Mammoth to Tahoe
The final leg of journey is truly the best.  Mammoth to Tahoe is so beautiful!  The June Mountain loop, aspen groves, meadows, snow capped peaks, it all takes your breath away.  Bridgport has spectacular views, local history; it is also a great place to stop and get a soft serve cone.  Further down the road, the Walker River Valley.  Oh, how I love this place.  Growing up, my mom would beg for us to stop along the Walker River to have a picnic.  I didn't get it.  All I saw was dirt and rocks and a little river.  Now, I seem to be the one begging to stop along the Walker River for a picnic.  The Sierra melt is cold, clear, and seems to be able to clear my head.  The rocks have new colors I never saw before.  I just want to soak it in.  Ok, the next best thing is  Walker Burger with "homemade" burgers and shakes, that you can consume and enjoy in their back garden with a lawn and big trees and picnic tables.  There is always a line and a wait for these made-to-order burgers, but worth it! The rugged, western road continues through lakes and and little towns, until you finally make the turn onto 50, up the grade to Tahoe.  As you wind along, all of a sudden, the first glimpse of The Lake.  It's like you have been smelling the chocolate chip cookies bake in the oven and the buzzer finally goes off signaling that the treat is ready! 

                    
We stay on the West Shore (west shore-best shore, as they say) so we have a way to go.  We finally pull in to our destination.  We have summered in the same spot every year since I was 7, without a single miss.  My children are now experiencing exactly what I did.  I love the met expectation.  It's all about the lake, being in it, swimming and skiing, and on it, in the boat.  My mom and I agreed that there is nothing better than enjoying your morning coffee sitting on the porch, listening to the sound of the lake and the sparkle of the sun as it glitters on the water.  I am settling in with my parents, my uncle, and most importantly my boy; but it is not complete, as we wait for my husband and my sister and her family to join us in a few days.  Then, the real party starts.


After a few mellow days, we are all together! 


(My brother-in-law Andrew took the gorgeous photo above from the balcony.)