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Lake Tahoe
Aug. 25th, 2011 04:11 pmSo, last Sunday I ditched the convention. Judging from the crowd in the lobby checking out, so did a lot of people, including ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
timakers, who I ran into in the lobby. In his case, he was flying back to Chicago, and in my case, I was heading out to Lake Tahoe. In fact, I slid into the concierge seat that Tim vacated to get directions.
The concierge armed me with a tourist map and routed me to Incline Village on the north side of the lake via Nevada 431. This road, laid out by a man connecting mountain goat droppings, is at 8,900 feet the highest all-weather pass in the Sierra Nevada range. My little four-banger Kia Optima managed to get up the pass, albeit a bit out of breath. For a flatlander like me, the road was a bit exciting, to say the least. Still, I survived, and ended up lakeside at a state park, where this picture was taken.
Yes, the lake really was that blue. It was also, in mid-August at 10 AM, chilly enough to make a light jacket advisable. I then did a scenic drive around the lake heading south. After a drive through the tourist-trap town of Stateline, Nevada, I ended up at the Tallac Historical Site, a National Forest Service park at the southern tip of the lake. By then (early afternoon) the temps were up to the upper 70s, and I took this picture:
While at the beach, a local couple talked me into driving around Emerald Bay on the California side, then on to Tahoe City, where I could take the road to I-80 and an easier crossing. The man told me "Emerald Bay was the prettiest bay you'll ever see" and he was right, but I couldn't stop. Every legal parking spot (and many illegal ones) were occupied.
From thence I drove to Tahoe City, where the road follows the valley of the Truckee River into Truckee. The river then turns east and cuts the approaches to the Donner Pass as it flows downhill into Reno. I assume that the Donner party got lost just west of Truckee, as the pass to that point is rugged but fairly obvious.
All in all, a relaxing way to spend a day.
timakers, who I ran into in the lobby. In his case, he was flying back to Chicago, and in my case, I was heading out to Lake Tahoe. In fact, I slid into the concierge seat that Tim vacated to get directions.The concierge armed me with a tourist map and routed me to Incline Village on the north side of the lake via Nevada 431. This road, laid out by a man connecting mountain goat droppings, is at 8,900 feet the highest all-weather pass in the Sierra Nevada range. My little four-banger Kia Optima managed to get up the pass, albeit a bit out of breath. For a flatlander like me, the road was a bit exciting, to say the least. Still, I survived, and ended up lakeside at a state park, where this picture was taken.
Yes, the lake really was that blue. It was also, in mid-August at 10 AM, chilly enough to make a light jacket advisable. I then did a scenic drive around the lake heading south. After a drive through the tourist-trap town of Stateline, Nevada, I ended up at the Tallac Historical Site, a National Forest Service park at the southern tip of the lake. By then (early afternoon) the temps were up to the upper 70s, and I took this picture:
While at the beach, a local couple talked me into driving around Emerald Bay on the California side, then on to Tahoe City, where I could take the road to I-80 and an easier crossing. The man told me "Emerald Bay was the prettiest bay you'll ever see" and he was right, but I couldn't stop. Every legal parking spot (and many illegal ones) were occupied.
From thence I drove to Tahoe City, where the road follows the valley of the Truckee River into Truckee. The river then turns east and cuts the approaches to the Donner Pass as it flows downhill into Reno. I assume that the Donner party got lost just west of Truckee, as the pass to that point is rugged but fairly obvious.
All in all, a relaxing way to spend a day.
