Inaugural parade drives by like a firecracker flash

By Anne Knowles

If you arrived for the start of the holiday parade at Stateline past 10:15am, you were in for a letdown.

The Cowley-Crawford family from Sacramento watching the 4th of July parade.

South Lake Tahoe’s inaugural Fourth of July parade started on time and ended quickly.

The parade began promptly at 10am and the 30 or so participating vehicles traveled a two-mile stretch of Highway 50 in the right-hand westbound lane at near-normal speed. In fact, if you planted yourself at the end of the route, at Rufus Allen Boulevard, at 11am, you were probably out of luck, too.

But a smattering of parade watchers lining the highway seemed to enjoy the hour of holiday fanfare.

“Want to see the fire truck come,” yelled young Will Cowley-Crawford, sitting on the shoulders of his father, Brett, to get a bird’s eye view of the parade. “It’s coming, girls!”

A decorated parade vehicle being passed by ongoing traffic.

The “girls” were Will’s mother Millie and infant sister Claire, all visiting from Sacramento for the 4th.

The fire truck and several cars carrying waving members of the South Lake Tahoe City Council were the first parade vehicles to breeze by. They were followed by cars festooned with flags, a military truck and colorful garbage truck among others.

And also flying by was plenty of other Highway 50 traffic, coming and going, for other Independence Day festivities.

An orange garbage truck added color to the parade.

“It was a wonderful first parade,” said a woman from Stoneham, Mass., visiting with her granddaughter from San Francisco. “Hopefully, the fireworks will be better.”

“The parade was a little short but nice,” chimed in her granddaughter.

Lori Rhinebeck, visiting from Visalia, Calif., had high hopes for the parade before it started.

“I hope the casinos have floats and throw chips at the adults,” said Rhinebeck.

No such luck.