Lake Tahoe (5/8/2005)

We are staying at Zephyr Cove Resort about 4 miles on the Nevada side of State Line on Lake Tahoe. The resort had signs about bears, locked storage cabinets, and locked garbage areas with locks designed to specifically fit human hands. We thought it was over kill, but a 600-800 lb bear visited the resort on the second night we were here. We did not see him but the caretaker had to chase him away from one of the garbage areas. This visit has brought back memories of when we lived in San Francisco and came up here to ski. One time when we were here I burned a cross hatch on my butt trying to get warm when I leaned a little too close to the heater. Lake Tahoe was gauged out by glacier so the east and west sides are very fjord-like and steep, while the north and south ends have some shallower places (some with beaches) and more development. The south end has Stateline with casinos but is mostly in California. It has lots of houses with some very fancy shopping areas. The north end has Incline Village and some very ritzy houses.
Monday we drove in from Mina, got set up in our site, and walked around the resort. The resort includes a beach, beach front cabins, a lodge and gift shop, RV sites, and drive-in and walk-in camp sites.
Tuesday we took the Dixie II (a paddle wheeler) on a tour of Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay. It was a beautiful sunny warm day on the water.
Wednesday we drove to Reno to see our niece Christine and her husband Daryl. We spent the afternoon getting caught up with them. Later we all went out to dinner at a place with a view of the city.
Thursday We drove into State Line and I spent the afternoon in an awesome quilt fabric store ‘Quilt-Tahoe‘, while Rich visited the casinos. This small shop definitely reflects the eye of the owner and I really liked her eye for color. The owners also do long arm quilting. A very cool space.
Friday We drove to Emerald Bay and to fallen leaf campground where Rich remembered camping some 40 years ago.
Saturday we drove to the north side of the lake and out to Mount Rose and on to Carson City. This lake is so beautiful and clear. We took a picture of a Caribbean reef (a little colder, not coral, and no brightly colored fish). There was lots of snow at the summit of Mount Rose, even some new snow but the driving conditions were ‘bare and dry‘. Carson City is 15 miles long and ¼ mile wide but we got some ‘capitol views‘. (see pictures below)