Sand Harbor Area

Sand Harbor

The well known Sand Harbor area on the East shore of Lake Tahoe, perhaps one of the most beautiful beach areas to visit.

Whether you want to soak up the sun, or explore the rock pools and perhaps even jump from the rocks in to the lake water – like some of the brave do – it has something for everyone.

In addition to being a popular beach, there is a well known open air amphitheatre where the Lake Tahoe Shakespeare Festival takes place each year - this year from July 11th though August 23rd. Monday evenings feature a variety of music entertainers.

The amphitheatre has mostly comfortable seating - beach style – with the upper gallery open for those wishing to sit on the sand or for those who bring their own chairs.

It’s definitely a great experience to see a show or concert at this location, especially as the sun goes down!

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Woodland, Tahoma

Woodland, Tahoma

I have not posted a photo for a few weeks, been busy with ‘real’ work and some traveling! So,  in those famous words, ‘here is one I prepared (took) earlier’.  It’s a wooded area in Tahoma and I just liked how it came out.

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Tahoma, Bear and Cubs

Tahoma, Mother Bear

Out for an evening cycle ride through the woods and I was treated to an awesome sight – a mother bear and two cubs foraging in a small meadow.

Cycling back home, a child like scream was heard, and looking up from where it came, there was a young bear cub the other side of the meadow. Then another appeared, and then Mother, not too far away.

Slamming on the brakes and coming to an immediate stop, I grab my camera from it’s case and as quickly as possible switched to the zoom lens and started capturing photos.

The only trouble is that the zoom lens is difficult to hold steady without a tripod so a number of the photos came out shaky, which was a great shame as some would have been perfect. Something for me to work on getting better at.

Tahoma, Bear Cubs

However, the real joy was to watch these animals doing what they do naturally, it really was an awesome sight and one I will never forget. Especially the Mother bear tearing away at the bark of a tree to get to an ants nest and the young clubs playing together.

They are truly amazing animals and we should do everything to ensure they remain wild and a feature of Tahoe.

Here is a link to the Keep Me Wild campaign which provides some tips and education on how we can do just that and not just for the local bears.

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Shirley Lake, Squaw Valley

Shirley Lake, Squaw Valley

My first time hiking to Shirley Lake at Squaw Valley and I’ll definitely be doing it again. It’s a awesome trail to do, lots of different terrain and some amazing views of Squaw Creek and the Resort at Squaw Creek in the distance.

The Squaw Valley web site describes this hike as High Camp to Shirley Lake & down Shirley Canyon. However, doing the hike in reverse, starting at the base of Squaw Valley Village and hiking up Shirley Canyon to Shirley Lake and then on to the Squaw Valley High Camp, is a more strenuous approach.

A well deserved beer was had at Squaw Valley High Camp at the end of the hike, and the cable car ride back down, although lazy, was a welcome treat and provide some great views of the area.

The hike was well trodden and several folks were on the trail - it was a July 4th weekend - but I would highly recommend this trail.

As for the photo I love the reflection of the mountain in the lake!

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Monthly Prize Winner!

Congratulations to Michelle from Washington state who won the June 2009 prize draw. Michelle selected the Meeks Bay photo from May 2009. Check it out by clicking on the hot-link which will take you to SmugMug as this photo was not posted on the Blog.

Each month in 2009, Tahoe Photos is giving away a Tahoe Photos Reprint — an order value worth $50. For your chance to win, you must be a registered email subscriber. Please spread the word as the more email subscribers, the better prize we could offer!!