Da ow a ga

'Da ow a ga' is what the Washoe Indians call Lake Tahoe. The lake has been a sacred summer gathering place for the Washoe for thousands of years. When the first pioneers arrived, they mispronounced the name which eventually morphed into Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is one of our favorite places to go in California, and only an hour and a half from Sacramento. It is a special place for John and me because this is where we got married. And so, when he suggested we plan a trip there for Memorial weekend, he didn't have to suggest twice.

We got a reservation at a campground outside of Tahoe City which is on the Northwest side of the Lake. Our campsite looks messy right now because we had to pull everything out of the bear locker before we could start the fire and prepare breakfast. I guess we looked pretty cold (it got down to around 37 degrees during the night) because the couple that were in an RV across from us brought over two steaming mugs of coffee to tie us over until we could make our own. We thought that was the most thoughtful gesture ever. I don't normally drink my coffee black, but I did that morning and I do believe it was the best tasting coffee ever!

By the time everyone rolled out of their sleeping bags, John had a nice, roaring fire going.

Interesting Facts

Lake Tahoe is the second deepest lake in the U.S. with a depth of 1,645 ft. (501 m).

The shoreline circumference is 72 miles (116 km).

At its longest and widest, it measures 22 miles (35 km) by 12 miles (19 km).

The average surface elevation is 6, 225 ft. (1,897 m) above sea level.

The lake is two-thirds in California and one-third in Nevada.

Lake Tahoe is fed by 63 streams and 2 hot springs. According to research, with a volume of 39 trillion gallons of water, if the Lake was ever drained it would take around 700 years for the streams and hot springs, snowmelt, and precipitation to fill it again entirely.

John decided that we needed to work off our breakfast and took us to the trail head for Eagle Rock -a short hike from Hwy. 89. The above two photos and the one below were taken from Eagle Rock.

After our hike, we continued our drive down Hwy. 89 toward South Lake Tahoe.

The above two shots were taken at high noon near Inspiration Point above Emerald Bay.

We ended the day by taking a short drive to Echo Chalet where there was still plenty of snow on the ground. John spent a lot of time here during the summers with his best friend Jim when he was in high school, so when we go to Lake Tahoe we always have to check on the place - just for old times sake.

This is Echo Lake. The water is crystal clear here and there were a few fishermen who were having a good fish day.

We hiked up to Echo Summit where you get incredible views of the Tahoe Valley. Lake Tahoe is off in the distance. If you look closely, you can see off to the upper right a large shadow - that's where the casinos are located. We didn't go to the casinos this trip - this was just a camping, hiking, exploring trip, but we have been to them in the past and they are great fun - just a whole different Lake Tahoe experience altogether.

Our Memorial weekend adventure continues tomorrow.