MARIPOSA GROVE OF GIANT SEQUOIAS

Yes, I am knee deep in snow.

Nearing Clothespin Tree.

Untouched.



Clothespin Tree.






















Candidate for a Christmas card.























Another candidate.

























And yet another.

Telescope Tree.






















No harm was done to the snow bunny.
























My beautiful wife, somewhat wet from the snow bombs.

"Put that ******* camera away!"


All to ourselves.
























Resting near the brook.























Fallen Giant.

The bridge.

The view.























Same spot, different direction.






















Our eight-mile snowshoe hike took us four and a half hours. We got as far as telescope peak before calling it a day.

We kept getting pommeled by snow bombs from the sequoia's branches. Some would land around us and some on our shoulders and a couple on my head! Ouch, that hurt!

We did bring our shells, but we said "ah, the heck with it" and tried to stay dry between barrages.

Another "white space" on the calendar filled in.


Wherever I may roam...

LAKE TAHOE SNOW

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAYTONA 500

Now, the hard part is trying to convince my wife to eat chocolates while watching the Great American Race!

But, we didn't do either!

For the first time, we visited Lake Tahoe with all of its snow on the surrounding peaks. Quite a spectacle to behold.

Saturday, February 13, 2010:

Hiking down to the beach in Emerald Bay.
























Emerald Bay and Vikingsholm Castle.























What beauty!
























Sunday, February 14, 2010:

My wife near the top of the precipice near Spooner Junction. At this point, I am shaking my head saying to myself, "Now, why didn't I bring those crampons?"

Near the top the footing gets a little precarious with the snowshoes on.

A view that literally took your breath away.

The best part was that we had the whole summit to ourselves.

Valentine's Day in Tahoe Snow...

What a view.

My wife near the summit of the precipice.

Putting my pack back on after summitting. We had two options: Dig in with our snowshoes or glissade. We dug in with our snowshoes while plunging the trekking poles into the snow. It was a strain on the quads and ankles, but what a workout just to get down.



















Looking back after descending. This was fun!






















Now, when we started our hike, there was maybe six other vehicles parked in the lot. Upon our return, the lot was full and people parked on both sides of the road making ingress or egress very difficult.

Once we made our escape, we drove counterclockwise around the lake.

We checked into our hotel, got showered up and walked over to Tudor English Pub to watch the end of the Daytona 500 and to blow the froth off a couple. Tudor has these garlic fries to die for. They were delicious. We ordered fish and chips (garlic fries).

Upon our return to our hotel room, it was time for some champagne and chocolate covered fortune cookies. The only thing missing was strawberries.

Saturday, February 15, 2010:

Heading home...

Ice fishing. What do you use as bait to catch ice?

Beautiful!

Pretty deep.















What a weekend! Scratch off another "must do" on the list and fill in another white space on the calendar.






Wherever I may roam...