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Heroes Relay, Masters Track and Field Festival returns to Nevada City!

5/8/2017

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On June 15, the Sierra Gold Masters Track and Field Festival will again take over the Nevada Union High School track, bringing with it all the high-speed, long-jumping, far-throwing action only found in masters-level athletics. Honestly, you haven’t lived until you’ve seen a 78-year old man clear a 1.25-meter high jump.

New for this year is an honest-to-goodness monetary award in the nontrivial amounts of $1,000 for any world record and $500 for any American record set at the event. For the mathematically disinclined, that means an athlete who achieves two American records will earn as much money as one who sets a single world record. Plot your strategies accordingly.

The real world benefit of setting these prizes is the attraction of some of the biggest names in masters track and field, including Irene Obera with many world records under her belt in the W85-89 age group, and Durelle Schimek, current world champion in the W50-54 javelin. 

The Masters Festival is a track meet in the grandest sense of the term, with a full collection of running, jumping, and throwing events that would give the ancient Greeks a run for their drachma. There’s practically a race of every length we have measurements for, from the nonstandard 50m dash to the 5,000m long run (for which the number of laps required approaches infinity). And yes, there’s even a pole vault, which — let’s not kid ourselves — is going to be awesome.

Before the official events begin, teams from our local firefighters, police, sheriff's department, highway patrol, teachers, and search and rescue squad will take to the track for the Heroes Relay Race. This 4 x 100-meter relay celebrates hometown heroes and public servants, and rewards the winning team with an engraved plaque to hold on to until the next Heroes Relay. After all, while the hardworking individuals who make up these teams spend their days saving lives and shaping minds, nobody is truly a hero until their name is engraved on a plaque hanging on the wall. So expect fierce competition!
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Do you have an itch to dust off your running shoes and hit the track again? Registration for the Festival is still open, but don’t delay — you can sign up online through May 17, or via snail mail through May 15. And hey, even if you don’t set a world record, you could still walk away with a gold-plated silver dollar if you take first place overall in the age-graded results. Not too shabby; not too shabby at all.
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Chinese tourism company visits Nevada City Retreats

1/24/2017

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The team from The Good Go, including Jason Lu (center) and Cindy Hu (to his left).
As China’s economy grows, more and more of its citizens are traveling abroad. Nevada City Retreats recently had the pleasure of hosting members from The Good Go, a Chinese tourism company working within the United States that focuses on providing travel information to tourists in their 30s and 40s. 

​Unlike most tourism companies in China that work on a business to business level through travel organizations, The Good Go works directly with the customer. It’s goal is to broaden traveler’s perspectives of what we have to offer here in the States, taking the focus away from the gateway cities of Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York. As The Good Go’s Jason Lu told us, Nevada City was of special interest due to its Gold Rush history, in which Chinese workers played an integral role.

Outbound tourism from China to the United States has increased in recent years, but Jason said that China has seen a decline in U.S. visitors. English-speaking tour guides in China have had to adapt, and many have flipped 180 degrees to become U.S. guides for Chinese tourists.

“The biggest problem is language, communication,” The Good Go’s Cindy Hu explained. Part of the company’s goal is to find Chinese-speaking Americans that it can establish as local hosts and guides for independent visitors from China. An online platform that runs through China’s WeChat service will help tourists connect with local guides. The opposite is also true, allowing anyone who wishes to be a guide to sign up and find travelers.

Jason said that among China’s younger generation, “more and more self-guided travelers” are coming to the U.S. The Good Go is putting together a service that provides rich information and knowledgable local hosts to better accommodate the self-sufficient nature of this new generation of travelers. The goal is ultimately to provide a lightly curated experience that allows travelers to shape their own adventures. We were honored to host Jason, Cindy, and the reset of their team in Papa Bear’s Lodge, and hope to meet more travelers from China in the future!
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Our Thanksgiving Challah Bread Recipe

11/24/2016

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It’s Thanksgiving morning in Nevada City. The sun is out, the smell of winter is in the air, and I’m back in town for the holiday. René is furiously cooking away in the kitchen, Drue is out running the annual Turkey Trot at Nevada Union High School, and Obi is is turning in circles as he tries to balance on his three remaining legs (poor lil guy).

We know it’s short notice, but we thought we’d take the time to share a SpratMat family recipe for those of you looking to add another item to your feast this year. (Or you can sandbag this for next year. Or Tuesday. Or whenever, really. It’s equally delicious any time of year.)

We’ve been making challah bread crescent rolls for pretty much as long as I can remember. The recipe comes by way of René’s dear friend Maria Vieksans, to whom it was handed down by a mysterious Mrs. Zarem (who is still referenced in the recipe). Our take on it actually varies from year to year — a result of relying on whatever we have available in the cupboard — but the basic gist is this: 


  • 1/2 cup warm water
  • 1 package dry yeast
  • 1 tablespoon sugar

  • 4 cups flour (divided into 2)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 1/2 cup peanut or vegetable oil
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​Preheat your oven to 400-degrees Fahrenheit. Rinse a bowl with hot water, then add the 1/2 cup warm water followed by the yeast and one tablespoon sugar. Let sit for, oh, ten minutes or so.

Next, add the first two cups of flour, eggs, sugar, second 1/2 cup water, oil, and one teaspoon salt out of nowhere just for the heck of it. Mix this all together really well, then add the remaining two cups of flour. Let sit for another ten minutes.

After your brief contemplation of life, knead the dough for about another ten minutes, spattering with flour as needed. Place dough in a greased bowl, cover, and let rise until double (about one hour).

After the dough spent all that time and effort rising, punch it back down to show it who’s boss, but then go ahead and let it rise again for about another hour.

Now, at this point, a true challah master would begin preparing the dough for braiding. We just roll it out nice and flat, about 1/8-inch thick, cut it into rectangles, and then cut triangles of those rectangles because geometry is fun (aim for isosceles triangles). Next, roll the triangles into croissant-like shapes and bend into a crescent.

Let these rise again until double in size (don’t worry, you don’t have to punch them down this time). Brush with glaze (oh yeah, you'll need an egg yolk and a teaspoon of water for that) and bake ten minutes or until golden brown. This recipe makes 4-6 dozen rolls, we think, depending on size.

If you’re looking to spice up the rolls, we’ve experimented with everything from orange zest to pecans to cranberries to cinnamon, and it’s always been delicious, or at least not bad.

Anyway, we wish everyone a wonderful Thanksgiving, and we’d love to hear about your own favorite recipes!
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    Daven is René and Drue's best and only son. He spends most of his time writing, including for this here blog. René and Drue might write here occasionally, too. Who knows?

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