The summer has gone so fast and has been filled with so many activities and adventures. It’s hard to believe that this will be our last post from the cabin; the next will be from our road trip home.
Glenny & Kyle returned to Tahoe last Thursday (8/24), planning to stay till tonight. We are packing today and leave tomorrow (Thursday) morning, with the intent to drive to Las Vegas and spend the night there.
Last Friday, Glennis and Kyle worked from the cabin, with some breaks to scooter and enjoy the deck. Tom and Paula hiked the Becker Mountain Trail to the peak. Since we started two thirds of the way up the mountain, it was only about 900 feet to the top, but the terrain was challenging in that the trail was almost imperceptible about 80% of the time. We ended up slogging through lots of brush and rocks. Tommy downloaded a map from the AllTrails app on his phone that kept us from going astray. We saw one other person, a runner who we passed as we headed back down.
The views at the top were very special. We could see both the upper and lower portions of Echo Lake and could see Lake Tahoe in the distance (featured picture).
By the time we returned mid-afternoon Dacia, Miller and the kids had arrived. Miller and Kyle immediately set to work preparing, smoking and grilling pork-ribs and “burnt ends”—the latter being deliciously caramelized ends of brisket.
Saturday morning, we saw a juvenile (older than cub) bear in our neighbor’s yard, stripping and eating leaves off small trees in their backyard. They weren’t home, fortunately.
Kyle and Miller planned to attend a near-by beer festival in Ski Run. While they enjoyed beer samples from dozens of different breweries, soaked up sun and listened to live music. Tom, Makai and the ladies rented a “surrey” bike that four people can pedal, with a “Captain’s Seat” for Makai up front. We careened around the neighborhood, ringing the bell and giving our legs a workout.
As the bike return was right next to Lakeview Social, we sat down there and enjoyed some live music, beverages and fries. Kyle and Miller returned by scooter, nicely lubricated, and we all shared some chicken wings. That night we enjoyed pork tacos, with the meat again grilled and smoked by the guys.
Sunday went by very fast. First, we had an unexpected visit from the hot air balloon that takes tourists for a ride over the lake. An apparent miscalculation of the air currents carried the balloon directly over our cabin. It eventually made its way back over the lake by finding more favorable wind higher up.
We had Thai chicken wings for lunch, prepared in an amazing marinade by Glenny. After lunch, Dacia, Miller and children headed home, but not before one last group picture.
Monday Tom and Paula tried a short hike to Angora Lakes while Kyle and Glenny worked. The lakes were calm and beautiful and in a dramatic setting high up in the mountains. We found that there were cabins there that were rented during the summer, as well as a lunch/snack/souvenir shop. We split an order of lettuce-wrapped black bean tacos for lunch and inquired about the rentals. They were expensive: $2500 per week, with a waitlist one to three years long!
On Tuesday evening we went out to dinner with Glennis and Kyle to a small but very elegant local restaurant called “Evans”. We’ve made this place somewhat of a tradition for our last dinner out of the summer. As has been the case for each of the last three years, it was awesome.
On Wednesday morning, we had our traditional going away breakfast at Heidi’s Pancake House, a local favorite. The rest of this day was spent packing for our departure on Thursday morning. We did speak with our friends in Florida in the aftermath of Hurricane Idalia. Laurie rode out the storm aboard Lyons Pride and faired very well, and Mort in Lakeland said the wind and rain there than was no worse than the smaller seasonal storms they are used to. Our marina friends who’ve been keeping an eye on the boat for us reported that all is well with CGhost.
It’s been another fantastic summer and we are greatly looking forward to being here again next year.