After leaving Scotts Valley, California, we made our way across the Sacramento Valley to Lake Tahoe where we spent three weeks in the tall pines. It was a little early in the season, but our campground is open year-round. Snow could still be seen on the mountains.
My sister came for a few days and stayed in one of the cabins in the campground. We showed her the sights, like Emerald Bay, Fanny Bridge and the grounds of the Gate Keeper’s Museum (It wasn’t open yet for the season.)
Emerald Bay at Lake TahoeFanny Bridge
We ate a picnic lunch looking out over the lake at the Gate Keeper’s Museum grounds.
Shoreline near Gate Keeper’s Museum
While we were in Tahoe City, we took a walk along the Lakeside Trail to see the Penny Bear, (officially named, Ursa Mater). The 12 foot tall mama bear and her cub is made of over 200,000 pennies.
Lakeside Trail, Tahoe City, CAThe Penny Bear
Another day, my sister and I went on a hike in Van-Sickle Bi-State Park. We didn’t make it as far as the waterfalls because it was a hot day and the trail was long and steep. But we did see views of Lake Tahoe. It is a Bi-State park because it straddles the border of California and Nevada.
View of Lake Tahoe from Van-Sickle Bi-State Park trail.
After delivering my sister to the airport in Carson City, Nevada, we took a little drive around the historic district where we saw the stone building that used to be the location of the United States Mint in Nevada. It is now the Nevada National Guard Armory.
On our way back to the coast, we stayed at Oregon House Campground which was one we had never stayed at before. It is in the foothills northwest of Lake Tahoe. On my walks, I frequented the lake for some really beautiful views.
Lake of the Springs at Oregon House, California
While we were there, we adopted a campground cat. We don’t have room for pets, so we enjoyed spending time with this friendly kitty. We had brief thoughts of adopting her, but decided she would prefer hunting in the woods and being free to come and go instead of being cooped up in a trailer.
We spent nine days in Coarsegold, California, where we visited our dentist, our storage building and familiar places around our old hometown of Mariposa.
Foothills of Mariposa County
I was excited to stay in Morro Bay, California, for three days between campgrounds. We enjoyed walks on the beach, eating at Dorn’s Breakers overlooking the bay, and visits from family members who also enjoy the beauty of Morro Bay.
Morro Rock is an iconic landmark of Morro Bay, California.View of Morro Rock looking across Morro Bay harbor.
On our last evening there, I walked across the road from our campground to watch the sunset one last time.
Looking across the ocean to Cayucos and beyond from the beach at Morro Bay.
Our next stop was Paicines, south of Hollister, California. This campground is a preserve, so there’s always plenty of wildlife around. We got to see some brand-new baby deer.
One of the new babies at San Benito Campground in Paicines, CA.
While we were there, we celebrated our nation’s 250 birthday. Happy Birthday, America!
This season of travel was centered around California because of medical appointments in California. However, at this point, we decided we wanted to sell our Airstream trailer and buy a new Arctic Fox trailer. The trailer was being held for us in Portland, Oregon. So, our next travels were going to be a fast trip up to Oregon and back.
In Tahoe City, a little town in north Lake Tahoe, we visited the Gatekeeper’s Museum and Indian Basket Museum. We stopped here on our audio tour on a previous day, but it was closed. It was worth coming back to visit.
Entrance to Gatekeepers Museum, Tahoe City, NV
The Gatekeeper’s Museum was once the cabin where the Gatekeeper for the Lake Tahoe Dam resided, whose job it was to regulate the water flow out of the dam. It burned down in 1978 just before it was deeded over to the North Lake Tahoe Historical Society. They reconstructed it completely by hand on the original foundation.
Gatekeeper’s Museum
The museum also houses the Marion Steinbach Native American Basket Collection. The basket gallery showcases more than 700 baskets from native peoples of Western North America. The baskets are in very good condition and are works of art.
Indian Basket Collection is part of the Gatekeeper’s Museum.Cradle board for papoose
Another display showcases Navajo Indian rugs.
The rest of the museum preserves and tells the history of the Lake Tahoe area. There are stories of various boats that were used on the lake, artifacts from dog sled operators, and dresses from ladies of the past and more. Upstairs there’s more history and wild tales of the legend of the plug at the bottom of the lake.
The outside of the museum has beautiful grounds that are right on the edge of the lake. Let’s take a walk down to the lake.
Pathway from Gatekeeper’s Museum to Lake Tahoe
Someone (not us) collected all these pine cones and arranged them on the picnic table.
Within sight of the Gatekeeper’s grounds, is the famous Fanny Bridge which is located over the only outlet of Lake Tahoe into the Truckee River.
The bridge has an interesting story on how it got its name. It was so named from all the fannies that can be seen from the road as gawkers stare over the edge of the bridge at the water below. Do you see any fannies?
Here’s a view of what you can see from Fanny Bridge.
If you walk across the bridge, the North Lake Tahoe Visitor Center has a very interesting interactive display. The “Shaping Watersheds” interactive sandbox is a large-scale educational model where visitors can move the sand to build mountains, valleys and other land-forms. An overhead projector casts topographical contour lines and a color-coded elevation map onto the surface. The motion-sensing camera detects changes and the projected lines and colors change to reflect the new topography. It’s even fun for adults. Ask me how I know.
Grounds of Gatekeeper’s MuseumLake Tahoe from Gatekeeper’s Grounds
There was another historical cabin in Tahoe City that we did not get to see. It’s nice to have reasons to come back. This is one area I could visit over and over again.
“Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.” –Jesus
Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America. It is the second deepest lake, after Crater Lake which is in Oregon.
Fanette Island in Emerald Bay is the only island in Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe is completely surrounded by mountains of the Sierra Nevada and the Carson Mountain Range.
We enjoyed our three-week stay in South Lake Tahoe. The lake straddles two state lines, California and Nevada. We were on the California side, but did our shopping and fueling up in Nevada where prices were much better.
Emerald Bay at Lake Tahoe is a popular scenic spot.
Our campsite was among tall beautiful pines. Whenever we stepped outside, we could smell the wonderful scent of the pines. Tahoe Valley Campground where we stayed is one of the Encore parks of Thousand Trails Campgrounds.
Our campground, Tahoe Valley Campground, at South Lake Tahoe
On our evening walks, we saw a variety of wildlife. There were plenty of tree squirrels like this little fellow.
Young squirrel eating pine nuts.
This squirrel amazed me at his determination to carry this pine cone (that was almost as big as he was) up this tree trunk.
We even saw a bear one evening by a neighbor’s doorway. We had our own bear incident. I came out one morning to find both doors on the passenger side of our truck wide open. I thought maybe Ray had forgotten to close them, until I saw a bunch of trash around on the ground. Although we always lock the truck at night, we forgot that night. A bear opened the truck doors and found Ray’s bag of Fritos and our stash of peanut butter crackers. He ate everyone of them! (and left the trash for me to clean up.)
Bear at neighbor’s door
On our walks, we like to look at the variety of homes on wheels. I thought this little vintage trailer was cute.
Vintage Trailer
If we timed our walks right, we could peer through the trees and see the mountains in the distance as the last bits of sunlight lit up the mountain tops at sunset.
Sunset on mountain peaks
Donner Pass
One of our first excursions in the area was to Truckee, California, to see Donner State Park and Museum. The museum tells the history of the Donner party and the history of the Lincoln Highway (Highway 50). We listened to an audio tour and learned about the history of the area as we drove along. We lost the route in Truckee and had to finish it on our own. We listened to the rest of the tour on our way home.
Bridge on the Lincoln Highway
Taylor Creek Visitor Center
Another excursion closer to home was the Taylor Creek Visitor Center. We hiked the half-mile Rainbow Trail that makes a loop back around to the Visitor Center. It was a perfect day for a walk.
Rainbow Trail at Taylor Creek Visitor Center
Most of the area is marshy. One of the reasons Lake Tahoe is so clear is that it is mostly filled from rain and snow. The marshes also contribute to the clarity by filtering water flowing into the lake.
Boardwalk on the Rainbow Trail
The marshes help slow the water flowing into the lake, thereby trapping sediment.The plants in the marshes absorb excess nutrients which removes pollutants from runoff and snow-melt before it reaches the lake.
Marshes like this purify the water flowing into Lake Tahoe
Lake Tahoe gets 300 to 500 inches of snow each year. This “Snowtel” is one of the ways the snowfall is monitored.
Snowtel for measuring snowfall
The Stream Profile Chamber is the highlight of the Rainbow Trail. Visitors can view the stream from under water. This is one of the most unique nature displays I’ve seen.
Stream Profile Chamber at Taylor Creek Visitor Center on the Rainbow Trail
We were there too early to see the salmon spawn. The Kokanee salmon spawn here in mid-October to November. We saw a few small fish.
On our way back to the parking area, we saw this helicopter practicing search and rescue.
Helicopter practicing rescue efforts
Tallac Historic Site
Near the Taylor Creek Visitor Center is the Tallac Historic Site. You can hike a short trail from Taylor Creek to get there, or drive a short distance and park in the parking lot. This historic site is a beautifully preserved glimpse into the lives of three prominent families from San Francisco during the Gilded Age.
The Baldwin Museum and Gift shop is in a central location on the properties.The Baldwin Estate Courtyard
The walk through the grounds is beautiful.
Besides the larger homes, there were many smaller cabins.
The grounds are right on the shore of Lake Tahoe with beautiful views of the lake and forest.
There are three estates here, so you can get some good exercise by going to all three.
Many of the buildings are still being restored. Volunteers restored this garden.
The Pope Estate invited painters, sculptors, photographers and other artists beginning in the 1920s. The Great Basin Institute re-launched the artist-in-residence program in 2023. The artists use the historic cabin as their personal studio, showcase their talent and provide workshops. The beautiful setting is an inspiration to any artist.
Further down the shoreline is a pier and marina.
To get supplies or to get to the other side of the lake, boats were launched from the boathouses on rails into the water.
If they didn’t want to get their feet wet, they used the pier.
My favorite estate was the Pope Estate with it’s fish pond and gazebo.
Entrance to Pope EstateThe Pope Estate’s fish pond.
In this community garden, volunteers grow herbs and fruits and vegetables like strawberries, tomatoes and asparagus.
Community Garden at Tallac Historic Site
The Valhalla/Heller Estate boathouse was converted into a community theater which is currently used for events and performances.
The Valhalla/Heller Estate boathouse that was converted into a community theater.View of the boathouse/theater from the dock
Lake Tahoe is such a beautiful place, it is on my list to re-visit again and again. Some places are just especially beautiful. This is one of them.
“For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” Romans 1:20
