Our last day in South Tahoe....what to do, what to do...how about we take a Gondola ride up the Heavenly ski lift?? Well sure.....why not?? Our view from WAY up above Tahoe....whew!!!
After we checked out of the condo and packed up the truck, then we walked around the shopping area near Heavenly. We went to purchase snacks and food for lunch while we were up there. On the ride up this is our view....wow!!!
http://www.skiheavenly.com/
http://www.skiheavenly.com/
Oh wait....must take a selfie as we move along!! Jan was not a fan of heights...so all eyes were on her to see how she was handling the trip up...and up...and up...and UP!!! (notice she IS smiling!!)
Halfway up there was a stopping point with a lookout that went all the way around the mountain....
Look at all of those colors in the water.....just amazing!!
Oh....my....beautifulness....is that a word?? In Tahoe it is!!!
Here is Mt. Tallac again....see the cross in the middle of the mountain range?? Wow....just Wow!!
Group shot halfway up!! The guy taking the pictures was a hoot!!! Jan wasn't too wild about getting too close to the railing, but she was quite the trooper!!
Our lunch spot....how lucky are we?? Just a little tip....take your own snacks and refreshments up with you, as the prices for food and drinks apparently matches the elevation!!
A panorama shot from up at the lookout point.
Going on up.....
....and up....(looking backwards as I took the picture)
At the very top of Heavenly....and yes that is snow!!! The summit is at 10,067 feet, with the base being different depending on which state you are in: California is 6,540 feet and Nevada is 7,200 feet.
A walking path that actually kept going up!!
Terry and I walking along the path.....and the higher altitude made it difficult to breathe at times. Whew!! But it was totally worth it as we saw amazing beauty designed by God's hands.
At the very top...such beauty!
Selfie time.....
While we were up there, we found that this plant was on the endangered list...
It was still growing up there in a few areas.
- Tahoe draba (Draba asterophora var.asterophora) is a small alpine perennial plant in the Brassicaceae (Mustard) family. The species has small yellow flowers and is characterized by a pincushion growth form where all the foliage grows close to the ground in a short mound or mat (Baad 1979). The worldwide distribution of Tahoe draba is limited to high elevation (>8,000 feet) peaks in the vicinity of Lake Tahoe. Within the Tahoe Basin, the species is found at Mount Rose in the north, and the Freel Peak/Jobs Sister and Monument Peak areas in the south. Although there are a few occurrences located adjacent to the Lake Tahoe Basin in the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest, the largest number of plants occur in the Tahoe Basin populations; thus the status of Tahoe populations is critical to the viability of the entire species.Tahoe draba has special designations by TRPA and the U.S. Forest Service, who provide the plants with increased levels of protection.
To the left is Lake Tahoe (California side) and to the right is Nevada.
Heading down again.....
Riding down the ski lift....
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Randy's feet...this cracked me up!!
Relaxing in chairs outside of the Tamarack Lodge that is at the top of the Gondola ride at Heavenly....there are also rope courses and other activities. OH...did I mention the zip line that starts at the top of Heavenly?? That would have been awesome to try, unfortunately it was down for maintenance on Wednesdays....bummer! Next time!!!
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Somebody was in the doghouse...not sure why???
You can see some of the rope courses in the background here....
Walking to the lift again...
Still a smile on her face....
On the trip back down....
Just wow.....sometimes words just aren't even sufficient when surrounded by such utter beauty.
What else to do when you get back from Heaven....stop at the local brewery for fish tacos...of course!!
If you are in South Tahoe....a must stop for craft beer and great food!!!
Then we started the trip back down from Tahoe. Here are some vineyards from the trip back down....of course we had to stop at another winery. This time it was Crystal Basin. Since this was actually Terry's birthday, he got a huge discount on their best bottle of wine. The discount was his age (which I won't disclose)....but let me say that it was over a 50% discount....haha!
Some of the vineyards as we traveled back down to Roseville. Such beauty that is beyond words....
Celebrating Terry's (again) 29th birthday at Johnny Garlic's Restaurant....the food and atmosphere were amazing!!! Our poor waitress spilled the whole glass bottle of olive oil on the floor right by our table...felt bad for her. They poured salt on it to soak it up before sweeping it. (I never knew that would work!)
That doesn't look good at all, does it?? Haha!!! Wow!!! This was the Volcano Chicken...and soooo delicious!! And for dessert we shared a mint ice cream pie that was just like eating a Thin Mint Girl Scout cookie!! And free on your birthday!!! You MUST try the Johnny Garlic Fries too....my husband is STILL trying to recreate them...keep trying Terry!! I already see other things on the menu that I want to try NEXT TIME!!!
As you can tell...we didn't have any fun at Heavenly or at Johnny Garlic's!!! Next time will be the start of our trip back home.....oh my!!!!
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