Brisk breezes followed us down to the lake's edge for our morning walk...being at over 6000 feet up in the mountains causes the ticker to beat mightily, but the views of the lake were absolutely gorgeous especially with the snow capped mountains as a backdrop.
We took several car trips out to explore the area. During our first trip we spotted a huge bear out in the field. He was munching away on something and wandered a bit closer to us while we were sitting in the car watching.
One morning we traveled across the Sierra Nevada Mountains into Carson City, capital of Nevada. Nice little town in a desert setting. Lots of modern shopping and a nice capital building...reminded us of the capitol of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Small and wide open to folks who want to stop in to say hello to the Governor.
From there we drove up to Reno, Nevada....a much bigger city with skycrapers and many casinos. It too was surrounded by desert with some nice snow capped mountains to the south. We wondered through a couple of casinos before heading toward the mountains.
Up the twisting road we passed the closest sky resort to Reno....Mt. Rose. We also passed children sledding on the top of the mountain. Over the mountain top we enjoyed lots of evergreen scenery and of course the gorgeous Lake Tahoe.
Kristy, Brian, Kathy, and Chad arrived late Thursday evening. The next morning the snow arrived and continued all day long and into Friday night. It was a great day for just relaxing and enjoying each others company.
Saturday morning we awoke to find a fantastic winter wonderland...snow covered trees and glistening rays of sun. We loaded up the car and headed for Fallen Leaf Lake and an absolutely stupendous waterfall. We passed some terrific summer homes on a narrow one lane road surrounded by a fantastic pine forest covered in thick white snow.
At the head of the Fallen Leaf Resort was one of the most beautiful waterfalls that we have ever rested our eyes on. It was quite a sight!
On we journeyed several miles to Emerald Inlet, one of the most photograped areas of Lake Tahoe. A picturesque emerald green pond like area with a cute little island in the center. Another fantastic waterfall headed the beginning of the inlet. Were we fortunate?
This waterfall was running full strength with the snow melt. Doubt that the falls would be this free flowing in the summer with the snow all melted.
After climbing all over the falls and a wonderful lookout point, we headed on to North Tahoe, past Squaw Valley Ski Resort and then on to Truckee, a smart little western town. After a stop for ice cream, we went to the Donnel State Park. The girls knew all about the family that had a harsh winter back in 1800's and wanted to see the park statue that commemorated this. After some great photos, we drove into the old town of Truckee, parked and wandered down the streets taking in all the quaint shops along the way. The afternoon sun provided the perfect temperature for a nice stroll around town.
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Again we loaded up in the car and headed to the east side of the lake, taking in the views of Tahoe State Park. We parked the car here and hiked down to the lake, getting some great shots of the sinking sun on the western side of the lake.
We also learned about the fish and the clearity of the lake. From here the car headed back to South Tahoe and our cozy home to have a dinner of pulled pork barbecue waiting for us in the crock pot.
That evening we watched the movie, "Saving Mr. Banks", Good little true tale of Walt Disney and the making of "Mary Poppins".
The next morning the girls surprised me with an early Mother's Day celebration breakfast of Heuvos Rancheros and homemade Cinnamon Buns. Yum yum! After breakfast we had a nice little walk to the beach and then to the city park.
Amazing how spring returned so quickly!
The girls also treated us to a trip on the Tahoe Queen, a paddle boat that scooted across Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay sharing lots of information about the history of the lake.
What a relaxing afternoon! I have to be the luckiest mother in the world to have two great daughters to treat me to such an absolutely wonderful day! That evening we went home to eat Chicken Enchiladas that I had made up the day before everyone arrived! Although Kristy's birthday was three days away, we had a celebration birthday cake for her....Chocolate Cake with candles and Strawberry Shortcake! Now how do you choose which one to sample? Easy...a small piece of both!
What a great week in Tahoe! Were we fortunate to enjoy both warm sunny days and a great snow covering for a few of days! We all enjoyed our California get together. It sure did go by way too quickly. On Monday morning, everyone was heading in a different direction. Larry and I drove out to Sacrament for our flight to Vancouver, Canada to catch the Holland America Cruise Ship, Volendam which was taking us to Alaska. Chad and Kathy were heading to Sacramento to catch their flight to Santa Ana and then head back to San Diego for the beginning of their 10 day work week on San Clemente Island. Kristy, Brian, and Molly were heading to wine country, Napa Valley and then on to meander down the beautiful California Route 1 as a celebration for Kristy's birthday. Sometimes I feel like we all are the luckiest people on Earth!
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