Our Last Couple of Days in Tahoe...

This has been a purposely laidback visit to our little mountain town. Our days have been infused with Nature and connections with friends.

Jenny and I searched for birds but mainly got caught up with life in the most beautiful setting.

Steve and I then walked the 2 miles required to dine on the patio of Base Camp Pizza. This is always a favorite thing to do no matter how briefly we're in town.

The other favorite is the hike down to Emerald Bay. I have to admit, I was a bit apprehensive of hiking at 6,300 feet after being at almost sea level since last visiting Tahoe on December 1st, but I lived to write about it!

Lower Eagle Falls put on quite a show.

A picnic in Tahoe is not quite the same without a visit from a Canadian Goose looking for handouts.

Friends who have been here with me know that this is my favorite tree. I call it the perseverance tree because even though it is filled with cement, it still lives. And why is it filled with cement? I was told that, at some point, this several hundred year old tree was hit by lightning. It is an Incense Cedar and is fire resistant. The lightning most likely struck at the top and the fireball worked its way down the tree, stopping and smoldering at the bottom. A hole was then burned into the base. In order to save it, the trunk was filled. I was once told by an arborist that they stopped this technique in the 1940s and here it thrives, 80 years later. Yes, that is one stubborn tree.

Nothing like stating the obvious! What a happy escape to our Happy Place.