Lake Tahoe was named "big water" by the Washoe
Indians. The lake is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide, and holds
enough water to cover the entire state of California to a depth
of 14 inches. Its average depth is 989 feet; the deepest point is
1645 feet, making Tahoe the 3rd deepest lake in North America.
Our original plan was going there on Feb.19, but my brother had
some visa problem (it's a long story) and their schedule was
delayed by a week. So we also changed the schedule by delaying
one day.
Getting there ...
I rented a minivan to
accommodate my family (my parents, my brother and my nephew Gugu,
Clare, Linus, and myself). We were supposed to get the van by
9:00 in the morning, but when I went there to pick up the car, I
was told the car had an accident and they had to get another car
from another site. After I got the van, I also went to get snow
chains becuase the forcast didn't look too good. It was already
past 11:00AM when we were finally ready to go.
It was a fairly smooth drive although it was cloudy, and raining,
and finally snowing on the way. For us growing up in Taiwan, it
is a very exciting experience to drive in snow. I-80 remained
clear and open, and we were happy that we didn't have to use the
snow chains. Until almost reaching Lake Tahoe (near Northstar),
we were stopped to put the chains on (it was also a long story!).
After struggle with the chain for more than half an hour, we
finally resumed our journey and arrived at our destination
Incline Village around 6:30PM. We stayed in a vacation home with
3 bedrooms and a game room with a pool table. Believe it or not,
it's the first time my father ever played at billiards!
The Second Day ...
- As usual, I got up early and walked out alone in
the morning. There was a snowstorm last night and
it was covered by a foot of snow everywhere. I
walked to the beach and there was only my
footprints left on the fresh snow. It was still
cloudy, windy, and mixed with snow flakes. This
is my first time to take pictures in snow since
I've been serious about photography, and I
realized how difficult it is to setup and operate
the equipment with gloves in the cold weather.
Although I didn't get any golden early morning
light because of the weather, I was satisfied
with the experience of walking on the fresh and
soft snow especially when I found the snow on the
road had been all cleaned up after I walked back
to our lodge.
|
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- Incline Beach - Zephyr Cove - South Lake Tahoe
 |
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We drove along the lake shore
and stopped at a few places to play snow.
However, it was still snowing and was too cold
for us to stay outdoors for too long, so we ended
up in casino to have buffet in South Lake Tahoe. |
- Heavenly Ski Resort
Although we didn't plan to ski, we went to Heavenly and
took its tram ride up to the summit. The sky has been
clear up, and the panoramic view of the lake is
beautiful. I wish I could have stayed there till after
sunset.
The Last Day ...
- Kings Beach
We went to the King Beach after we checked out. The
weather was good, and we even felt hot when we played
snow on the beach. We made a snowman on the beach, and we
did enjoy playing snow very much.
Going Home ...
- Jelly belly
 |
On our way back home, we stopped
by a candy factory, Jelly Belly,
in Fairfield. They offer free guided factory tour
to look around their production line. We also got
free Jelly Belly beans for souvenir. |
[Back to Photo Page] [Go to Lake Tahoe Gallery]
I rented a minivan to
accommodate my family (my parents, my brother and my nephew Gugu,
Clare, Linus, and myself). We were supposed to get the van by
9:00 in the morning, but when I went there to pick up the car, I
was told the car had an accident and they had to get another car
from another site. After I got the van, I also went to get snow
chains becuase the forcast didn't look too good. It was already
past 11:00AM when we were finally ready to go.
