Fourteen years ago, we discovered Belknap Hot Springs after a long day of riding on our cross country bike trip. It offered just the right pampering relief from riding as it did this summer after three “single” nights of camping, something that we try to do only a few times, as it wears on us when traveling with a camper. Belknap offers Lodge rooms and cabin/cottage rentals, and of course, a beautiful campground.
It’s hard to believe it has been 10 years since we’ve been at Crater Lake. It is quite a magnificent sight, so we knew we had to bring all the kids here. Upon arriving, we were surprised that it was covered in snow still! Apparently, Crater Lake had 50 feet of snow this past winter. Mazama Campground does not do reservations in June, so we were hoping we wouldn’t have trouble getting a site. We had no reason to worry, as it appeared that the campground had just opened, with portapotties out in place of the closed bathrooms. Oy!
One of the best parts of vacation is watching the awe in our kids eyes as they see the most amazing parts of our country. I just love how they retain information at this age, and often find myself asking them about facts or places we’ve learned about after I’ve forgotten.
Equally as exciting as Crater Lake, the snow banks and snow caves provided hours of entertainment.
It was great having Grandma along for this part of the trip too. At first sight, she declared she would sleep in the camper, only to change her mind as we stepped out of the car to blue skies, 70 degrees, and mountain scented air.
While the adults enjoyed the beautiful lake view, the kids entertained themselves on this giant snow hill.
As almost every trail was still closed due to snow, our one might stay was plenty here. It was exciting to walk around in shorts in the campsite, surrounded by snow. Even our fire pit was not visible!
The kids were thrilled to have Grandma’s “walking tacos” for dinner finally!
The boys spent the evening working on emoji needlepoints.
Best buds Braden and Gavin decided to show off their “twin clothes”.
While the boys got some time to themselves with Grandma, we took the girls out for an evening scooter ride.
Before leaving the park the next day, the kids completed another junior ranger badge for Crater Lake National Park, a great way to supplement our summer bridge activities on the road!
Leaving Snow Mountain is tough every year, but especially this year after our time at SMR really flew. We knew we were heading into our longest drive, racing across Colorado, Utah, and Nevada to get to the California side of Lake Tahoe. The highlights included the amazingly beautiful Park City, Utah,
Salt Lake City,
and the huge Great Salt Lake.
I’m not sure why it surprised me so much, but the salt factories and flats were so impressive.
It seemed that every exit going through Nevada had a casino, and the one we stopped at around dinner time happened to offer us “kids eat free” at their Iron Skillet for all 5 kiddos, a must stop of course.
We spent the night at Walmart in Elko, Nevada, which turned out to be the best Walmart stop we have made to date, positioned high on a bluff above town.
We treated the kids to ice cream after the long drive.
We noticed the Dickey’s as we drove through Carson City, and it just happened to be kids eat free Sunday.
Our campsite at Fallen Leaf Campground was a beautiful surprise, with perfect temperatures and huge towering trees in our site.
Fallen Leaf Lake was gorgeous, giving Lake Tahoe a run for its money.
After enjoying an afternoon of swimming, we headed up to Emerald Bay for the evening. The road going up was a challenge even without a trailer, with drops off both sides of the road, but Emerald Bay was well worth the drive.
We brought one bike along this year, and have loved taking it out for a ride in the morning. The bike trail along the lake was a highlight of Tahoe for both Chuck and me.
We spent the morning heading to Glen Alpine Falls on Fallen Leaf Lake, and were once again shocked by the narrow one-lane, two-way road to get there. After feeling we were on the road to nowhere, we arrived at a town which even had a fire department. The Falls were well worth the drive.
The Tallac Historic Site was a beautifully preserved lake community, and we enjoyed riding scooters, eating our pizza lunch, and swimming at the beach there. We were surprised to see all the signs warning of the plague here.
The kids had been dying to try out our inflatable kayak, and we thought Fallen Lake would offer the perfect opportunity. The kids worked hard to get it ready, only to discover 30 mph winds there, unlike Lake Tahoe. They braced the water anyway, as it was blowing right into the shore.
After braving the wind as long as we could, we headed over to Tallac on Tahoe for a late afternoon swim before dinner. There was absolutely no wind three of course!
We spent the evening having a fire, playing at the campsite, and enjoying performances by the kids, who were loving having a nice site after lots of time in the car. Nothing is more enjoyable than watching them enjoy each other so much.
There is so much more to see and do at Lake Tahoe (including several hikes I wish we would have been able to do), but that was all we had time for now. Until next time Lake Tahoe!
