Truckee 4th of July Parade

Excellent people watching and parade watching too! The oldest 4^th of july parade in the country… I believe I heard about it on PBS.
Good ‘ol down home fun. Lots of room for viewing. Get there early… You can park for free right on the parade route.

For years, I never really saw the point of a parade and avoided them like the plague. But then I started going to the 4^th of July parade in Truckee and I have seen the light.
The day starts off with a pancake breakfast at the fire station. There are helicopters, fire engines, jet boats, ambulances with diving rigs, and, ahem, backwoodsy firemen, serving up pancakes with all the fixings.
Then around 10:00a the parade starts. Highlights from past years are the Subaru Brigade (see photos), belly dancers, Scottish bagpipes, custom cars (lowriders!), a synchronized ski drill team and the female triathelete flashers. Fun western floats, horseback riders and folks dressed up as outlaws and sheriffs. You get showered with candy and drenched by super soakers and people are just awesome.
I’ve been in love with Truckee for 20 years and this is one of the reasons why.
**2008 Highlights — my favorite entry this year were the girl scouts/​brownies. «There are two seasons in Truckee, Snow and Construction.» So funny, because it is so true. The drill team was fantastic this year, snapping their ski bindings like a rifle. Alas, no Subaru brigade this year.