Claire L
<font color=blue>Enjoys a good broadway show<br><f
- Joined
- Apr 13, 2002
- Messages
- 10,782
Friday June 23rd 2006
We woke around the usual time of 8.30am got dressed and headed for brekkie, the hotel was getting busier by the day. After feeling suitably refreshed we got a few things ready such as a light jumper and trousers, put them in the ruck sack and headed for the Heavenly Gondola.
It cost $24 each for the ride on the Gondola but as it takes you up 3000 feet we thought the price was good. We were advised tog et off at the observation deck on the way up as the views are great and it doesn't stop there on the way back down!! As it was so quite every party had a Gondola to themselves. So off we went.
We slowly made our way up and wow it did look steep. The higher we got the better the view of South Lake Tahoe.
It was amazing how well defined the State line was as just on the Nevada side there were the huge Casinos and Hotels but on the California side it was all quite low rise! Once at the Observation deck we realized how warm it still was even though there are plenty of warnings about how the temperature can suddenly change! We could now start to see the first bits of snow close up, but as it had been there for months and was now virtually compacted ice it was a very dirty colour from all the debris that had fallen on it.
We then carried on walking around the deck to admire the view of Lake Tahoe down below. It was quite amazing the size of the lake considering we had driven all the way round the previous day.
After about 15 minutes here we continued with our journey to the top of the mountain. Upon arrival we had a quick look at the map and decided to go off on one of the smaller hikes. Whilst applying some sun cream, boy was the sun hot, we saw quite a few well fed chipmunks
Off we went on the trails and it was easy to see that they were the ski runs in the winter and they were so wide and often shallow so were the easier runs. Some still had quite a bit of snow on them.
Whilst others were snow less with a lot of debris in them. In the winter there is on average 12 - 16 feet of snow so the debris is quickly covered.
Soon we were at the steep runs and it was amazing to see how they all interlinked with each other to give a good run down the mountainside and to other resorts such as The Ridge.
It was now approaching lunchtime so we slowly walked back to the Gondola for our ride back down the mountain. Once back we walked the block or so back to our hotel to off load the ruck sack and took a walk down to the beach. The beach is private but many hotels in that area have passes for guests to get entry. As it was a warm day the beach was busy, but the water was still an icy 60f or so
Feeling hungry we decided to get a bite to eat at the beachside restaurant, called The Lakeside Grill ,as it was 3pm, the plan was that we would then not need dinner and could come and watch the sunset. We both ordered cokes and I had the tuna melt on sourdough whilst Nathan had the burger. Both came with lovely crispy fries.
By now it was late afternoon and we needed to get some supplies such as beer, water, cookies and chips at Safeway. As soon as we got back to the room we put the beer into the sink with loads of ice to get it nicely chilled for later in the evening
Around 7.30pm we headed off to the beach with our blanket to sit on and watch the sunset. It was quite a popular evening activity as a lot of people started to arrive and sat on the beach or paddled in the water.
By about 8pm the sun was starting to dip and the colours on the mountains were gorgeous reds. Eventually the sun started to disappear down behind the mountains and the clouds reflected the light making a great sunset.
Once the sun had totally disappeared we headed back to our room for some beer along with chip and dip before planning our route for the following day.
Claire
We woke around the usual time of 8.30am got dressed and headed for brekkie, the hotel was getting busier by the day. After feeling suitably refreshed we got a few things ready such as a light jumper and trousers, put them in the ruck sack and headed for the Heavenly Gondola.
It cost $24 each for the ride on the Gondola but as it takes you up 3000 feet we thought the price was good. We were advised tog et off at the observation deck on the way up as the views are great and it doesn't stop there on the way back down!! As it was so quite every party had a Gondola to themselves. So off we went.
We slowly made our way up and wow it did look steep. The higher we got the better the view of South Lake Tahoe.
It was amazing how well defined the State line was as just on the Nevada side there were the huge Casinos and Hotels but on the California side it was all quite low rise! Once at the Observation deck we realized how warm it still was even though there are plenty of warnings about how the temperature can suddenly change! We could now start to see the first bits of snow close up, but as it had been there for months and was now virtually compacted ice it was a very dirty colour from all the debris that had fallen on it.
We then carried on walking around the deck to admire the view of Lake Tahoe down below. It was quite amazing the size of the lake considering we had driven all the way round the previous day.
After about 15 minutes here we continued with our journey to the top of the mountain. Upon arrival we had a quick look at the map and decided to go off on one of the smaller hikes. Whilst applying some sun cream, boy was the sun hot, we saw quite a few well fed chipmunks
Off we went on the trails and it was easy to see that they were the ski runs in the winter and they were so wide and often shallow so were the easier runs. Some still had quite a bit of snow on them.
Whilst others were snow less with a lot of debris in them. In the winter there is on average 12 - 16 feet of snow so the debris is quickly covered.
Soon we were at the steep runs and it was amazing to see how they all interlinked with each other to give a good run down the mountainside and to other resorts such as The Ridge.
It was now approaching lunchtime so we slowly walked back to the Gondola for our ride back down the mountain. Once back we walked the block or so back to our hotel to off load the ruck sack and took a walk down to the beach. The beach is private but many hotels in that area have passes for guests to get entry. As it was a warm day the beach was busy, but the water was still an icy 60f or so
Feeling hungry we decided to get a bite to eat at the beachside restaurant, called The Lakeside Grill ,as it was 3pm, the plan was that we would then not need dinner and could come and watch the sunset. We both ordered cokes and I had the tuna melt on sourdough whilst Nathan had the burger. Both came with lovely crispy fries.
By now it was late afternoon and we needed to get some supplies such as beer, water, cookies and chips at Safeway. As soon as we got back to the room we put the beer into the sink with loads of ice to get it nicely chilled for later in the evening
Around 7.30pm we headed off to the beach with our blanket to sit on and watch the sunset. It was quite a popular evening activity as a lot of people started to arrive and sat on the beach or paddled in the water.
By about 8pm the sun was starting to dip and the colours on the mountains were gorgeous reds. Eventually the sun started to disappear down behind the mountains and the clouds reflected the light making a great sunset.
Once the sun had totally disappeared we headed back to our room for some beer along with chip and dip before planning our route for the following day.
Claire
