to be there….I so love snow and enjoy skiing. x

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