Journeys›Photograph

Fourth of July on Donner Lake

·Truckee, California, United States·#summer#lake life#fourth of july#truckee#fireworks#donner lake
A lake with mountains in the background, jet skis on the water, and bright sunbeams reflecting on the surface.

Fourth of July on Donner Lake, and by afternoon the whole lake had the same idea — jet skis running the middle, boats crossing each other's wakes, the water chopped up from shore to shore. We were out in the thick of it, looking west toward Donner Summit, snow still hanging on in patches above the treeline even in July.

Haze settled into the far end toward evening and the motors thinned out. We stayed on the water for the fireworks, which go up from West End Beach — right at the foot of the mountain, so the bursts open against the black of the slope instead of open sky. A couple of paddleboards sat just ahead of us, two people to a board, everybody pointed the same way. The whole west shoreline had become one unbroken string of lights by then, campfires and porch bulbs run together.

The last big one was gold, drooping arms of it, and it hung over its own reflection until the smoke drifted across and covered it up.

A lake surrounded by forested, snow-capped mountains under a clear sky, with jet skis on the water.A wide blue lake with a small boat, dark forested mountains, and snow-capped peaks beneath a light blue sky.Five people in three small boats watch fireworks explode over a lake at night, framed by dark mountains.Fireworks burst over a dark lake with reflections and blurred lights against a shadowy mountain range at dusk.Streaky purple and gold fireworks illuminate a dark lake with reflections and silhouetted mountains.Dark night landscape with mountains silhouetted against the sky, illuminated by long, sweeping golden light trails and firework explosions.A red fireworks display illuminates a dark night sky above a body of water with mountains in the background.Golden fireworks explode over a dark lake with silhouetted mountains and distant town lights reflecting on the water.

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