Great fun at Lake Tahoe then on to Reno, NV

We were so busy with Evey and Eric at Lake Tahoe that I never took the time to write a blog.  We had such a marvelous time.  I posted a lot of pictures every day on Facebook, but for those who read this blog and are not on Facebook, I will post some pictures here today.

The first full day we did some shopping at Safeway and then took the paddlewheeler M. S. Dixie II across the lake to Emerald Bay and back.  We also hiked to Fallen Leaf Lake, which was pretty exciting.  Thursday we rode the gondola up Heavenly Mountain and then all the way to the top on the chairlift.  That was our first time on a chairlift!  I actually got altitude sickness up there.  It was about 9600 feet elevation, and it made me feel queasy, out of breath, and dizzy.  Weird.  We enjoyed the views and then went back down to lake level, only 6000 feet.  After lunch, we circumnavigated the entire lake, about 73 miles around, and took a side trip up to Donner Pass.

It was two very busy days.  This morning we had a big breakfast out at Heidi's and said good bye to Evey and Eric.  They drove home, and we went to the Tahoe Visitor Center, the Lake Tahoe History Museum, and the Taylor Creek Visitor Center, part of the National Forest at Lake Tahoe Basin, for a passport stamp.  We had a great lunch at Sprouts, a vegetarian/vegan restaurant, and then drove to Reno to check in to the Grand Sierra Resort.  The NARFE convention will begin on Sunday.

Pictures from Wednesday:

Lunch at the Boathouse 

Two hour boat ride

Heading into Emerald Bay, a little cul de sac off the lake.

Fannette Island, the only island in Lake Tahoe.  That's the crumbling ruins of a  Tea House that was built up there by a rich lady who had a huge mansion along the shore line of the bay.

Enjoying cocktails on board.

Gorgeous views

Then to Fallen Leaf Lake

Pictures from Thursday

In the gondola up Heavenly Mountain

View as we ascended in the gondola

The gondola first stops about two-thirds of the way up for great views.

There's a Starbucks there.

We took the gondola to its final stop, and then we rode the chairlift to the summit.

At the peak of Heavenly with Lake Tahoe in the background. Unfortunately, I got altitude sickness here, so we hurried on back down to lake level.

Going back down

View of Emerald Bay and Fannette Island in the center of it, the only island in Lake Tahoe.This was a great scenic overlook, but we didn't stay long because it was infested with yellow jackets.

Mark and Eric in the Donner Pass Visitor Center

Monument to all the pioneers.  It's on the site of the cabins the Donner party built to try to survive the winter.

Taking a trail to the next monument

Monument and part of a wall of one of the other cabins.  The plaque lists the names of all the Donner party, those who survived and those who didn't.

Continuing around the lake.

The Nevada side of the lake

Stopping at a mother scenic overlook

Pictures from Friday

Saying good bye until November

We watched a video narrated by Leonard Nimoy, who lived on the north shore of Lake Tahoe.

Getting another National Park passport stamp

Dinner venue in Reno