Yesterday my wife and I were in awe of the long evening shadows playing across the rapids above Eagle Falls that splashed into Emerald Bay. Today we chose to hike the steep trail up Eagle Creek, away from Lake Tahoe. The way was icy and a bit treacherous, but the sites were stunning. We stopped to rest on the bridge. There the scene up river had all the ingredients of a painting: bright granite peaks set against shadowed bluffs, dark quiet flow pouring down to white foam, and branches from a drowned tree, pulling all the parts together. How could I resist?