A few pictures of the scenery on our drive from San Fransisco to the Lake Tahoe. The landscape changes dramatically from lower, drier valleys to high mountains and alpine lakes as the elevation changes.
Lake Tahoe is a large freshwater Lake in the Sierra Nevada mountain range on the border of California and Nevada. We decided to “camp” at an RV resort in Carson City, Nevada though calling it camping may be a bit of a stretch!
Here, the boys are practicing their jumps!
As Nevada’s capital, Carson City is home to the main state government buildings.
There was a peacock strolling through the downtown area!
Being so close to Lake Tahoe, we took advantage of the short drive and set off to explore this alpine lake.
These are some fun facts we learned about Lake Tahoe along with photos of the scenery!
It is the second deepest lake in North America. The average depth is 1,000 feet. If you were to put one of tallest buildings in North America, the Willis (formerly the Sears Tower) of Chicago into the deepest point of the lake, the top would still be submerged by 195 feet.
Lake Tahoe never freezes.
There are 39 trillion gallons of water in Lake Tahoe, enough to supply everyone in the United States with 75 gallons of water per day.
Lake Tahoe is fed by 63 rivers and streams and empties through just one outlet, the Truckee River. The Truckee River flows into Pyramid Lake in Nevada, which has no outlet because it lies within the Great Basin Desert.
Lake Tahoe was formed over two million years ago by movement in the Earth’s crust created the Lake Tahoe Basin. Glaciers carved and shaped the basin, while volcanic activity also helped form the lake. Rain and melting snow eventually filled the basin, creating Lake Tahoe and the Truckee River outlet.
The boys swam in Lake Tahoe, of course!
It was a fun day exploring the lake!
Some of the high desert views from the drive back to Carson City from Lake Tahoe.
After spending the day on the lake, the boys got to experience In-N-Out, the popular West Coast burger chain, for the first time.
They were back in the pool in time for sunset!
From Lake Tahoe and Carson City, we drove west toward Yosemtie National Park. This route provided drastic changes in terrain from the lake to forests and mountains to the high desert along the Eastern Sierra Mountain Range.
It was here that the boys found another spot to fish and swim, this time in a desert river.
The West Walker River begins high in the Sierra Nevada Mountain Range, where snowmelt provides much of its water. It flows down through mountains and valleys and into the dry Great Basin Desert.
We also stopped at Mono Lake, a large, ancient saltwater lake located in California’s Inyo National Forest.
The lake has no outlet, so water leaves mainly through evaporation. Over time, this has caused salt and minerals to build up, making the water much saltier than the ocean!
Inyo National Forest includes Mount Whitney, which, at 14,505, feet is the highest point in the lower 48 states.
In addition to the ancient lake it is also home to an ancient forest, where some trees are more than 4,000 years old!
Next stop: Yosemite National Park in California.