There is nothing like looking out the window and seeing the words "Taco Tuesdays" written on the menu board at the Old Sierra City Hotel.  Great tacos, great price.  I know where I'm going tonight. 

The Sierra County Chamber of Commerce is starting work on the 2011-2012 Visitors Guide. If you have been thinking about joining or not yet renewed your membership, now is the time to do so. Cut off for inclusion in the Visitors Guide is 2/1/11.

The Chamber is also excited to start work on a promotional brochure called "49 Great Things to do in Sierra County." If you have anything you want to submit for inclusion in that brochure, please send it to info@sierracountychamber.com and we'll take it under consideration. We would love photos and copy for your suggested entry if you can provide that, if not, we'll still love your ideas.

Happy New Year!

Local merchants are putting on a county-wide Poker Run. When you spend $20 or more at a participating store you'll get an envelope containing a playing card.

Collect as many envelopes with cards as possible-- but don't open the envelopes before the close of the game! Your best hand will be made from the cards you collect. The game ends January 22, when the winning hand will be determined at the Sierra Valley Lodge in Calpine. We'll post more details in the events section as that gets closer.

Participating stores are:

Downieville:
Western Sierra Firearms • Sierra Hardware • Vintage Gal • Two Rivers Gallery • Sierra Motors • Downieville Day Spa • St. Charles Place

Loyalton:
Loyalton Day Spa • White's Sierra Service • Leonard's Grocery • Loyalton Pharmacy • Hair Faire • Country Gentleman Barber Shop  Vicki's Blue Moon Bakery • Golden West • Sierra Valley Home Center • Sierra Timberline

Sierra City:
Sierra Country Storr • Old Sierra City Hotel • Tom's Snowmobile • Schoolhouse Art Gallery • Mountain Creek/Buckhorn • Sorracco's

Calpine:
Sierra Valley Lodge

Sierraville:
Sierraville Service • Chuck Wagon Cafe • Sierra Valley Feed • Los Dos Hermanos

This program is a partnership between Alliance for Workforce Development and local media including the Sierra County Prospect and the Sierra Booster.

Good luck!

December 12th, a Sunday night, Sierra City merchants opened their stores for the public, generously serving all kinds of goodies-- spanning the gamut from ravioli to hot chocolate. Over a dozen businesses opened their doors and welcomed everyone who wanted to stop by.

Every establishment was decorated festively with lights and snowflakes and icicles and in some cases all kinds of figures-- snowmen, disney characters -- you name it. There was even a gigantic 12 ft+ Santa Claus hanging out by the post office!

At first I thought there was a lot of emergencies going on as the fire truck kept speeding through town with the lights on, but it turns our that kids, young and old were hitching rides on the Sierra City Volunteer Fire Department's awesome new incredible fire truck!

People came out in large groups having fun seeing people they had not seen for a while, and meeting some new merchants in town. And, the event was such a success that we'll do it all over again next year. Rumour has it someone wants to convince CBS Channel 13 Dave Bender to come here next year to do his 12 Daves of Christmas!

Come join us next year!

Once again Sierra County has the highest number of registered voters in the state of California at 92.7%. And! Sierra County once again had the highest voting percentage in the state at 82% compared to the estimated 55% average for the state.

Go to the Sierra County website to download a PDF with the county's November 2, 2010 results.

We're also proud of our neighbors in Nevada County, where more than 75% of registered voters exercised their voting power.

While on the topic, since people have asked: the Sierra County Chamber of Commerce is NOT a member of the US Chamber of Commerce.

The busy summer season is coming to a close and we’ll all soon be getting ready for the winter ahead. Its time to stop, reflect and take stock of what happened during the season, what can be done differently & better, but most importantly it’s a time to celebrate! All business owners, make sure you pat yourself on the back for all the hard work you do every year.

The chamber has also been busy this past year. And we want to share in our celebration of a few of our accomplishments:

• In July we attended the State Fair in Sacramento for the first time in a decade & received a silver award undefined and prize money!
• We sponsored a very successful Wine in the Woods
• We launched a new website with a new membership management tool, simplified ways to manage site content & membership records. The site includes a blog!
• We started tweeting! Follow us at @SierraCountyCA
• We published a significantly overhauled version of the Visitors Guide, keeping the great format but rewriting a lot of the copy, reorganizing content, fact check information and redesigning the look and feel quite a bit.
• The chamber was represented at the Sierra Nevada Conservancy Tour and reception, as well as their board meeting the following day

The summer coming to an end and autumn all around us means the new year is approaching. That also means it’s soon time to renew your Chamber membership. We usually collect dues the first couple of months of the year. But for some that is not a good time to pay dues and for those who winter elsewhere it’s logistically hard to manage. So this year we decided to try something new:  we want you to renew now, before the end of the year!

As an incentive to renew early we’re offering a discounted membership and visitor guide ad. Renew by 11/15 to take advantage of the special early bird pricing!

We are also on a membership drive and offer incentives for bringing in new members to the chamber. If you know a business that is not a member, tell them about us, what we do, and, when they join, you’ll get a business card ad for free in the visitors guide.

You can sign up if you're a new member, or if you are an existing member you can renew online with a credit card or paypal account. For new members, go to the membership application page. For existing members, login to your account and renew in a few simple steps. If you need help with accessing your account, email us at info@sierracountychamber.com

We hope all you existing members renew your membership, and  bring in a new member. We hope those of you who have been thinking about joining take the opportunity to do so now.

We are here to support your needs so never hesitate to reach out to us. We may not always be able to solve your problem, but we’ll do our best.

Hope to see you at our meetings!

From Tom Stienstra's Outdoor Vacation Awards:

Best chance at vertigo:
At the end of the 2.5-mile hike to the 8,587-foot Sierra Buttes in Tahoe National Forest, you climb three exposed stairways that jut out over the canyon. A lookout station is perched on a crag and you walk atop an open-grated deck that feels like you are walking on air. The only sensation I've felt that is more dizzying .....

Read more, and about many other interesting places in California: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/07/29/SP0H1EK90R.DTL&feed=rss.tstienstra#ixzz0y9nrLGMB

Thanks for everyone who sent this link along: Sierra City and surrounding areas is getting a great write-up by the San Francisco Chronicle -- check it out: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/08/29/TRBP1E4CFR.DTL

Nice shout-outs in the copy to chamber members Herrington's Sierra Pines Resort, Sierra Country Store, Miner's Emporium and Big Springs Garden, and as part of the recommendations as to where to stay and eat, in addition to the mentioned members the Buttes Resort, Mountain Creek Restaurant & Buckhorn Tavern, Herrington's Restaurant and Bassets Station are all mentioned.

Our beloved Kentucky Mine Museum is featured as the lead-in topic of the piece.

A few other non-chamber member businesses get a mention as well.

The National Geographic Society is developing a series of localized geotourism websites and map guides of different regions. The Sierra Nevada now has its own project and NatGeo is looking for a network of contributors. The Interactive Map Guide will be a resource for residents and visitors alike, and reaches a LOT of people.

This is an opportunity for all residents and lovers of the county to promote our amazing area in the Sierra Nevada. 

NatGeo wants you to share your knowledge and experiences about our region to create a very rich section about Sierra County in the Interactive Map Guide and geotourism website.

It can be about locations such as the Sierra Buttes, the Lakes Basin, Loves Falls, the dendroglyphs in the Aspen Groves, etc., or events like Pioneer Days or Sierra City Oktoberfest -- it's up to each one of us to nominate unique places in Sierra County.

If you are a business owner, this is your chance-- for you to promote YOUR business, write your OWN description, get the photos YOU want on this map.

Don't risk Sierra County staying a blind spot on this map and in this interactive directory. Nominate your favorite location or your business today!

This is a time to step up to the plate. 'Oh someone else will nominate the Buttes ' gets us nowhere in the directory or on the map. It's like yelling 'someone call the police' and then nobody does as we all think someone else will.

If you don't nominate locations and businesses here in Sierra County nobody else will. Visitors will pass us over to visit Nevada or Plumas Counties just because people in those counties took the time out to nominate their businesses, and locations in their areas, and we did not!

GAME ON!

Here is a link to the sign up page: http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/participate.php

Check out the Sierra Nevada site at: http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/

All content will be reviewed and approved by an Independent Project Editor, in order to maintain high standards of credibility and integrity.

For a definition of geotourism see: http://www.sierranevadageotourism.org/about_geotourism.php