Lake Tahoe - Day 2

Our plans were to take it easy on Sunday and we did do that.  The property management company gave us some lift tickets so we could get up mountain and walk around.  According to people who come here often, summer traffic is about 15% of what winter is.  It's pretty laid back.

This is a massive property development project.  From the Ritz Carlton, to the Northstar Condos, to the retail shops and the other recreation facilities this is huge.  I'm sorry Albany.  I didn't mean to turn the blog into an automobile commercial.

This is just a piece of the village.  The condo we are staying in is within walking distance.  The buildings in the village are all constructed as multi-use.  Upstairs is housing.  Downstairs is retail.  In the center of the picture is a roller skating rink which becomes an ice skating rink during the winter.

The chair lifts carry hikers and mountain bikers up mountain this time of year.  I suppose we hiked but it was leisurely.  We looked around.

The first picture in this group is from the chair lift looking back across the valley.  The second is at the head wall to a trail.  Spring flowers flourish this time of year.

There are lots of weddings during the summer season.  Unlike ski places in the east there are huge ski lodges at the top of the mountains.  They were setting up for receptions.  This floral arrangement was in a wooden barrel outside one of them.

I played with the shutter speeds on these frames so I can use them in class to demonstrate the different outcomes when you do that.  Yes, the bikers move fast.  No, they do not disappear when the ride.  That's just an effect.  However, at mid station we saw a young couple get on their bikes and head down as we jumped onto the chair lift.  They were down and in the restrooms as our chair ride got to the station.

And what does it look like during the winter?  Like that, except Jan would be wise to get out of the way of the snow movers.  Snow cover has not been deep the past five years.  Ordinarily the weather takes care of all of their needs, but the resort relied on their snow making devices.  Not surprisingly, those are not in this picture.

Tomorrow, we head over to Yosemite.  We will enter through Tioga Pass, which is always beautiful.  It will be spring time there as well.  After spending several days in Yosemite we will head back to San Francisco to meet up with Tim and Debbie.  We began the trip with them so it's fitting we end it with them.  Our plan is to take in a San Francisco Giant baseball game.  The Giants are playing the Mets rivals, the Washington Nationals.  It will be easy to route for the Giants.