Tahoe part 2

The night went relatively smooth. Other than Mari falling into the small space between the bed and the wall and Paul trying to change Ben in his sleep, it was really nothing worth writing about. Breakfast was had and we were on our way to Fallen Leaf Lake.

Fallen Leaf Lake was formed by a glacier and would have been part of Lake Tahoe but the glacier stopped just short of plowing all the way through so there is a small strip of land separating them. Much of it is privately owned but there is some land that is public and a nice little trail to take. Our hike did not start out quite as planned. Ben was in the road and a car was coming so I pulled him off the road and onto the trail and this sent him into hysteria.

There was no calming this child down. He was out of control. I am not sure if it had to do with his sensory issues and me putting him on an uneven surface so quick or if hit had more to do with him being a two year old. Regardless, we had to deal with the monster. Our only option was to lug out the stroller and hope the trail would be stroller friendly. It wasn't. After alot of careful maneuvering we finally had to abandon it at the base of a hill in some bushes. By then Ben was still upset but at least he was more calm. I know some of you are probably thinking "Why didn't they just turn it around?" Sorry, not an option. I was not about to let Ben's fit ruin a perfectly good day.  Besides, what would that be teaching him? Luckily we got to the top of the hill, found a boulder to put Ben on and even got him to crack a dirty, tear stained, smile for a second.

Sadly, it was short lived.

But happily the lake was in distance and we made our way down to shore.

The shore was a gift from God. Full of lots of good rocks for the kids to toss into the water which equals peace and calm for Ben. The lake itself is breathtakingly beautiful. Lots of dramatic granite everywhere. The water rivaled Tahoe in clarity.  We were all alone in our little patch of the shoreline save a little duck with a broken foot that I made Paul give a bunch of our chips. I wanted to take her home but Paul said no. He never lets me do anything! Paul was fascinated by a little shack that someone made out of driftwood.  It was pretty neat.  Here are some shots of our time down by the shore.

Alas- the wind began to kick up and we needed to head on back so we bid ado to Fallen Leaf Lake.

From Fallen Leaf Lake we headed down the road to another set of lakes. The Angora Lakes are two small lakes that are just incredibly adorable. I know, its weird to call lakes adorable but they are! The lower lake has a bunch of cabins on one of its shores and I swear I want to rent one so bad. It is just so peaceful and serene and beautiful.

You have to take a little hike to reach the lakes so you get alot less people than around Tahoe.  The trail is perfectly suited for strollers so we kept our tired little monkeys in for the ride. It does have some uphill portions that will give the pusher a nice little workout but it is really a terrific little place for families.

Unfortunately when we arrived at the Upper Lake a storm decided to pass on through. It was windy and sprinkling so we couldn't really hang out and enjoy the beach but the people who owned the lake gave the kids popsicles for free and told us they were closing up their resort for the season. They have a bunch of little cabins along the shore that they run. They don't advertise. They don't have to. They always have the cabins reserved months in advance and people come back year after year to this magical little place. I asked the woman if she had a website and she said she didn't need one but if you Google Angora Lakes resort you should find some info. I would love to spend a week there someday. It would be such fun.

We hit a lull in the storm on our way back and hung out by the lower lake for a while. the kids enjoyed the view and their popsicles.

Then we headed back to the car and started our journey home. We did make a quick stop to take a few shots of the area. The first one is of Fallen Leaf Lake and Lake Tahoe. You can really see how close together they are in this one.

The next are of the Angora Fire which ravaged the area last year. It came so close to the lakes and all the cabins there. Sadly, the fire did destroy entire neighborhoods and you can see that the homeowners are starting to rebuild but still have a long way to go. This fire was arson. It sickens me that somebody could do such a thing.

Finally we have Mari and Ben passed out in the back seat. Mari is somewhere under that blanket and Ben is popsicle stained and happy in dreamland.

A nice ending to a wonderful couple days.  If you would like to see more pictures from our trip click here. I hope they will inspire some of you to take your own trip to Tahoe. It really is a special place.