Lake Tahoe

After seeing how much fun Kavya had playing in the snow when we went to Yosemite last year, we were determined to make a trip to Lake Tahoe this winter season for more snow play. We had planned a trip over the President's Day weekend but had to cancel that since my wife fell sick. We finally made it last weekend.

We definitely picked the perfect weekend to visit Tahoe. It was bright and sunny, which, apart from making getting out of the car at stops(you have quite a few of those when you have 2 kids!) more pleasant, made the drive safe since there was no snow or ice on the roads. At the same time, the storms last week dumped a lot of snow and that ensured great views and a lot of fun for the kids.

We drove out there Saturday morning on I-80 and stopped at the first ski resort we saw - Soda Springs. It turned out to be just perfect since, apart from the ski slope, it had a small area named 'Planet Kids', meant for kids to play around. Kavya had a lot of fun sliding down the small slopes, building snowmen, having snow fights and in general, just stomping around in the snow. Karthik initially had some trouble walking around in the snow and was uncomfortable with the restricted motion afforded by his tight, thick jacket (he started crying each time he sat down since he didn't know how to get up!). But once he saw big sister sliding down, he wanted to do the same and finally began enjoying himself. As usually happens, he then refused to get away from the snow! We drove to Reno right after and stayed there that night but with 2 kids, visiting casinos wasn't really an option and so we stayed put in the hotel.

Yesterday, we drove back to Lake Tahoe to drive around the rim of the lake. We'd done the same thing when we went there last Summer but what a difference the season makes! The drive to the lake from Reno was spectacular, with the snow-capped mountains rising up on the side. The drive around Lake Tahoe is kinda like Big Sur in that every stop gives a different but still wonderful view of the lake. The sparkling blue water, with the snow-capped mountains in the background, offered some amazing views. We went down the roads and paths that led down to the lake at different points and they were ofcourse covered with snow. So they offered more opportunities for Kavya and Karthik to play in the snow, apart from adding something another beautiful dimension to the views of the lake.

While the drive back is usually the most boring part of any trip, the views made atleast the initial part of the drive back from Tahoe worthwhile. The road moves along the Truckee river at some places and these places, with the snow-covered banks on either side of the river and a few snow-covered, wooden bridges going across the river, were breathtakingly beautiful. And with quite a bit of I-80 being at high elevations, the roads were lined with snow too. Since we left a bit early and beat the traffic returning from all thos ski resorts, the rest of the drive wasn't too bad either.

Definitely a fun trip for all of us. A few photos from the trip can be seen here.