Bears, Bubbles and Good Times!  Independence Day camping fiesta at Lake Tahoe!

 *happy sigh*

Just got back home from a simply spectacular camping trip to Lake Tahoe, for the Independence Day holiday.  Am completely knackered, very sunburnt and have yet to get all the dirt out from underneath my fingernails, but I had a blast!!  Independence Day this year fell on a Wednesday, so I took the Thurs and Friday off of work to make it into a proper little mini-vacation (I know, I know - its been so long since i was last away).

Lori, me and Karen on the hike up to Cascade Falls

The camping trip had been organized by Karen, who runs a camping Meet-Up group, so Lori and I traveled up together bright and early Weds morning to try and avoid the traffic and bag a good camping spot at the campsite.  We were staying at the historic Camp Richardson campground in South Lake Tahoe - only a couple miles away from my ski-share cabin (and the phenomenal Irish Pub of High Jinks - but enough of that).  The ride up was very smooth sailing - so little traffic we began to wonder where everyone was, and whether they all knew something we didn't....  We got past the infamous Sacremento Traffic by 10am, and then stopped at a very quaint and cutesie place for a late breakfast (I'd passed on the fermented banana and fossilized strawberry smoothie earlier in the morning).  We made it to Lake Tahoe by midday and, as we weren't able to check-in to the campsite before 3pm, promptly decided to check out the beach and the Beacon Bar and Grill and the (in)famous Rum Runner cocktails!

Holy crap.  This was where all the people were!  It was absolutely HEAVING!!  The people watching was out of control (particularly the guy in the Star Spangled banner waist-high swimming trunks with braces - sadly, not pictured) and Lori and I happily dissected everyone who passed before us, while sipping on our very tasty (if not terribly cold) Rum Runners.  After a couple of hours of enjoying the sunshine, the music and pretending we had a child somewhere on the beach so we could blag a child's menu portion of chicken tenders and fries, it was time to head back to the campsite to meet the rest of the gang (we were 20 in total!) and set up our tents.

Although it was only 3.11pm (and we'd been told strictly NOT to arrive at the campsite before 3pm), there were already 9 people there!  Fortunately, though, we managed to bag one of the kosher site parking spots (2 per site), so we didn't have to worry about moving the car later.  We started to meet the rest of the group - a very eclectic bunch, including Miserable Anne and The Humorless Germans - a wall of negativity, already set up on the other side of our shared campsite and, apparently, incapable of either conversation or cracking a smile.  Needless to say, after a few rebuffed attempts at being friendly, we gave it up as a bad lot and just ended up chatting to people in possession of a personality instead.

It didnt take all that long to set up camp, and after a while of chatting to folk, cooking some sausages on Lori's new stove and eating more Trader Joe's mini chocolate chip cookies than is probably healthy in a 24hr period, i decided to call it a night, and head off to bed early.  I'd had the presence of mind to bring earplugs, so neither bears rummaging in the trash cans nor kids running around nor grown men in the tent next door to me farting would keep me awake.  The holy trinity of red wine, earplugs and Ambien worked their divine magic and I was out for the count.

First hike of the trip - Cascade Falls

Day 2: Cascading Falls and Thunder on the Lake
The next morning, we were up bright and early, as we were going to get a hike in before the main event of the day, a ride on the Tahoe Thunder - a kick-ass speedboat that would propel us at 60 mph across Lake Tahoe!

We decided to hike Cascade Falls - a pretty easy hike, only a couple miles long but disproportionate in terms its of effort to reward ratio.  We managed to get going early enough to find a spot to park - driving along the same terrifying stretch of road I remembered from my drive from the South Shore to the North Shore cabin the previous December.  10 mph hairpin bends and sheer drops on BOTH sides of the road!  It gets so treacherous in winter, they actually close the road after a certain amount of snow has fallen - but the view is absolutely magnificent, with vast panoramic vistas stretching out across Lake Tahoe and Emerald Bay.  Apparently.  All i saw were the whites of my knuckles gripping the steering wheel and the road directly ahead of me.

Anyway, we survived the drive, parked up and headed for the hills.  The hike was beautiful - just the right length and with incredible views.  Karen had joined us too, so it was a very companionable morning.  The trail was very busy and, as we were making our way back down around 11.30am, it was getting busier and busier and hotter and hotter, so we were glad we'd gone early.  We were on a bit of a time crunch, as we had to get back to the campsite, park up and be at the Marina by 1pm, to catch the Water Ferry to Timber Cove where the Tahoe Thunder was waiting for us.  It was a bit of a rush, but we made it back down in good time, and so got back to the campsite by 12.15pm, and headed straight out again for the Marina.

We made it with about 10 minutes to spare and, as it happened, we were the only people on the Water Ferry, other than Handsome Captain Greg and his trusty assistant Brian.  They were both a lot of fun, and it was a very pleasant 20 min cruise into Timber Cove.  Then, it was time to entrust our selves and our lives into the hands of Dustin, a dude-y looking guy (bearing an uncanny resemblance to Sacha Baren Cohen) for our trip on the Tahoe Thunder.

O.M.G.

It was Absolutely Awesome.   The picture below says it all.

Laughing uncontrollably and rocking a Morrissey quiff on the Tahoe Thunder with Lori

 The whole trip was about an hour long - we pootled out of the marina first, then opened up and bounced along at full throttle for about 20 mins to Emerald Bay, pootled round the Bay to look at the Vikingsholm house and the osprey nests.  We then pounded it back round the bay for another 20mins before arriving back at the Marina, just after 3pm, laughing our heads off and high on the adrenaline rush!  There were only 2 other people in the boat, a guy and his son (who didnt seem to be enjoying it as much as we were), so again, we'd managed to avoid the crowds.  After docking and saying a very heartfelt thank you to Dustin, we headed off to Safeway to buy supplies for that evening's supper, as well as get some cash out for Dustin's tip.  On our return, we chilled out in the marina bar for a hour, enjoying a well-deserved G&T and some spectacular pork sliders, before Captain Neil took us back to the Camp Richardson marina at around 5pm.  We lucked out again - as we were the last 2 for the ferry, instead of the ferry, we got a private ride back in another speedboat - a long, white fancy-pants vessel that wouldn't have looked out of place in Miami Beach.  All terribly VIP - and probably helped along by the fact that we had actually gone back and left Dustin his tip after visiting the ATM.

After all that excitement, we headed back to camp and cooked up a storm - we had some fantastic tri-tip that Lori had bought, so cooked that up on the campfire as well as some grilled veg, some fried onions cooked in the tea kettle (needs must) and lots of salady-bits.  We had plenty of food to share, so it was a fun communal dinner - other than the omnipresent Germanic Heart of Darkness, of course.  They still sat in their chairs and simply stared at everyone else.  Whatever floats your U-boat, i suppose.

Looking like a Hallmark card at Eagle Lake

Day 3: Run, Rummer, Run!

Over here!

After the adrenaline rush of the previous day, today's plans involved more hiking and fun on the water. We were up again bright and early and headed out of camp by 9am, bound this time for Eagle Lake and another easy-moderate hike of a couple miles.  We'd brought along the cooler and, as we were less time constrained, had plenty of time to enjoy a picnic after our hike.  Again, the gods were smiling on us today, as we managed to bag The Last Parking Spot at the trailhead - an absolute result.   It was just me and Lori on the hike today, so we ambled along, again marveling at the views and enjoying the wildlife of Mountain Jays, abundant chipmonks, huge yellow butterflies and ethereal electric blue dragonflies, flitting about.  Again, the trail was very busy but that didn't detract too much from the beautiful views - the hike up to Eagle Lake itself (which did get the old heart rate up a bit!) was well worth it.  The lake was very crowded, but it was fun to watch the people and their dogs playing in the water.  I particularly enjoyed the moment where a guy threw a ball for his dog (a German Shepherd) into the lake - and the dog just looked at him, with utter disdain.  After much cajoling, i was delighted to see said Human finally give up and go and retrieve the ball, while the dog stood there laughing.  Brilliant.


Then it was time to wend our way back down the mountain, and set up lunch and introduce Lori to the singular delights of Champagne Camping.  I'd brought along one of my bottles from my Champagne Club, to toast both my 40th birthday and Lori getting a new job.  We managed to find a picnic spot far enough away and upwind of the loos in the carpark, which were so unbelievably stinky, it made you gag walking past them.   I'd brought along my bucket, some proper flutes and my fancy Veuve-Cliquot picnic blanket from the Polo Match on Governor's Island, so it was all very swish!  After a morning's hiking in the hot sun, a perfectly chilled glass of bubbles absolutely hit the spot.  Lunch was whatever combination of foodstuffs was rummaged from the cooler - i rustled up a very tasty turkey, cheese and tomato sandwich.  Though i'd also come prepared with a stack of trashy magazines to relax with over lunchtime, the entertainment was provided to us, courtesy of Mother Nature, who sent a troupe of adorable chipmunks to keep us company and in stitches.  We absolutely didn't give them any food whatsoever.  Any resemblance to popcorn being held by their little paws and jammed into their chipmunky faces, is entirely co-incidental.  It wasn't me, guv'nor.  As time progressed, they got bolder and bolder, until they were practically running over us - although one got a little too close to the good stuff for my liking.  Step away from the bubbles, Fluffy.

Finally, it was time to say goodbye to our new friends and head back to Camp, ready for our afternoon's adventure, a cruise on the famous Rum Runner.   We'd already sampled the delights of the Rum Runner the previous day, and it was just the ticket for a hot afternoon, lounging on the deck of this great little boat.  Karen re-joined us, so we had a great time enjoying the sunshine and maybe a cocktail (or two).  The route pretty much followed the same one as the Tahoe Thunder yesterday, but obviously at a much more sedate, less bouncy pace this time.   Funnily enough,  Captain Neil was at the  helm again (its a very small community of Captains, obviously - again, very glad we tipped Dustin and hadn't acquired a reputation as cheapskates!) and - as it was his birthday (according to his crew, J.P.), we suitably embarrassed him by singing him Happy Birthday.

Drinking, Officer?  Who, me??

After the cruise, Karen left to rejoin camp for the Potluck Party that she'd arranged for everyone.  Maybe the Germans would get lucky and someone would bring a pot brimming full of charisma.    Fortunately, we'd cooked up all our food the night before, so didn't feel in the least inclined, obliged or stocked up to join in.  (bitchy sidenote: I'd overheard Miserable Anne commenting to The Humorless Germans the day before that she wanted to learn conversational French. I thought to myself, "well, I think you probably need to learn conversation first").  Instead, Lori and I stayed at the Beacon Bar and Grill, getting our party on, and generally goofing about.  We ate a heroic amount of food, washed down with an equally herioc (if probably ill-advised) number of Rum Runners, before waddling along the beach after dinner and running into a bunch of Brits on the pier who seemed to enjoy taking lots of pics of us being stupid.  Bless the Brits abroad - love ya!

Finally, it was time to wend our way back to camp, sit round the camp fire with the rest of the gang, chat, use lighter fluid inadvisedly to light a struggling camp fire to impress four 10-year olds, eat cookies and fend off the advances of the lone male in the group.  He'd joined the group the day before, was a bit of an odd-fish and - obviously incredulous about my not falling for his charms instantly and jumping into his fart-sodden sleeping bag for a night of unforgettable passion - privately asked Karen whether this was actually the Lesbian Camping Group!  Absolutely true.   Obviously Karen then passed on this little gem to us, so he was in for a treat when he reappeared and rejoined the group later that evening.  I think he probably wished in the end he'd stayed at home.

All that was then left to do was take a picture of the infamous Carb Tray and call it a night.  The Carb Tray had become legendary in just a couple of short days due to the sheer volume and variety of different carbohydrate-based food that were crammed on it. It belonged to one of our fellow campers, a lovely lady whose ample girth was a testament to the power and effectiveness of The Carb Tray.  

Day 4: Farewell Lake Tahoe!  Roll on, Yosemite!!

So we were up and away super-early this morning, packed up and ready to go by 8am.  It felt good to get on the road and underway early - again, we had a very smooth ride back, and i dropped Lori off in Walnut Creek by 11.45am.  I made it home by 12.30pm, which was great - giving me the rest of the day to relax and recover from the last couple of days!  It was a fantastic trip - we packed in a LOT and had a lot of fun!  Roll on the next camping trip - Yosemite in late August!!