World United States Nevada Lake Tahoe State Park

Colleen and Gerald Go Cross Country Crazy!

Lake Tahoe Jun 25, 2009

After leaving Wine Country we headed north to Sacramento to visit Gerald's old air force base during Vietnam where he learned to fly the Constellation! Becoming inactive during the 1990's, the base today is California's Air and Space Museum. Although not that large, this place had some really interesting airplanes parked out back - EC121 (the Constellation, Gerald's plane), C119 Cargo Plane, F4 Figher Jet, F104, and A1E (a prop job that saved many lives during the Vietnam War). However, between a sudden allergy attack on my part and the 90+ weather, we stayed only briefly.

On our way to Lake Tahoe we stopped at the famed Poor Reds for some BBQ and Golden Cadillacs. However, the broiler was broken!!! We settled for a steak sandwich (the only thing on the menu) and hit the road dreaming of ribs.

The next few hours, in and out of a zrytec instated sleep, I watched the beauty of the Sierre Nevada fly by as we drove on some windy road to reach Lake Tahoe. This drive was gorgeous - it was like seeing a coloring book come to life. The trees were the deepest greens, the sky was the purest blue, and the clouds were fluffy and perfectly white. Then, we reached the Lake.

Lake Tahoe has to be the most beautiful place in the United States. As the second largest Alpine lake, this is the purest body of water its size in the entire world - 99% clean! At an average depth of 1000 feet and temperature of 39 degrees, Lake Tahoe is the clearest water I have ever seen and most certainly the most beautiful blue. Completely surrounded by snow-capped Sierra Nevada mountains, the Lake's natural beauty is surreal.

After sitting on the beach for a while, marveling at our view, we hit the Harvey's Casino floor and won $ 4.00 on a penny machine. We spent it on a churro. Divided in half by California and Nevada, the Nevada's side is lined with massive casinos - and we enjoyed our stay at one right on the state line.

Thursday, we spent the early afternoon on the MS Dixie II, a large paddleboat that gave us a 3 hours tour of the lake with a stop at Emerald Bay. Emerald Bay is on the West side of Tahoe and is named so because of its water - due to the clarity of the water, the prism affect of the sun results in a green color in this depth of the Lake. A man named "Mr. Tahoe" told (and sometimes sang) stories about the Lake and its famous inhabitants. After this amazing ride and with bright sunny skies we went to the beach and spent the rest of the afternoon sunbathing! That is until some European family let their young son wander the beach naked...it was awkward so we went back to Harvey's for a buffet haha.

After winning 5 more dollars on a penny machine and Gerald drinking a free beer, it was time for bed!