Tahoe
Long time no blog. Sometimes the best of plans and organization and good intentions are thwarted when life happens. While on my trip to gorgeous Lake Tahoe my sweet Dad took a turn for the worse. It was touch and go that entire week so as soon as I landed back in Kansas City I headed to Illinois to spend what I was hoping would be a few days encouraging him to keep fighting and get better. But that was not God’s will, and he continued to decline and was moved to hospice. I am so grateful to have had those days with him before he passed and was reunited with mom. He was truly a man that lived for others, and set such a great example of work ethic and selflessness. He was almost 91 when he died so lived a long full life, but that doesn’t make it easier. Miss you Dad!! Rest In Peace.
So I have a lot of catching up to do and will start with Tahoe. This was my first time there and I found it to be even more beautiful then I anticipated. Here are a few quick facts - Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater lake in the Sierra Nevada Mountains straddling the border of California and Nevada. It’s known for its beaches and ski resorts, and is the largest alpine lake in North America. It has a depth of 1645 feet making it the second deepest lake in the US after Crater Lake in Oregon.
The challenge for me is to limit the amount of pictures I post - as I think it’s impossible to take a bad picture of the area. With every step and every direction you turn it just takes your breath away - truly spectacular!
Taken from Heavenly Mountain as we were heading up to take a gondola ride.
The trip to Tahoe was our annual high school girlfriend trip - and this year we were so lucky to have Liz offer to host it at their lovely Lake Tahoe home. It’s located on the Nevada side of the lake in an area called Glenbrook. Liz was such a gracious hostess - she had fully stocked the kitchen with food and plenty of wine!! She even cooked dinner for us a few times and she’s a great cook!! Thanks so much Liz! I am willing to make a return visit anytime.
This trip was all about hiking - which was fine by me. After my trip to Peru hiking is high on the list of activities I enjoy - and you would be hard pressed to find a prettier place to do it then Tahoe. And so many choices of hikes with varying levels of difficulty. I think we all did great - and took on some pretty challenging terrain.
Heavenly Mountain is a ski resort - so we did some hiking there and then took the gondola ride up to 10,000 feet. Spectacular views of the lake and a fun thing to do!
Not easy to get this picture since the gondola keeps moving as you jump on!!!
Elevation of over 10,000 feet - a little short of breath but made it!
We spent the bulk of an entire day hiking at Emerald Bay State Park. Not a hard hike but we covered a lot of ground and saw spectacular panoramic views and waterfalls.
We also hiked down and toured the amazing Vikingsholm home which is build on the isolated head of Emerald Bay. It was built in 1928 to replicate a Scandinavian mansion by the architect Lennart Palme. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was really beautiful and interesting.
Some of the other areas we hiked were Eagle Rock, Shakespeare and Spooner Lake. And we had quite a variety of weather - even snow!! It was beautiful, challenging and gave us a good reason to eat and drink as much as we wanted.
We didn’t just hike - one day we drove over to Truckee which is a fun quaint western town with cute shops and restaurants. The girls knew of a restaurant there that was featured on Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives so that was a must. The food at Jax was great! Typical diner fare.
Photo bomb in the window!
We ate a fun lunch at The Beach House, In n’Out, Sunnyside, and dinner at the Glenbrook Club and Eaglebrook Bistro.
I was too hungry from all that hiking to take pictures of the food - so this is us at the restaurants.
And we did celebrate Julie’s birthday that week - in true Julie fashion!
We’re never too old to make a snow angel!!
It was a wonderful trip even in spite of the stress and worry about my Dad. I know my Dad was happy I was getting to see the area and have time with friends I have known for over 45 years.
Next post - Tampa Bay!!! Happy Thanksgiving! I am counting my blessings today and every day.