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5 » SPECIAL EVENTS 2013 "LIGHTS ON THE LAKE," held each Fourth of July at South Lake Tahoe, is the largest synchronized fireworks show west of the Mississippi. July 4 tahoesouth.com With participants such as Michael Jordan, Charles Barkley and John Elway, South Lake Tahoe's AMERICAN CENTURY GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP has been called the "Super Bowl of Celebrity Sports." July 16-21 tahoecelebritygolf.com Yosemite's BRACEBRIDGE DINNER, held in the landmark Ahwahnee Hotel, is a 3 ½-hour feast of "food and riches without measure, joining voices raised in festive sound." Dec. 13, 14, 16, 18, 20, 22, 24 and 25 bracebridgedinners.com MUST SEE , DO » On the Lake Take a tour across Lake Tahoe into mesmerizing Emerald Bay aboard an authentic Mississippi River paddlewheeler. They depart several times a day from Zephyr Cove and South Lake Tahoe. › zephyrcove.com/cruises.aspx California's Everest You don't have to be Sir Edmund Hillary to plant your flag on the 14,495-foot summit of Mount Whitney, the tallest mountain in the Lower 48. The pathway to the top begins west of the town of Lone Pine and gains an ear-popping 6,100 feet in 11 miles. › mount-whitney.com › fs.fed.us/r5/inyo/recreation/wild/mtwhitney.shtm » » Long Live Mono Set in a brooding, volcanic, Tolkienesque landscape, Mono Lake is one of the most otherworldly sights in California, with spiky tufa towers rising out of an alkaline lake. Explore it by kayak or canoe, or take a guided naturalist walk along the shoreline. › monolake.org › calderakayak.com » The Big Picture It's nearly impossible to take a boring picture in Yosemite Valley, but to elevate your camera work to the next level, sign up for a guided photography walk. They range from free beginners classes to inexpensive four-hour courses offered through the Ansel Adams Gallery. › nps.gov/yose/planyourvisit/art.htm › yosemitepark.com/ansel-adams-photographyclasses.aspx » The Wild, Wild West Bodie, possibly the Old West's most notorious mining town, now exists in a state of "arrested decay" on a high, windswept plain northeast of Yosemite. It's one of America's most extensive ghost towns. › parks.ca.gov/?page_id=509 THE MERCED RIVER winds its way through Yosemite Valley, opposite page; fireworks over Lake Tahoe, top; the ghost town of Bodie near Mono Lake, left. 2 0 1 3 t r av e l g u i d e to c a l i fo rnia 1 5 5