By Frank X. Mullen Jr. and Sean Collins West, Reno Gazette-Journal

As the planet’s clockwork ticks towards fall, the extended Zuck family is making the most of summer’s last hurrah at Lake Tahoe.

Family members from Elk Grove, Calif., and Dallas gathered at the lake on Labor Day weekend in a ritual dating back to 1976. Sailing, boating, hiking, eating, biking, climbing, swimming and relaxing on the beach were on the agenda.

“It’s a little bit of heaven here on earth,” said Dwight Zuck of Elk Grove, whose family has owned a cabin on the lake for more than three decades.

Parasailing is popular at Lake Tahoe. Photo/Kathryn Reed

Dwight’s brother Dave, from Dallas, said sometimes the best thing to do is nothing.

“The beauty and serenity, the peacefulness of nature is all around you,” he said. “This is our last shot at summer. After this, it’s back to work and school and back to the grind.”

Thousands of holiday visitors took advantage of mild weekend weather at the lake. Traffic crawled from Tahoe City to South Lake Tahoe on Sunday. Diners waited a half-hour for a hamburger at the Char Pit in Kings Beach, where the customer line went into the parking lot. Parking was scarce.

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