The Lake in the Sky

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Lake Tahoe is an Native Indian word, from the Washoe tribe, that translates to The Lake in the Sky. At 6225 feet, 1897 meters the lake has some serious altitude for such a massive lake - Lake Tahoe is the world's second largest alpine lake. It was formed about 2 million years ago when a basin formed due to normal faulting (tension and separation), and was filled by three ice age glaciers. The lake and surrounding area are simply stunning and fills with millions of tourists each year. On our Independence Day trip to Yosemite National Park we returned to Sacramento via the South Lake Tahoe route and we were stuck in traffic returning from the lake to the city. In the middle of nowhere there was grid lock and plenty more tension. We avoided grid lock on our trip to Lake Tahoe by going mid-week, because it is a very popular week-end getaway for all the urbanites of California. We went for a day trip last Wednesday, Kris played hooky from work. The drive from Sacrmento takes a little less than two hours and winds up into the mountains, from the valley floor at Sacramento to the Sierra Nevada mountains. And we picked the best day to go, because it turned out to be the hottest day of the year in Sacramento, 108 degrees Fahrenheit, 42 degrees Celsius. It's all cooler at the lake because of that altitude - it was a lovely and more sane 90 degrees Fahrenheit at the lake, 32 degrees Celsius. Into the mountains we went, the sun was brilliant and the air temperature comfortable.

I drove while Kris continued to work in the car making phone calls and sending text messages - remember kids, never drive and text. Highway 50 turned from a super highway outside Sacramento into a winding and twisting road that slowed and worked up to the lake. We got to South Lake Tahoe about 2 hours after we left. This was actually my second trip to Lake Tahoe, the first being in 1981. I really couldn't remember any of the details of that trip, just the general scenery - a bright blue lake and sky and pine trees as far as you can see. It hasn't changed in 29 years. We pulled into the parking lot of the Tahoe Queen, a stern wheeler paddle boat and not one of the acts at Harrah's Casino. On this slow mid-week Wednesday we were easily able to find a parking spot and last minute tickets for the boat trip.

We walked onto the boat a few seconds before departure and easily found seats upstairs under the sun. We chugged along on the lake and made our way to Emerald Bay, on the western side. The captain described some geologic features of the lake, and a Mark Twain impersonator told us stories about the lake and his travels in the west. No doubt many of his tales were taller than the surrounding mountains. He was the second Mark Twain impersonator I've met on this summer trip, he certainly does get around, like his story and larger than life legend. As we neared Emerald Bay the wind coming off the mountains and being whipped up through the channel blew off my hat into the lake. I suppose the lake is now no longer 99.7% pure, something less than that with the addition of my hat. Emerald Bay gets its name because of the green hue the water takes on with the more shallow waters. Our larger boat parted the ways of many smaller vessels and kayaks of this most popular Lake Tahoe destination. We rounded the only island in the entire lake, Fannette Island, the waters being very shallow at this point and then we headed back to port at South Lake Tahoe. As we returned we saw an eagle flying overhead, and an osprey chick in a nest, keenly spotted by the captain. The entire trip was 2 1/2 hours, very relaxing and a golden opportunity to take many photographs.

We left the boat and drove around the western side of the lake, the California side. Development on this side of the lake differs quite dramatically than the Nevada side, because of the absence of casinos. The road on the western side took us above Emerald Bay, a perfect chance to see the same cove from above and facing the opposite direction. It was hard to spot Fannette Island through all the trees, and even harder to spot all the traffic on this part of the lake. At this point of the day the sun was getting lower and the light was getting softer. The air was pure and clear, you coud see all the way across to the Nevada side of the lake quite easily, about 12 miles, 19 kilometers. We stopped a couple more times as we rounded the lake, but we were losing light and this was only a day trip. We headed north to the town of Truckee as we passed Squaw Valley, the site of the 1960 Winter Olympics. It's hard to believe that this entire area transforms itself into a snow resort in the winter, because on this day it was quite warm and brilliantly blue and green. We stopped in Truckee for dinner just as the sun was setting. This was my second trip to Truckee this summer, our train from Sacramento to Chicago had stopped here. Truckee is an old frontier town with frontier architecture, now revitalized, as most of these old buildings have been converted into shops that sell tourist nick-nacks. We ate at Bar of America, which used to be the Bank of America, an old red brick building on a street corner in front of the train station. We returned to Sacrmento in the dark on the fast paced Interstate 80.

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Photos

MS Dixie II
The competition for our boat, the Tahoe Queen. It's too difficult to photograph your own boat without going overbaord.

Comments

[Cesca]

Lake Tahoe Rocks
What can I say? The place is really nice, there are a lot of fun activities and has a wide range of Lake Tahoe accommodation you can choose from and the services they give you is really good.