Tahoe 2022 – Week 5

August 16, 2022

Last week’s post is late because our week was super full and busy. The regular gang arrived on Friday fully prepared for more conversation, great grilled food, games and activities. We believe that Makai is starting to consider the cabin his second home for the summer and he had a wonderful time playing in the yard with his animal toys and chasing squirrels. He also enjoyed the drama of a sword fight with Kyle and Miller while the ladies cheered.

Week5-1x — The weekend began on Friday night with the usual happy gang all present (Kyle took the picture).

Week5-2 — Makai’s favorite game of sword fighting with sticks in the yard.

Paula, Tom, Glenny and Kyle had booked a clear kayak adventure tour on Saturday, so Makai and his family had the cabin to themselves while we drove to Tahoe Keys resort. We boarded a big boat which took us, 16 other folks, and a dozen kayaks to a calm cove where the boat’s crew launched the kayaks. We boarded them and paddled around, able to see many feet to the rocky bottom as our guide tutored us about Lake Tahoe’s history, ecosystem, and character. For instance, the lake water, which is derived solely from snowmelt, provides the drinking water for the entire surrounding communities with minimal filtering, as it is naturally 99.4% pure.

Week5-3 — All prepared for the guided kayaking tour on Saturday.

Week5-4 — Glennis and Kyle in their clear kayak. In the background to the left is the “mother ship” that transported us and all the kayaks to one of the best spots on the lake.

Week5-5 — A good view of all four of us in the crystal-clear lake water.

After dinner, we all joined a rousing game of craps, with Kyle and Miller as croupiers. Paula had a surprising win after betting wildly. Lots of laughter.

Week5-6 — Our entertainment that night was a craps tournament on the dinning room table. Note the improvised dice bumper at the end of the table. Yep – those are rolls of toilet paper.

Sunday is always a bit sad, as our guests take leave to return to week of work in Folsom. This is mitigated by the knowledge that everyone will be back on Friday.

To keep busy, Tom and Paula ran, cooked, and tried out the Van Sickle Trail. Although not highly technical, it did have some challenging areas. We traveled uphill for two miles, and in that distance gained 1000 feet of altitude. A bit of an aerobic work-out, as least for Paula! The two-mile return was all downhill, which was nice. The trail changed character several times: partly sandy, then rocky and more technical, and then wooded and darker, with interlacing overhead bows and a soft pine needle trail floor. There was a small but beautiful waterfall about halfway up.

Week5-7 — Our featured hike this week was on the Van Sickle trail.

Week5-10 — Can’t get enough of the stunning views from these trails.

Week5-11 — This trail involved the most amount of climbing we’ve done so far. 1000 feet of elevation gain in the first 2 miles of the hike.

Week5-12 — Got to see a small but nice waterfall along the way.

Week5-13 — Some parts of this trail were a little technical, but we had good footing most of the way.

Week5-15 — It was much easier on the way down.

Week5-16 — While most of the trail was exposed, there were some parts that were tree covered and provided nice shade.

On Thursday we cleaned the cabin spic and span, as on Friday, in addition to our usual crew, we were to have Kyle’s parents Laura and Dick join us for the weekend. We were all looking forward to a planned rafting trip down the Truckee River. We thought that would be the big event of the weekend BUT it was upstaged. Friday night Kyle took Glenny for a walk along the lake to a pretty park and they returned ENGAGED!

Lake Tahoe

Tahoe 2022 – Week 5

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