K9EDK's Lake Tahoe Vacation 2009

LAKE TAHOE VACATION
JULY 17-30, 2009

JULY 17-18: TRAILSIDE RV RESORT, WILLIAMS, AZ.
ARIZONA STATE AMATEUR RADIO CONVENTION

JULY 19-22: SUGAR PINE POINT STATE PARK, LAKE TAHOE, CA.
GOLDFIELD, NV.
RENO, NV.
TRUCKEE, CA.
LAKE TAHOE

JULY 23-24: BOTHE-NAPA STATE PARK, ST. HELENA, CA.
WINE COUNTRY

JULY 25-28: YOSEMITE SOUTH KOA KAMPGROUND, COARSEGOLD, CA.
YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK
KINGS CANYON NATIONAL PARK
SEQUOIA NATIONAL PARK

JULY 29-30: EAST SHORE RV RESORT, SAN DIMAS, CA.
GRIFFITH PARK CAROUSEL, LOS ANGELES, CA.
SANTA MONICA PIER CAROUSEL, SANTA MONICA, CA.

On the way to Lake Tahoe from Williams we
passed through the town of Goldfield, NV.
Needless to say, this building caught my
attention.

Originally, I thought this was an active fire
station, but it turned out to be a fire museum.
Since time wasn't on my side, it was a good
thing they weren't open.

Having been to Lake Tahoe several times
before, I knew that one of the best places to
camp is Sugar Pine Point State Park.

The fire alarm box outside the station was a nice
touch, especially with the light on top.

The first night we were there, we had a visit
from a mama bear and three cubs. This would
be the view they had of out campsite. This is
how close they were.

The small print on the alarm box says:
"DISPLAY ONLY-FOR EMERGENCY CALL
911" I wonder how many people even know
what a fire alarm box is.

What can I say about Lake Tahoe? It's probably
one of the most beautiful places in the United
States, perhaps even the world.
Photo by Lois Karsten-Liddy

Emerald Bay is the most visited place on Lake
Tahoe. Although in years past the water here
was much more emerald in color, but now the
water is much more blue.

Along the north and east shores of the lake are
many homes, and they all seem to have docks.
What's amazing is that all the boats are lifted out
of the water. Photo by Lois Karsten-Liddy

Obviously boating is a popular pastime at Lake
Tahoe, and that includes everything from
kayaks to ski boats. Antique wooden boats are
also a big hobby with an annual show.

On the northwest side of Lake Tahoe is the
community of Tahoe City. This cabin was near
where we stopped for some photos. Read the
panel to the right for more information.

More about the Watson Cabin. Enlarge the
photo to read the panel.

On this trip, including all stops, over 3600
photos were taken between myself and my
sister Lois. You can imagine how difficult it was
to pick just a few to put on the website.

It's quite obvious how magnificent Lake Tahoe
is, but it's not just the lake, it's the big picture.
Without all the trees and mountains, this is just
another lake. Photo by Lois Karsten-Liddy

Although I didn't put any photos up that really
show it very well, there was still snow on a
couple of the mountains in late July.

Amongst all this beauty there must be some
contrast. Here I am on the first day at Lake
Tahoe. This was taken on the west side of the
lake, not far from Sugar Pine Point State Park.

Here is my sister Lois and her husband Tim.
This photo was taken overlooking Emerald Bay.

Photo by Lois Karsten-Liddy

While at Tahoe, we drove up to Squaw Valley.
We intended to take the sky lift, but when we
saw it, we changed our minds.

The deal-killer was the fact that the cables go
straight from ground-level to the top without any
support anywhere in between.

We also visited Reno from our base camp at
Lake Tahoe. Other than the carousel at the
Boomtown Casino, this is about the only other
picture I took

The Truckee River runs along the road and is
quite pretty in some locations while other
locations are surrounded by not much more than
meadows. Photo by Lois Karsten-Liddy

Yet another photo of that old fart that seems to
just keep showing up in the pictures.

Photo by Lois Karsten-Liddy

The Truckee River is a popular place for rafting.
You can see the rafts approaching as they make
their way towards a little bit of white water.

A raft full of people approaching some white
water, but nothing that an amateur would have
trouble navigating. At times the rafts were one
right after another.

This is one of the barrel rooms at the V. Sattui
Winery. This is my favorite wineries, and they
sell an "Off Dry" Riesling that is probably the
best wine I've ever had. Photo by Lois Karsten-Liddy

The next stop on our journey was Wine Country.
We stayed at the Bothe-Napa State Park. This
is a photo of the vineyards at the Peju Winery.
The grapes were very young.

I can remember going to the V. Sattui Winery
years ago when they were small and relatively
unknown. Today they are probably one of the
most popular stops for visitors to Wine Country.

Just a neat picture of grapes at the V. Sattui
Winery.

Although the grapes in the vineyards were very
young and immature, at V. Sattui they have an
arch covered with grape vines shading park
benches and a walkway.

We had a field day taking pictures at Yosemite
National Park. There are scenic views all over
the place. I hope I don't bore you with all the
photos.

This is a side view of Half Dome.

This is one of the meadows in Yosemite Valley.

Here is yet another angle on Half Dome and the
surrounding hills.

Photo by Lois Karsten-Liddy

Here is an overview of from above. I think we
were at the Glacier Point overlook when I took
this.

Yosemite Valley from above. This valley was cut
by glacial flow.

Lois took this picture. It was originally in color.
When converted to black & white and a little bit
of contrast change, the picture has taken on a
whole new dimension. Great photo.

This is Mariposa Grove at Yosemite. There
were some big Sequoias and other trees worthy
of taking pictures of, but I just kinda like the fern
floor, the trees and the lighting on this one.

GEE! Doesn't that look like Half Dome again?

This should be an add for Chevrolet. A
Suburban with Yosemite National Park in the
background. I'd buy one.... OH, WAIT, I did buy
one.....

This is Bridal Vail falls through the trees. I didn't
get any kick-ass photos of the falls. When I got
closer the angle of the sun was impossible for
taking photos of the falls.

This is the river that winds through Yosemite
Valley. Shame on me for never finding out the
name of the river. In some places the river was
quite picturesque, and not so much in others.

There were some folks rafting down the river,
but I didn't take any pictures of them.

This is the California Tree in Mariposa Grove.
This tree is still alive even after having the
passage cut into it many years ago.

Lois went on a 5-hour horseback ride back to
one of the waterfalls in Yosemite. If a pictures
says a thousand words, I think the picture of that
big smile speaks novels.

Look closely and you'll see that it's really not a
horse.

Just south of Yosemite National Park is the
Yosemite Moutain Sugar Pine Railroad. Due to
time constraints I didn't ride the train. They also
have a museum and gift shop.

This is a view back into Kings Canyon National
Park from the road that runs between Kings
Canyon and Sequoia National Parks.

One last picture of Lois, and Kings Canyon.
This is a hollow tree that you can walk through.
It gives one a great perspective on how big
these trees really are.

Since I really didn't want to just post pictures of
big trees, I figured I'd at least post a picture with
Lois in it. Here were are in Kings Canyon
National Park with big trees in the background.

The last stop on the trip was San Dimas, CA.
We stayed at East Shore RV Resort and our
campsite was right on the shore of
Puddingstone Lake/Reservoir.

Since I'm always looking for new opportunities
for when I retire, and this is certainly near the
top of the list.. Perhaps this guy is looking for an
apprentice to mentor.

We visited three carousels on this trip. The first
was this one at the Boomtown Casino in Reno,
NV. Click on the photo to see more photos of
this carousel.

While staying in San Dimas we visited two
carousels in the Los Angeles area. The first is
the Spillman carousel at Griffith Park in L.A.
Click on the photo to link to this carousel's page.

The other carousel we visited near L.A. was
PTC 62 at Santa Monica Pier. Click on the
photo to be linked to the photos of this carousel.