Ladies, for all of you still dreaming about your ideal Gino in gold chains and V-neck t-shirts padded thick with chest hair... For my girls who pine over Bieber-ish pipsqueaks in flipped-up baseball caps and pants hanging down to there, or who fantasize about riding in a pimped-out Honda with gold-toothed Snoop-Dogg wannabes... Have I got the place for you! (And boys, lots of fake boobs, fake platinum blondes and orange tans drunkenly showing off their underwear here!)
Oh, I'm kidding. (Nope. I'm not.) Woohoo, it's the Fourth of July in Lake Tahoe!
I don't think I've ever traveled anywhere that was at once so immensely beautiful and so appalling.
Despite my kidding around (I'm really not, though), Lake Tahoe is worth all the teeth-gritting traffic it can throw at you. As these photos will show you, it's a stunning area in which to find oneself. Put frankly, it's beautiful. The water is so incredibly blue; it's as though God had too much Windex on his hands and dumped it all here.
Despite my kidding around (I'm really not, though), Lake Tahoe is worth all the teeth-gritting traffic it can throw at you. As these photos will show you, it's a stunning area in which to find oneself. Put frankly, it's beautiful. The water is so incredibly blue; it's as though God had too much Windex on his hands and dumped it all here.
Emerald Bay, one of Lake Tahoe's more natural assets.
Lake Tahoe is the USA's second-deepest lake and one of its highest-elevated as well. And it's huge: you could spend a good 4 hours driving around its cliff-hugging roads. It is rimmed on all sides by beautifully lush, green mountains (which in the winter provide hundreds of acres of skiing in over a dozen resorts) and has plenty of pristine, sandy beaches to satisfy its summer visitors.
My first day was spent running away from the crowds, hiking one of Maggie's Peaks.
Granite Lake
Beautiful day, in the end.
View of Lake Tahoe, Granite Lake and Cascade Lake from summit of Maggie's Peaks.
Hike #2 for today, Cascade Lake.
I know it looks like a tan, but it all washed off... Pure dirt.
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One possible reason for all the ''cheese'' around here: The eastern half of Lake Tahoe lies in the state of Nevada. Their busy but frustration-free half (thanks to a 4-lane highway) caters to all the gambling, strip poles and neon needs that one could possibly have, although aficionados would agree that it certainly doesn't hold a candle to Vegas.
The Californian half of the lake, however, is much busier and is unfortunately serviced by a narrow, two-laned road that is hopelessly choked with traffic on its best days. When I arrived on July 4th, it took me 3 hours to drive 11 miles - I was fit to be tied! I do realize I was here at a busy time, but I had to go somewhere: it was either Lake Tahoe or Yosemite -- I chose the former.
Driving on the Nevada side of things.
Eager to avoid the crowds, Day Two was also spent on the hiking trails. And why not? There are so many trails in this area --like Winnemuca Lake, my chosen path for today.
The wildflowers are out!
You can see the difference between the lakes here; the glacier-fed ones are bright turquoise, like the one pictured here.
Winnemuca Lake. This was my intended stop, but I'll keep going. It's just too beautiful to turn back.
Can't believe the colors when the sun comes out (albeit, this one was taken with my camera's ''Vivid'' setting).
Round Top Lake, inside a glacier-formed moraine. My friends from the Rockies will recognize the topography; I felt like I was hiking back home.
Woods Lake in the distance.
Fourth of July Lake, not glacier-fed and a beautiful, deep blue. This is where I turn around; I'm getting hungry and I've run out of water.
That was the whole of my two days in Lake Tahoe. Short and sweet. Take my advice and go there; just don't go there on Independence Day.
Wishing everyone love and happiness,
xx
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