So... Here we are in our campsite at River's Edge. We are at the side of the River Truckee and on the edge of Reno. It has a small Vegas - like strip and of course a Walmart. We decided to do the perimeter of Lake Tahoe for a reccie trip and all I can say is " beauuutiful".
The lake is deep and clear and, according to Lei who impressed us by informing us that it has an elevation of 6600 ft, evaporates 1.2 million gallons a day and is 1000 foot deep (how was I to know that she was reading it all straight from a brochure of the lake?). All I can say since I didn't read the brochure is it is blue and so very clear and a great scenic trip of 70 miles or thereabouts around the shoreline. We stopped at South Lake Tahoe for lunch and that was my first experience of a Casino.. it was called Harrahs and it blew me away. I could not get over the sounds and the people gambling!
After a lovely lunch at The Hard Rock Cafe ...thanks Rob and Helen, we set off again. We were searching for ideas on things to do over the next 2 or 3 days. I decided that Helen and Rob could kayak if they wanted but I would give that a miss! We had options of Dog Sledding, Snowmobiling, Sledging, Sleigh Rides, Skiing and of course all the trekking and trailing you could think of. I looked at the brochures and read all about what there is to do ... and that Lake Tahoe was 6600 feet above sea level... etc....etc Lei the scammer and I thought you were just a show off know all.
We opted for skiing and snowmobiling and of course a bit of shopping. At the end of the day, as the sun was going down and we had spent the entire day driving around the shoreline of Lake Tahoe (or at least 70% of the 71 mile shoreline) Helen asked if Lake Mead was tree lined like Lake Tahoe - I said no - there weren't tree's around the lake - and she said that perhaps we wouldn't need to see Lake Mead in Vegas since we had seen Lake Tahoe and it would just be another Lake ... but without the trees. Only Helen would view the world quite this way...
So, off we went up to Diamond Peak ski slopes .. a difficult decision since there were about 6 other areas to choose from. Helen and I bought bright ski trousers so we wouldn't lose each other and off we went. Needless to say, I kept on the easy slopes but Helen went to the top of the mountain. She fell .. tripped over her ski and so came back to join Rob and I . Fantastic! Blue skies and scenery that was unbelievable... views of the lake were stunning.
Then came the 2 hour lesson with Steve from Hawaii. (Who, incidentally shared his time between Ski Instructor and Cabin Crew. He saw his wife once a week whether she wanted to or not). Helen reckoned he was very much into flirting! Anyway, he was very challenging as we were all at different levels... I had not really been for many years, except an odd outing in Scotland and I was a coward to say the least! Helen managed to stay upright but Rob and I had a couple of falls.
He has ended up with a huge bruise on the top of his leg and got a lot of sympathy; (and has showed it to anyone who has shown any interest since). Ask him on Facebook and I'm sure he'll send you a picture.
I, on the other hand chose to head straight for Steve and clasp my arms around him which brought us both down with me on top. Helen was beside herself laughing but only managed to catch a picture of me getting up. All in all I wore yellow and for a good reason... I would not go on the harder slopes despite the fact that Steve said I should. Perhaps another day....
So the day was a success - we loved the resort and all the fun and Helen and I both love our new ski pants. I don't know if I will get much more use for them this trip - but I know that they will come in handy for Scotland...
No comments:
Post a Comment