Water in a High Place

Currently in: Zephyr Cove, NV
Heading to Redding, CA, over to the coast before we head to Oregon and Washington
We also have reservations near Glacier National Park, Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons
We will be in Colorado for most of July

Love it!

Lots to do here in Lake Tahoe.  Tahoe is a Washoe Native American word meaning "water in a high place" or "edge of the lake" or "big lake" or "lake of the sky".   We have read or heard all of these interpretations since we have been here.
This is a resort town that reminds us of our annual summer trips to Minocqua with our neighbors - just bigger.  The good news about this time of year is that the crowds are minimal and the weather has been perfect.  The bad news is that some of the attractions - homes to visit and the aerial gondola ride - are not open until Memorial Day.
Although we can see a piece of the lake and a couple of mountains out the front window of our RV, here is the view from the beach across the street, about 100 yards away.

Our first night we had some visitors for dinner!  Johnny's niece (who we didn't get to see in LA) and her boyfriend Cam were spending the weekend camping near Lake Tahoe and made chili for us.  Their friends Erin and Pete joined us.  Good times!

We hadn't gone on a bike ride in quite a while since we have been spending a lot of time in National Parks.  We could have gone on one in Yosemite, but there were so many people there the bike paths were really crowded.  Finally, we had the chance to take a wonderful ride on a bike path through the forest and along part of the lake.

We made it to the lake!

We made a quick stop at Tallac Historic site - lakefront land owned by the Pope, Baldwin and Heller families.  They made their summer homes here, although they were not open for tours yet.  There were many historic buildings here - I like Valhalla (Pope family) the best because of the big wrap around porch.

The other interesting building is the boat house.  In 1992 the boathouse was converted into a community theater.  I learned that updating an historical building for another purpose is called "adaptive reuse".  I was calling that effort repurposing, but I have now learned the correct term.  And we see it in many small towns across the country - usually the changes are additional retail, but it's cool that this one is a playhouse.

This is such a beautiful area the pictures don't do it justice.  And it has been peaceful and sunny.

We stopped for a beverage on our way back to the car.

Emerald Bay was the next stop once we got back to the car.  The water has more of a green hue rather the the stunning blue of other parts of Lake Tahoe.

We could see Eagle Falls.

We hiked down to Vikingsholm even though it was not open to tours.  Mrs. Knight, a socialite from Lake Tahoe, had it built right on the water's edge.  I was bummed we couldn't tour the inside because I heard that it has remained pretty much in tact and the decor looks a lot like old Scandinavian castle.

The 2 wings that are attached to the main house both have thatched roofs (the green grass area above the stone in this photo).

Fannette Island sits in the middle of Emerald Bay.  The castle structure on top was the tea house where Mrs. Knight used to entertain her guests.

The following day we took a ride on the MS Dixie - a large Paddle Boat reminiscent of the boats on the Mississippi.  Not my first choice of watercraft, but the only one operating this time of year. And it's Lake Tahoe, we have to go on a boat ride, right?
It actually turned out to be a lot of fun.

We learned a lot of interesting facts about the lake - mostly in regard to its sheer size and volume of water.  Suffice it to say it's one of the largest lakes in the world. And the water is very pure so the fish are large.  The scenery is magnificent.

 After all this touring we decided to spend the evening on the beach.

We met Freeya and Jorna who are visiting California from Amsterdam.  We enjoyed meeting and talking with them, and it turns out they are our neighbors at the RV park!

A nice ending to the day.