Tahoe Rim

Steve had work to do, so I went off exploring on my own. Yesterday we passed a sign not far down the west side of the ridge we are staying on that said, "Kingsbury North Trailhead." So that is where I headed. I followed that road a long way to its end, past lots of houses that were no more fancy than our own at home, although they may cost a lot more due to the location. When I arrived about 9, I only saw one other car in the parking lot. (By the time I left, it was full and I had met several hikers along the way.) As I shouldered my pack with tea, ice water and lunch, a man came walking down the road and turned into the trailhead.

"Do you know the area?" I asked.

"Very well," he replied. So I asked for suggestions.

He recommended a loop to the right that would take me past Castle Rock. "Although if you go left, there is a very nice vista point not too far along." He warned me that the peregrine falcons were nesting at Castle Rock so I shouldn't go there, but I like a loop trail more than retracing my steps, so I went right while he went left.

It was beautiful even if the skies are still hazy with smoke.

When I got to the Castle Rock turn off, the sign said nesting season is done and it was OK to go there. I took the hiking trail. NOT this one.

The vista was awesome. although I think without the smoke I would have been able to see the lake from here.

I did some clambering around among the rocks, but nothing stupid. After all, I was hiking alone and didn't know how long it might be before someone came along to rescue me if I got in trouble.

I backtracked to the main trail and continued on around the loop. Given the altitude of 7500' to just over 7900', I frequently used Katies' technique of pausing "to admire the scenery." Believe me, there was plenty of scenery to admire. Despite the 90s and low 100s temps we have had most of this trip, here in the mountains it was cool and breezy.

I touched on the Tahoe Rim Trail before cutting back to the trailhead parking lot. It was only noon, and I had brought lunch, so I took off to the left for the vista the fellow had recommended. I found a nice spot to perch on some rocks and eat my apple, granola bar, carrots and hard boiled egg with a (hazy) view of the valley. About 10 minutes farther on, I found the place marked "Vista." I got a different perspective on Castle Rock from there.

This would be a great place to view the falcons when they are nesting.

It was 12:30 when I left the vista. I told myself 1 PM would be a good time to turn back. In fact, by that time, the trail was heading pretty much downhill. What goes down must come back up. At least, when the car is back at the parking lot. But before I retraced my steps, I found a place where I could prove there really is a lake out there!

By the time I got back to the trailhead, I had hiked 6 miles in 4 1/2 hours. (Lots of enjoying the scenery.) Tahoe Rim Trail goes all the way around the lake with lots of side trails like the ones I was on today. I told Steve I could come back every year and never get bored!

Lake Tahoe

Gorgeous area. I remember coming over the hill on the Interstate years ago and literally gasping at the beauty when I saw it. Ever since, I have wanted to come back. The Mosquito Fire is still raging 90 miles west of here. To say it affects our air quality and visibility is a major understatement, but there is still undeniable beauty.

The hotel pool guy was vacuuming ash off the bottom of the pool when I came up to investigate this morning. (Access is from the 6th floor of our building.)

He's from Michigan and misses the climate of the Midwest. Also pasties from the UP.

We started the morning thinking we would just hang out at the hotel after the days of heavy driving we have had, but then the sun came out. Sort of.

We did the drive around the lake. Our book said three hours, but that refers to driving time, not including stops. We took five. We could have spent more time if we had a California State Park sticker or the mountains were not obscured by smoke.

We filled up with gas in South Lake Tahoe at $5.49/gallon, the cheapest we saw all day. How about $6.59?

We hiked through the pines down to the beach from the National Forest Visitor Center west of South Lake Tahoe (a busy tourist town we couldn't wait to get out of). Signage wasn't great and we wandered well out of our way, but the paths were all level. No cliffs to climb.

We had taken a picnic, but picnic spots were sparse without paying for one of the state parks. So lunch was at a lovely little place on the beach that decided to close before we got our food. They did go ahead and serve us, but with the smoke only one other table was occupied.

Along the route we passed multi-million-dollar home after multi-million-dollar home. Many of them had garages on the third floor or higher. The rest of the house clung in layers to the cliff below the road. All had lots of windows to wash and enormous decks. 

Here are some homes to drool over. Mostly I wouldn't want to clean them. But I would love to sit on the deck and drink tea.

We stopped at Inspiration Point overlooking Emerald Bay with the only island in the lake. A tea house on top was built in 1929 by the woman who built the fake Scandinavian castle on the shore (not pictured). It is reached only by boat or a hike down the cliff (and back up, of course) that we didn't take although the trailhead parking lot was full, so evidently others do.

Despite the smoke obscuring the views, it was a beautiful drive. We'll have to return and do it again with blue skies. Maybe with snow.

Layton, UT, to Stateline, NV (that is, Lake Tahoe)

 Today was a nine-hour-drive day.  Lots of time for knitting in the car.

The route alternated long, straight flat stretches of desert with climbs up and over mountain ridges. The most impressive flat stretch was the Bonneville salt flats--miles and miles of flat, white salt.

It reminded us very much of a thin layer of snow on a frozen lake, even to the point of car tracks left in the "snow." 

We took NV395 south from Reno. Steve was complaining that we had left the mountains behind. It was pretty hazy--a haze that turned out to be smoke from the Mosquito Fire in California, not humidity. When we turned west toward Tahoe Ridge Resort, we hadn't left the mountains at all. We were following a ridge that was completely hidden in the smoke. The climb to the top was pretty cool even if we couldn't see any views of the valley. Here is the view from our balcony.

They tell us it will probably be better in the morning. All I can say is, it's not as cold as Iceland.

Boseman, MT to Layton, UT

Today we headed south for a couple of the scenic byways in our National Geographic book. Mesa Falls Scenic Byway was well marked. We went in from Ashland at the south end and skipped the 12 miles of heavily logged forest at the north end. The beginning--across Montana wheat fields--was less than inspiring, but then the road plunged down into a wooded canyon of the Warm River and up the other side. Great view from the overlook.

Lower Mesa Falls required more of a hike to get close than we had time for. Worth going back. Upper Mesa Falls ($5 fee) had a walk that went along the gorge and right to the edge of the falls. The sun was shining and the rainbow was breathtaking.

We cut across country to a second scenic byway, but nothing today was anywhere near as spectacular as yesterday. And we were pretty tired after yesterday's spectacular switchbacks, so we headed along the Teton Valley toward Salt Lake City. Beautiful setting. 

Heated the tuna hot dish I had brought from home for our dinner. It was still frozen the first night, and last night we stopped at a local bar and grill at Columbus with great home made soup and chicken fingers. 

Rapid City, SD, to Boseman, MT, with a major detour

This is a road trip that almost didn’t happen. Steve’s nephew is getting married in Puyallup, WA, a week from Saturday. The plan was to put Mom on a plane to Seattle Monday and keep on driving, taking our time to enjoy the sights along the way. Then Mom went in the hospital for three days. She improved immediately, but the doctor didn’t want her to go so far from home. Immediately we made alternate plans, hoping she could fly out in time for the wedding. But then in her follow up visit, another doctor said, “All the tests came back normal. Go for it! Live your life!” So we reverted to plan A.

So Monday (after putting Mom on the plane) we got as far as Rapid City, SD, looking regretfully at the turn offs for the Badlands and the Black Hills. We’ve done those before. Multiple times. And loved them, but this trip we are going for some new places.

 

Tuesday morning we got as far as Billings, MT, where we stopped at a rest area. Steve was looking at the map, (we love maps!) and remembering how cool the drive over Beartooth Pass is. So much for new places. “We’ve got plenty of time today," he said. "We could go over the pass and down to Yellowstone, cross over the top of the park here” (pointing at the map) "and come back up US89 to Boseman where we have a hotel reservation.” Sounded good to me.

 

The road over the pass is spectacular with lots of hairpin turns to the top.

Still some snow fields in spots.

 

There was some kind of sign about a barrier ahead, but we didn’t see it in time to actually read what it said. We’ll just turn back when we get to the barrier, we said. But the road kept going.

 

June floods caused a lot of washout. We saw lots of freshly asphalted bits. Then we came to a place where there was only one lane and we had to wait (as much as 30 minutes according to the sign) and take turns following a pilot vehicle. 

Fortunately, our wait was right by Beartooth Lake, so I jumped out to walk and take pictures. I figured the cars from the other direction would give me plenty of warning to get back to our car.

 

We stopped and hiked to the top of this waterfall.

 

More curves on the way down the south side of the range.

Then we got to the Yellowstone Gate. Uh oh. Closed. I guess some of those roads washed out in June are still not open in September. Whoops. Four hours is a long way to retreat. And we saw a sign that Beartooth Pass was closed 7PM to 7AM. Not sure we could make it in time.

 

We had seen a turn off for Cody, WY, a ways back. It went south and back east. Well out of our way, but we didn’t have a lot of choices. So we took it. Chief Joseph Scenic Byway, the sign called it. It wasn’t in our scenic highways and byways book, but certainly deserved to be. By this time we were worried about how late we would reach Boseman. No stops. No pictures. But lots of switchbacks and fabulous views. I definitely want to go back—when we aren’t pressured to move so fast.

GPS would have been nice while we were trying to figure out the best route out, but the mountains were too remote. No signal. We hit another of those places where we had to wait our turn to go through a road work area. This one was a lot earlier in the repair process. If it had still been washed out, we would have been trapped!

But eventually, we reached the main road to Cody from the north. GPS worked! It sent us back to I-90 a few miles west of where we left it in the morning. We actually made it to Boseman before 9 PM, having turned a 6 1/2-hour day into a 13-hour day. But what a spectacular day!

Iceland Day 9: Reykjavik

Tuesday morning we docked in Reykjavik. The weather was a lot nicer than when we left. (We NEVER ate out here on our journey.)

We had to be off the ship by 8 AM, but weren't flying out until late-afternoon. Before we left Reykjavik we tried to make a reservation at the famous Blue Lagoon, but it was already fully booked. However, we got one at Sky Lagoon, a new hot-springs pool and spa on the other side of the fjord from the main city.

Their changing rooms and bathrooms were classy.

Outside temps were in the 50s, but you enter the hot water before you ever leave the building.

Then you wend your way out through the rocks

to the edge of the sea.

Wonderful way to relax after a busy week! And look at all that blue sky!!!

The door way leads to the spa treatments. Notice the attendant in the center, wearing his parka.

Taxi to the airport through the lava fields. One of those mountains on the horizon is the one that errupted the next day. Sigh. We just missed it.

No one in Reykjavik seemed nervous. I guess a year ago they were, but now they know what to expect--lots of tourism business. They get warnings on their phones like we get tornado warnings. That's how we knew yesterday about all the tremors. Nearer the epicenter they also got warnings about taking heavy items off shelves lest they fall.

John and Tammy were taken directly to the airport. It seemed that the cruise line was anxious to fulfill their responsibility and wash their hands of them. They found an obscure corner of the lounge and stayed put until we came, all the time wearing masks. When we checked in, we were not asked a thing. We did not volunteer that John had tested positive or that the rest of us had been exposed or that my throat was sore. We all wore masks on board and kept to ourselves, trusting to the much-vaunted airplane circulation system, preferring to be sick in our own beds. Hopefully none of our fellow travelers got sick. Steve drove us all home in John's car. 

By the time we arrived, I was pretty out of it. The next day at the drive-through testing center we both tested negative, but the nurse said, "It's probably just too early." She knew well enough that we had been traveling with John and Tammy. She was working that day because Tammy couldn't, having been exposed to Covid. Sure enough a few days later, my second test came back positive.

I isolated in the basement, and mostly slept for five days, but Steve did get it, albeit a much milder case. We left his mother in her apartment rather than bring her back to be with our germs. We are both fully vaccinated and boosted, so it could have been worse.

"How was Iceland?" friends ask. Given the cold and rain and Covid at the end, it's hard to get as excited as I usually am over travel, but as I look back over these pictures, it really is a spectacularly beautiful place. No regrets about making the trip. Except next time I will be more careful about wearing a mask rather than counting on my vaccinations.

[Covid combined with a major computer problem with my Photos app has meant that I am posting these blogs in September instead of August as intended. I dated them to when they happened rather than when I posted.]

Iceland Day 8: Grundarfjordur

What is that blue stuff overhead? I’m not sure if this was the most spectacular scenery day or if it was just so beautiful because the sun came out. 

First stop on our Wonders of the West tour was this tiny church between a volcano and the shore. (State church=Lutheran)

In recent years they have had to lock churches to prevent theft and vandalism mostly from tourists. An attendant was there to let us see inside.

Wonderful lava fields and formations along the shore. 

This one is at Snaefellsbaer, a bit farther along the coast.

Along with this troll.

Only the fringes of the glacier were visible beneath the “tablecloth.” The picture was so bad that I evidently deleted it without realizing it was my only glacier picture.

More fabulous formations at this near-by national park.

The trail leads down to a black sand beach with the remnants of past shipwrecks

and wonderful picnic spots.

The route back to the ship passed waterfall after waterfall any one of which would have been a state park at home, but I’m not sure any of them have names.

Again, we didn’t get back until after 3, but they held the Terrace dining room open for us. We ate an 8:30 breakfast and took muffins and apples along on the tour so we weren't starving. The dinning room was festooned with these remnants from the previous night's BBQ which had to be held inside rather than on the deck because of the cold. Vegetable carving must be a thing on cruises. I seem to remember an on-board demonstration when we took Steve's mom to Alaska. I love the color effects they get from different depths of cutting.

Oh, yeah. John tested positive for Covid this morning. He had chills and fever overnight so they called medical this morning. Tammy has been quarantined with him even though she tested negative. They're not allowed to leave the room until they leave the ship tomorrow morning. They had no tours scheduled for today, and room service is excellent. He’s not feeling too bad. She’s frustrated to be shut up with someone who is known to be contagious. The ship has arranged a taxi for them straight to the airport, but what happens then, who knows. You no longer have to show documentation to get on the plane, but on the way here they did ask about symptoms and having been with someone who tested positive. We may all be quarantined in Reykjavik while Reykjavik prepares for a volcanic eruption. There have been thousands of earthquakes since midnight, some up to 5.4 on the Richter scale. Being quarantined could be an opportunity to see an active volcano.

 

Adventure.