Let it snow!

Last month for New Years, we met up with some friends at their vacation home in Tahoe.  I've really only been up to the snow a hand full of times and snow is not really my thing.  In the past, I have always been ill prepared for the snow and freezing to death is not my idea of fun.  I was determined to be better prepared for this adventure so I went to the sporting goods store, broke down and bought some good snow boots.

The weather was beautiful and Tahoe recently had a bountiful snowfall so the ski season was in full operation.  When we got to our friends vacation home, this is what we saw...

Icecycles everywhere!  At first I thought they were fake.
They are so fascinating and beautiful!

View of icecycles and lake from the dinning room.

  

We had great food, great wine and best of all... great company!

Our friend Norm offered us some 'Morris' brand olives that he's been saving for a

special occasion but we had eaten so much that we just didn't have room. >)

The next day, we all went snowshoeing and an amazing thing happened... I decided that I love the snow.  The trick is to make sure you are dressed properly.

I haven't figured out how Huckleberry George can talk everyone into doing

everything for him.  Maybe they felt sorry for him b/c he's too fat to bend over!

Trail to the lake

Lake Tahoe is absolutely BEAUTIFUL!

Private dock in our friend's subdivision.

We had so much fun showshoeing that after we got back home, we went out and bought ourselves snowshoes.  Kings Canyon is less than an hour away from us so we run up the hill as often as we can to go snowshoeing even if it's just for a couple hours.  Unless it just snowed, the road is clear and we don't need chains all the way up to Grant Grove.

We learned that on weekends up at Grant Grove and Giant Forest, they offer free ranger led snowshoeing nature walks (they supply the equipment or you can bring your own). 

Here the ranger at Grant Grove is telling us about the different trees in the area.

George standing next to an amazing Ponderosa pine.

Big Meadows is a popular cross country ski area but since they close the road in the winter, the only way back in would be to cross country ski, snowmobile or snowshoe in.  Monticeto Lodge not far away, leaves a 'warming hut' at Big Meadows with limited supplies for cc skiers and their guests to use.  Our goal is to snowshoe 3 miles back to our cabin and spend at least one weekend up there each winter.

A friend took this picture of our cabin a couple years ago when he

cross country skied up to Big Meadows.  It was a heavy snowfall year

and as you can see, our little cabin is almost buried in snow.