By Sam McManis, Sacramento Bee
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE — Seen from this lofty vantage point, near the tree line atop the Van Sickle Trail, the south shore divides into bookends of vivid primary colors, all greens and blues. In the middle, like some scar or deformity, lies a jagged expanse of civilization, garish polychromatic swaths of development blending into one another with only jutting casino high-rises and the slash of Highway 50 serving as compass points.
Much as the eye might want to blot out the offending image, Photoshop it out of existence and daub more verdancy onto this screen-saver panorama, the reality of human habitation, and its concomitant messiness, must be reckoned.