Lake Tahoe has been on our list of places-to-visit for a long time now. We just never got down to planning it. Then one evening hubby just announced out of the blue that we were off to Tahoe that weekend. Now who can say ‘No’ to an idea of this fashion! If it’s a road trip that we’re talking about, count me in; just about any time.
Barely two days later, we were on the road. See ya Silicon Valley, Hiya Sierra Nevada!
Soon we were leaving behind buildings with glass facades, shopping malls and auto malls. Rolling hills kept coming into the view and disappearing every now and then. US50 led us past El Dorado Hills and El Dorado National Forests and into the foothill town of Placerville. Once we passed this quaint town, the landscape took a dramatic turn.
The uphill ascent soon began and the roads began to curve around the Sierra Nevada. Tall pines lined the roadsides and road signs showed warnings of blind curves, slippery roads and snow slides. Soon the freeway ended and there was just one lane on either side of the road. There were boards that said ‘passing lane in 4 miles or 1 mile’, as it is impossible to overtake vehicles otherwise.
This being my first road trip in the Sierra Nevada, was sure to be memorable one. And the prospect of see Lake Tahoe at the end of it added to the excitement.
As we drive further up, we caught sight of the valleys, all covered in conifers. It reminded me of the motivational posters that lined the my school’s corridors. Those words of wisdom almost always came with pictures like this in the background. And as we drove on, I felt like I was in one of those posters.
Suddenly I spotted a snow capped mountain and then as we took more turns around the mountains and caught sight of the snow, we could see bigger and bigger areas blanketed in snow. Then there came a sign that marked the elevation at 5000 ft. A few more miles and we were at 6000 and 7000 ft and there was more snow in the picture. There was snow on the roadside and snow on the roofs of cabins. There were large and small boards advertising tyre chains, which we didn’t need, as it was not snowing then and the roads were all dry.
As we emerged out of one of the folds of the lofty Sierra Nevada we saw an amazing sight of a body of blue-green water in the distance. What a lovely sight it was. Lake Tahoe, here we come!
A few minutes and a few miles later we found ourselves on Lake Tahoe Boulevard (So. Lake Tahoe) and in no time there it was – the serene waters of the largest freshwater lake in the United States of America: the ever-scenic Lake Tahoe.
We were in Lake Tahoe…finally!
