Just got back from the annual Tahoe vacation. I had a great time, this year, and found some new hiking trails from Spooner Lake up to Marlette Lake (on the east side of the lake), since the normal playground from Echo Lake up to Aloha was still buried under snow (and a whole lot of snow at that)

I got there a day early, so I got to hang out with the Hogges on Saturday night, going to a Sacramento River Cats minor-league game and off to Leatherbys for a late night snack. Kelsey was showing up with her new fiance at 3am, so we had to set a little trap for them (think of a bunch of cans stacked by the door). That’s what Evil Uncles are all about…

My brother came down with the whole family this year, so we all got to see Candice, Riley, Elle and Cameron. I’m pretty sure they had a great time, but as a single traveling consultant, there’s no way I can imagine the “travel day” thing with a large family like that. We all  headed up to the lake (pure chaos at checkin, something unusual must have been going on.

My normal hiking spot from Echo Lake up into Desolation Wilderness, was still under large amounts of snow, so when the Vachuska’s came up, we did a trip on the east side of the lake instead. We did a 9 mile loop from Spooner Lake up to Marlette Lake. In all these years, I never even knew Marlett lake existed. Funny how you can find new things even in locations you’ve been hundreds of times.

On Saturday, I went down to Doug and Peggy’s for the annual “Fourth of July get together (and birthday party). It was great seeing everybody again.

I didn’t get out the camera like I usually do, so I don’t have a lot of pictures, but the ones I took are below.

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Tags: Family,Hiking,Lake Tahoe,Marlette Lake,Spooner Lake,Vacation
Categories: Family Stuff, Travel
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Tom and Ian above Highway 50

This year’s Tahoe trip was a little more chaotic than usual, but as always, far too short.

I drove up from Santa Barbara (I was working at our office) to the Bay Area on Friday night, then headed up to Sacramento and stopped by to see William on Saturday. Given the treatments he’s going through right now, he was looking pretty good, and quite excited about his new TV and X-box, even though he’s kind of bed-bound right now.

After the short visit with the Holdens, I headed up to Tahoe, where I met Janet and Steve Kelsey (cousins), Tom and Ian Vachuska (cousins) and two of my nieces (Kelsey and Katie). We had a good dinner at Fire and Ice, and the next day, I took Tom and Ian for a “walk” up to the falls between Tamarack Lake and Echo Lake.

Above Cascade Lake

Mom and Dad came up for a night, then back up again with Darlene and Bill Frost (Aunt and Uncle). The Hogges came up for a couple nights and a quick day trip to Cascade Falls above Cascade Lake.

And in the middle of all this, my brother Scott and his wife Candice had their baby on Thursday, July 22nd!!! See the link above for pictures, and Scott’s Facebook account for more information.

Last but not least, my parents and I had a far-too-short visit with Eric Larusson (one of my high-school friends who now runs the Tahoe Villager Nursery in Truckee) on his way through town after a job.

See the pictures below the break

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Tags: Cascade Lake,Desolation Wilderness,Echo Lake,Emerald Bay,Family,South Lake Tahoe,Timber Lodge,waterfalls
Categories: Photo Albums, Travel
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