Lake Tahoe!

Today didn't end up going anything like I had anticipated...in the most wonderful of ways!  Yesterday after I dropped Steve off at work I did a little shopping in El Dorado Hills (all walking distance from our hotel) and had a nice nap, but no real adventures.

 

Today I had planned to venture a little further out (like 20 minutes), but then when I got back to the hotel around 8:30 this morning after dropping Steve off, I happened to stumble upon a travel brochure listing things to do...including Lake Tahoe!  I had no CLUE we were anywhere close to Lake Tahoe, but I pulled it up on the computer, discovered we were only about an hour and 20 minutes from there, and so I headed out! 

 

It was great ~ I felt like I was reclaiming that part of me that used to get up and go, that loved seeking out adventures, etc.,...but that's usually buried in responsibilities and family stuff these days.  It was good in a refresh-the-soul kind of way :)

 

So here goes...my day in pictures!  Here's a random place I stopped by the side of the road :)  Steve and I were so NOT impressed with the landscape on the drive from San Francisco to El Dorado Hills, that I had to get out and get proof once things improved!

 

And presto!  An hour and 20 minutes later, here I was!  On the shore of Lake Tahoe!

 

The stuff I'd read about in the travel lit was actually at Fallen Leaf Lake, not at Tahoe, so I drove another mile up the road and headed off the beaten path.  After trail #1 was closed due to logging :(, I got directions to a meadow that supposedly had a path through it that would lead up through the woods and to the edge of the lake.

 

But someone beat me there.  Mr. Coyote.  So here's the text conversation with my friend Jenn, who is the expert on all things outdoors:

Me:  So you coyotes attack people?...I seem to have found myself in Lake Tahoe but he"s right at the trail head!

Jenn:  No, he will run from you.  They go after rodents...they are big chickens.

Me:  I knew you'd know.  Thanks!

 

So off I went...with the coyote staring me down all the way across the meadow...

 

But once I crested the hill...WOW!  Totally worth the coyote scare :)  Fallen Leaf Lake

 

And the walk back from the lake to the car...

 

I love this pic!  There were just some of the coolest trees ~ so different than NC!

 

After I finished at the lake, I headed down to the Taylor Creek Watershed and wondered what on earth all the people were doing!  There were more people in the parking lot than I'd seen on the entire drive up!  Turns out the salmon were spawning...and boy was it a cool sight!  Apparently salmon mate...and then promptly round the next bend and croak.  Too bad I started downstream and wondered why on earth the stream was full of dead fish!  Luckily I joined a school group and got the full explanation (and headed up a bend and saw this): 

I've never seen anything like it.  Very cool :)  Except for the dead fish part.  Could have done without that.

 

Also, the trees everywhere were HUGE, so I guess huge trees make huge pinecones :)  I brought three back, but verdict is still out on whether or not they'll make the trip all the way back to NC.  Will see how the luggage goes :)

 

I finally made my way down to the beach and sank down in the sand.  Totally unexpected but totally fun!  Unfortunately storm clouds started rolling in and I was afraid I'd get drenched, so I didn't stick around too long, but it was still a really neat experience.  Not at all what I could have guessed my day would look like.  Love that :)

 

Tomorrow Steve finally gets some time off, so we get to set out together!

 

Oh, and one last picture...just because ;)