July 10, 2011

Day #3

We woke up early, fixed coffee and a light breakfast, and then began breaking camp.

This beautiful campsite has been our "home" for two days; sorry to leave it.

After leaving camp, we drove to the Rubicon trailhead for a 1.7 mile hike to Eagle Falls and Vikingsholm Castle.

The hike provided some beautiful views of Emerald Bay.

Here are 2 photos Eagle Falls.

Vikingsholm Castle

Mrs. Lora Knight of Santa Barbara purchased this site at the head of Emerald Bay in 1928 and asked a Swedish-born architect and relative to "design a home without disturbing any of the trees" on the property and they decided to "reproduce a Norse fortress of about 800 A.D."

The castle was completed in 1929.

The hike back was a bit more strenuous, uphill most of way, and the temperature much warmer, but the scenery was spectacular.

Osprey (fish-eating hawks) nest in the top of dead trees along the shore so they can see better the fish before diving into the water. The birds have dark brown feathers with white underbellies.

We ended our hike about 1:30 p.m. and stopped at Subway in South Lake Tahoe for a quick lunch before heading home.

The weather was hot for our return drive, but we took turns driving, which made it bearable.

Got to San Francisco about 6:00 p.m.  A very fun camping trip it was.

July 9, 2011

Day #2

Breakfast at the campsite consisted of

coffee in a metal bowl and lettuce, sausage, and egg wrap (yum!)

)

It was a perfect day for a boat ride on Lake Tahoe

on the Tahoe Queen Paddlewheel Boat.

The liesurely 2-hour cruise leaves from Ski Run Marina in South Lake Tahoe and travels west along the southern coast of Lake Tahoe to Emerald Bay and back. The scenery is spectacular.

Vikingsholm Castle

It was built in 1929 and is a replica of an 800 A.D. Scandinavian castle.

Fannette Island

This is the only island in Lake Tahoe. It is "sparsely wooded and the brush-covered upthrust of granite rises 150 feet above the water." The stone structure on top of the island is a tea house built in 1929 by Mrs. Knight, who built Vikingsholm Castle.

Eagle Point Beach where we hiked yesterday.

M.S. Dixie II, the sister paddlewheel boat on Lake Tahoe

Here's Doug shopping for souvenirs after the boat ride.

David had prepared lunch earlier in the day, so we found a beautiful spot to eat.

Here are 3 views from our picnic area along the southwest side of Lake Tahoe.

We had dinner at Orchid's Thai in South Lake Tahoe.

The first of 3 dishes

We returned to our campsite, built a campfire, and relaxed and chatted before going to sleep.

The campground was much quieter tonight.

Fun day!

July 8, 2011

LAKE TAHOE TRIP

San Francisco to South Lake Tahoe

Day #1

David, Doug and I left on a 3-day hiking and camping trip today to Lake Tahoe, California.

We consolidated our camping gear into Doug's car and left San Francisco about 10:00 a.m.

Starbuck's provided us with coffee and breakfast for the trip.

We stopped in Sacramento for a good lunch at Jack's Urban Eats before heading on to Tahoe.

We arrived at our campsite at the Eagle Point Campgound in Emerald Bay State Park about 4:00 p.m. and set up camp.

Our campsite (#84) is a large beautiful site next to the hiking trail to the beach area.

We unloaded the car, pitched our tents, and put our food in the bear box.

Doug pitched his tent in a nice, comfortable shady spot.

David and I, being adventurous, pitched our tent next to the bear box!

We then rested while we contemplated our plans for evening.

A short hike to the beach area was invigorating and relaxing.

 David and Doug could not resist the water.

We decided to drive north along the lake to find a restaurant and the scenery was absolutely spectacular.

We drove to Tahoe City and had pizza and beer on the patio of Lakeside Sports Bar overlooking the lake and then drove back to our campsite, arriving about 10:00 p.m. We decided to retire early, but some campers decided to party until after midnight.

About 2:00 a.m. a bear visited a nearby campsite and caused quite a disturbance. Campers were honking horns and yelling for a short time, but eventually we had a peaceful night.