Our goal was to drive around Lake Tahoe, find lots of caches and maybe dip our toes in the cold waters of the Lake. Actually. only Addison really wanted to take the dip, but the rest of us planned to be there to record the event.
We started early, but after stopping at a couple of local caches, we were a little later than expected so we got home a little later than expected. We also stopped at a couple of caches along the route. One of them was at a Vista point overlooking Donner Lake. It was a gorgeous day and the view was spectacular. Hopefully, Lake Tahoe would be even better. We almost missed Lake Tahoe, though, as Grandee was busy working on this and Grandpa missed the turn off. Good thing Grandee noticed before we had gone to far astray, so we took the next exit and headed back the way we came to the correct exit.
Traffic was light today. We kept our fingers and toes crossed that it would be easy driving around the lake.
The drive around Tahoe was truly gorgeous. The crowds were small and the weather was beautiful. We stopped various places along the way. We learned a lot about the lake and the Truckee River. We didn’t have all the answers at hand, but we either read signs or looked up the info on the internet when we got home. The grandkids were impressed that we traveled in two states as we drove around the lake.
Lunch was an interesting experience. We wanted to find a Starbucks and we knew there was one somewhere around the north end of the lake. We made a couple of round trips trying to locate it. We finally gave up and some of us ate at Taco Bell in Kings Beach. We learned from someone in Taco Bell that we had to go all the way to Incline village to find the Starbucks. When we got there we decided to stop and have a round of frappacinos.
We also found several virtual caches. These caches are usually objects or locations of importance. There is no physical cache to find and log. You just have to find this object or location and answer some questions about it. To log the cache you mail the answers to the owner. At one of the stops we learned that Lake Tahoe was once known as Lake Bigler. At another we saw what is left of the old Bonanza TV location. The grandkids didn’t know what we were talking about until we sang the theme. Everyone knows the theme song for Bonanza!!!
We stopped at South Lake Tahoe for the required dip in the Lake. Addison was brave.
He charged right in without the traditional toe checking the water first. When it was time to leave, we had difficulty getting his attention. I think he was having too much fun and didn’t want to quit. Kendriana sat on the beach and visited with some of the other tourists. Grandpa and I sat in the shade and watched. After we got Addison out of the water, Kendriana made one valiant effort and stuck both feet in the cold water. She came out faster than she went in. Addison refused to admit it was cold, but Kendriana agreed with us!
We accomplished our goal today and made it the entire way around Lake Tahoe. We found several caches along the way. Towards the end we had to bypass a couple. but we managed to find one on the west side, the north side, the east side, and the south side. We also stopped at the Emerald Bay overlook and took the required pictures to prove they were there.
The day ended at Pick-Up Stix for Chinese food and Coldstone for dessert. We shouldn’t need anything to eat tomorrow once we have had breakfast. Breakfast will be here--yes, I am fixing breakfast. Not sure what time as everyone is looking forward to sleeping in!
By the way, did you know:
1. Lake Tahoe was originally named Lake Bigler after the third governor of California. It was renamed Lake Tahoe in 1862. Tahoe was the Indian name for the Lake.
2. Lake Tahoe has a clarity level of 67 feet--that’s how far down you can see before it gets murky.
3. Lake Tahoe is the highest lake of its size in the United States and the second deepest lake in the US.
4. The water temperature usually rises to 65º-70º in August and September
5. “Many streams flow into Lake Tahoe, but the lake is drained only by the Truckee River, which flows northeast through Reno and into Pyramid Lake in Nevada.”
