The summer continues at Lake Tahoe

Peaking from behind a tree.

One of many bears we have seen in the campground this season.

Early on July 2, I headed out in my kayak to find a nice spot to drink my morning tea and write in my journal. On this paddle I would stay inside the bay since the water was a bit rough, especially in the main body of the lake.

A flower bloom along the shore.

Where I landed for the morning.

You can see the mouth of the bay in the background.

Late on July 2 we went for a drive to explore Markleyville and a bit of Highway 4 up to Ebbett's Pass. It's not all that far from Lake Tahoe, but not on the way to anywhere we usually go, but I wanted to find a nice spot for the lunch we'd brought along. We ended up in a parking lot for the Ebbett's Pass Pacific Crest Trail Trailhead where we set up chairs to eat our lunch. Following lunch I went for a short hike on the spur trail that lead to the PCT. Once again, it was hard to turn back, but I did.

The lure of the trail!

A patch of snow along my way.

And a pretty yellow flower.

On the way back to Lake Tahoe we stopped at the Big Meadow Trailhead for the Tahoe Rim Trail and discovered some very colorful murals inside the bathrooms. Below are just some of the scenes I saw inside.

A fox

A bear

A honey bee

July 4 is always the most raucous time in our campground, and since the 4th fell in the middle of the week it was pretty lively all week long. Rob opted to go to bed early instead of watching the fireworks at South Lake Tahoe from the Overlook in our campground, but I joined others to ooh and aah at the distant display.

Early morning personal aircraft, July 4.

And another one.

My one blurry picture of fireworks, July 4, 2024.

Early morning quiet, July 5, looking into Emerald Bay with "My" mountain above.

A goose swimming by as I paddle my kayak early on July 6.

Mt. Tallac.

A momma Common Merganser Duck with her babies.

On Sunday, July 7, we headed over to the Lake Tahoe Visitor Center at Taylor Creek, a favorite spot to enjoy wildlife and scenery.

A grouse on the path at Taylor Creek - the first I've seen this year.

What is this creature in the stream profile chamber?

It's a tadpole of the invasive bull frogs.

I recognized it as a tadpole, but had never seen one so big!

A school of fish in the stream profile chamber.

This unique and interesting display of the underwater life of Taylor Creek has been closed our previous three seasons due to damage from vandalism. Hopefully the area has been made more secure to protect against future damage.

Very early Monday morning, July 8, I drove the one mile to the Bayview Trailhead to hike to Cascade Falls and spend my early morning journal writing time by the creek above the falls.

Bayview Trailhead sign.

The water fall is visible in the lower part of this picture, but just barely.

A close up view of the falls that have dwindled significantly since early summer.

Creek cascades above the falls.

The view out across Cascade Lake and Lake Tahoe.

My spot to sit along the creek.

A flower blooming nearby.

Looking at Cascade lake on the way back to the car.

The trail to Cascade Falls is only about a mile, but there are some gnarly parts.

Not sure I'll hike that way again.

This is lower Eagle Falls just above Emerald Bay on July 9.

Sunrise, July 10.

An osprey in a nest along the Rubicon Trail, July 10.

Sunrise, July 13.

The view I see most mornings from the Overlook, but the mood is always changing!

Close up of a beautiful Jeffrey Pine tree at the Overlook.

Sunbeams over the east shore, July 14.

And a squirrel posing in front of me, July 14.

Early morning July 17.

Smoky skies from nearby forest fires visible to the north from the Overlook.

We have only had a couple of days of smoke so far this summer - lucky.

Another "mood" in the early morning of Emerald Bay, July 17.

Reflections in a rain produced puddle, July 17.

Sunrise, July 18.

Sunrise, July 19, Rob's 76th birthday.

To celebrate Rob's birthday I let him sleep in while I headed down and up to Eagle Lake early in the morning. I could drive to the Eagle Falls (upper falls) trailhead on the highway and do a two mile round trip hike to the lake, but I actually prefer to walk out of the RV and head down the Rubicon Trail to the shore of Emerald Bay and then up the road/trail to the highway and across to the trailhead thus making closer to 10 miles round trip.

On the lower part of the Rubicon Trail before getting to the Visitor Center and Vikingsholm.

This is a common place for folks to see bears, especially when the berries are ripe.

I have yet to encounter a bear on this trail - just see lots of them in the campground.

Clouds reflecting in the water of Emerald Bay, 7:00 AM, July 19

There were still lots of wildflowers in bloom along the route. Following are pictures of some I saw on the way up to the highway.

Pretty yellow ones by some water.

Sierra Tiger Lily.

Unidentified, but pretty pink.

Button Parsely?

Water along the road/trail.

Looking up to my mountain that rises above Eagle Lake.

The road looking more like a trail here

Made it to the highway and Vikingsholm Parking lot.

Upper Eagle Falls.

Entering the Wilderness Area.

First glimpse of the lake.

The mountains perfectly reflected in Eagle Lake.

This chipmunk really wanted a piece of my trail bar!

As soon as I pulled out the trail bar and started to unwrap it this chipmunk appeared on the rock in front of me, and then three more chipmunks and a Stellar Jay joined in the begging ritual. Their begging wasn't rewarded and as soon as I put the empty wrapper away the critters all vanished.