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July 29, 2005
Scenic Flight Over Lake Tahoe
Today was an amazing day. A friend and I were treated to a scenic flight with Advantage Flight Solutions in a Cessna Turbo 206 plane over Reno and Lake Tahoe. Our pilot was Jon McNamara, who not only was an excellent pilot from my judgement (flight was smoother than most commercial airlines!), but he was very knowledgable on the area geography and sites.
We took off heading South from the Reno-Tahoe International Airport, and we then headed towards Mt. Rose, where we could clearly see the ski runs, including my favorite -- the Chutes! We then popped over the rim into the Lake Tahoe basin, where we flew South via the East Shore, curved around over South Shore, and then headed back via the West Shore, then north of Lake Tahoe into the mountains and over the Truckee River, and back into Reno.
The views were so incredible... It's really hard to put it into words. Let me tell you, if you want to see some of the most beautiful geography in the world, you really need to take this tour! I was amazed at how much more you could see in a small aircraft versus a commercial plane. You can get so much closer to the mountains and the lake that you can really make out the details of what you're looking at.
I just can't say enough positive things about this experience. Hence, if a picture says 1000 words, view this slide show for an entire novel's worth of descriptions of how beautiful Reno-Tahoe is!
If you don't want to view the entire show, here are a couple of pics:
Posted by AdventureGrrl at 12:12 PM | Comments (0)
July 27, 2005
Hiking to Marlette Lake
On Sunday, the hubby and I decided that we wanted to hike to a lake. In the Sierras, the only problem with that plan is choosing what hiking trail and which lake you want to go to.
We settled on a hike to Marlette Lake, the second largest alpine lake in the Sierras. (Side note: during a complete brain lapse, the hubby asked, "what is the largest alpine lake in the Sierras?" Well, duh, that would be LAKE TAHOE!)
Anyway, we packed up all three of our dogs and drove to the trail head at Spooner Lake off of Highway 50. We parked at Spooner, and then began the 5 mile hike to Marlette Lake.
The trail was really wide and sandy, making for a nice hiking surface. It was easy rolling hills for about 4 miles, but let me tell you, that fifth mile was a pretty challenging hill! By the time we made it to the lake, it was around 5:00 pm, and I was hot and ready for a dip in Marlette Lake.
I hadn't seen anyone on the trail for quite a while, and since the only way to reach Marlette Lake is via hiking or mountain biking, there was no one there.
Or so I thought.
I had brought my swim suit, but in a truly Adventurous moment, I decided that I was going to be one with nature and go au natural.
As I was standing on the shore of the lake, baring my lily white body to the wilderness, the hubby asks, "What are you doing?!"
"I'm skinny dipping!" I proudly proclaimed.
"Didn't you see those people over there?" he asked. He has a history of yanking my leg, so I didn't believe him until I looked over my shoulder and saw a man and his son rounding the corner.
Let me tell you, I have NEVER gotten in a lake as fast as I did that day, since the water was the quickest way for me to regain my modesty.
We swam around for a while with our labs, and luckily, there were no other people around when it was time for me to get out and change back into my hiking apparal.
It was a ten mile hike round trip, and the entire outing took about four hours. I highly recommend the hike to Marlette Lake. Just take it from me -- skinny dipping is not advised!
Pictures from our outing (and no, there aren't any of me skinny dipping!) are below.
Me and the dogs at the start of our hike:
This is Marlette Lake:
This is me after the skinny dipping fiasco:
This is the hubby playing with our dog, Tucker in the lake:
And this is the sunset we saw on the drive home:
Posted by AdventureGrrl at 04:09 PM | Comments (1)
Life's A Beach
This past Saturday, the hubby and I packed a picnic lunch and headed to Nevada Beach for a bit of R&R. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, and we lazed away about 6 hours swimming, napping on the beach, and enjoying the atmosphere of Lake Tahoe.
At around 7:00, we decided that it was time for dinner. After a quick outfit change in the truck, we were off to Cabo Wabo in Harvey's Lake Tahoe. Cabo Wabo's is Sammy Hagar's bar, and it has a really fun and lively atmosphere. After dinner, we then headed to the Hard Rock Cafe, also in Harvey's, and danced to the tunes of the house band, Cool Black Kettle. We then headed back to Cabo Wabos for a bit more dancing before we finally declared the night over.
Here are a few shots from our Saturday outing. Sorry, but I forgot the camera in the truck when we went out that evening!
A few scenic shots of Nevada Beach:
This is me relaxing under our beach umbrella:
And here is a pic of my hubby enjoying the beach:
This is me being artistic:
While we were hanging out on the beach, all of a sudden people started gathering, and next thing we knew, we were about 20 feet away from a beach wedding! Here are a few shots I snuck of the ceremony (hubby thought I was crazy for taking pictures of a stranger's wedding, but I thought you all would enjoy them!)
Posted by AdventureGrrl at 03:59 PM | Comments (0)
July 18, 2005
Golfing Reno-Tahoe
This is a guest entry from an avid golfer.
Golf, Golf, Golf. That is what I love about the summer. One of the reasons I enjoy living in Reno-Tahoe is all the beautiful golf courses tucked into the georgous vegetation of our region.
During the Fourth of July, we played golf at the Red Hawk's Lakes Course. This challenging course is wrapped around a set of hills that have been untouched by developers. You feel as if you are far awary from the downtown glitz that Reno is known for.
Posted by AdventureGrrl at 04:26 PM | Comments (0)
July 05, 2005
Learning to Wakeboard at Lahontan
Here is another guest entry from Jess.
Having spent the entire day before the 4th of July at Lake Tahoe, my husband and I were planning on staying home, but when my husband’s cousin called in the morning and invited us out to Lahontan Reservoir on his boat to wakeboard, we couldn’t pass it up. I had never been to Lahontan and my husband hadn’t been in years, so with that, coupled with the prospect of learning to wakeboard, we were out the door. Lahontan is located where US highway 50 and US highway 95 meet in Silver Springs, not even an hour from Reno. Because of the vast amount of desert that we had to drive through to get to the lake, seeing the blue water pop out of the sand was truly a sight. I had no idea the lake was so big. It is really curvy, so I didn’t think it is very large, but once I was out there, I realized how much room to roam there really is.
My husband and I were picked up at the dock and immediately we sped off to go wakeboarding. The water was really nice - it felt great on such a hot day. My husband was able to get up on his first try and by the end of the day he even tried doing a few tricks. However, I was a different story. After about 5 tries, I still couldn’t get up. So, I took a break and after everyone else had another turn I tried again. Finally, I got up and rode the wake! It was incredible – such a feeling of freedom and power. I didn’t want to stop, but after spending hours out on the lake we headed home. While I had a great day and I can’t wait to go again, I am so sore – wakeboarding uses muscles I didn’t even know I had!
Posted by AdventureGrrl at 04:45 PM | Comments (1)
A Tahoe 4th of July
Here is a guest entry from Jess.
The day before the 4th of July, my husband, his family and I went to Skylandia, a beach & park near Tahoe City. Our 1-year wedding anniversary is July 9th and we had our rehearsal dinner at Skylandia, so we thought it would be a great spot to spend the day.
The water and sky were both so blue that had it not been for the beautiful band of the snow capped mountains that separate the two, I would not have been able to tell where one ended and the other began. We spent the whole day playing on the sandy beach, swinging our feet at the end of the dock and floating in the water. After all the countless times I have been to Tahoe, I still can’t believe how clear the water is - it always makes me feel like I am in Hawaii or the Caribbean. As the day slowly became evening, we cleaned up and headed to dinner at the Bridgetender - great bar and grill located in Tahoe City where the lake empties into the Truckee River. They have a really neat outdoor seating area on the river, so we all enjoyed dinner and drinks before we headed to Kings Beach to watch the fireworks.
I must say that out of all the fireworks in all of the different cities I have enjoyed, I have never seen a finale as awesome as the one at Kings Beach. The sky looked like a waterfall of lights. The crowd roared and when the last light flickered out, the usually dark water was lit with hundreds of boat lights, making it look like an entire city.
It was the perfect summer day! See for yourself!
Here I am with my dog, Kona on the beach of Lake Tahoe.
This is my mother-in-law and sister-in-law soaking up the rays on a pier.
This is my husband's little cousin preparing to kayak on the Lake.
Even Kona enjoyed the crystal clear waters of Lake Tahoe!
Posted by AdventureGrrl at 04:31 PM | Comments (0)
July 03, 2005
Riding Near Stampede
Here is another guest entry from a dirt bike rider.
Today we tried to get out and get on our dirt bikes as early as possible, as it was going to be a hot day. After a short drive to Verdi, we parked at the base of the dirt road heading up through Toiyabe National Forest. It's basically a dirt road that we took down through the valley at the bottom of Crystal Mountain where there were lots of campers and off-roaders. We couldn't figure out which trail to take to get to the top of Crystal Mountain but we found Crystal Mine. Not much to look at there so we headed up towards Stampede Reservoir.
The ride was mellow and nice which was good for checking out all of the beautiful wild flowers that are in bloom. There are tall purple ones, bright yellow ones, bushy red ones and delicate white ones - it's so beautiful right now. Stampede Reservoir was alive with boaters, campers and people fishing. We stopped and ate lunch on the shore under a shade tree and took it all in. I loved that there were no houses or paved roads anywhere to be seen.
After lunch we headed up towards Verdi Peak, which was a smooth road for most of the way but turned rocky and a little narrow toward the top. By the time we reached the summit at 8,000 feet, I was pretty worn out but we climbed the stairs to the fire lookout and it was all worth it. Out one way I could see all of Reno and beyond, the other way was I-80 running alongside the Truckee River curving through the mountains and back up towards Lake Tahoe. Being that high up and seeing that much is an amazing feeling that's hard to duplicate.
Posted by AdventureGrrl at 04:29 PM | Comments (0)