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Squaw Valley and Lake Tahoe - March 2007

This St. Patrick's Day weekend, Phil treated me to a vacation in the Lake Tahoe area! Now I understand why people build vacation homes there. The lake is crystal clear, ringed by snow-capped mountains, and reflects the sunny sky of Nevada and California. And the Squaw Valley ski resort is an adventure in itself, with an ice skating rink and pool/spa on its summit.

Approaching Lake Tahoe from the air. March 16, 2007.
Lake Tahoe
We arrived at Squaw Valley on Friday night. The night skiing run was closed, so we hung out in Squaw Village, a picturesque shopping area.
Squaw Valley ski resort


Below: I have no idea why the Village had a giant chair, but here it is.


Abby in the Squaw Valley throne

Phil in the Squaw Valley throne


The following day, I went skiing and Phil went snowboarding. Lots of people on the slopes wore green for St. Patricks Day.
Squaw Valley, Olympic ski resort
Lots more people wore shorts and T-shirts because of the warm weather! A few guys even skiied shirtless. Click to see more overheated skiiers.
Squaw Valley skiiers


Now, get this: A swimming pool and spa on top of the mountain! It was warm enough for swimsuits. All that snow was melting fast.
Squaw Valley mountain pool
The spa where overheated skiiers and snowboarders can cool off.
Squaw Valley mountain hot tub


Right next to the pool, there's an ice skating rink, quickly melting, but still open for skaters.
Squaw Valley ice skating rink
Kids playing behind the sports complex on top of the mountain.
Squaw Valley kids playing


Here's Phil pointing out the view of Lake Tahoe.
Phil and Lake Tahoe
And me, sweating in all that ski gear.
Abby and Lake Tahoe


This is my kind of place!
Abby at Squaw Valley
We rode the Funitel up the mountain. This photo isn't the Funitel, but it's the neighboring cable car, which is basically the same thing. The Funitel stopped for a long time in mid-air! We started wondering if we'd need to phone for rescue.
Squaw Valley cable car


We'd planned on sticking around for night skiing, but the conditions were so slushy, we got tired and left early. It was like skiing/snowboarding in water. We both had trouble getting enough speed to make it over small hills and bumps. Phil had trouble stopping. The long 3 mile trail to the base of the mountain had deteriorated into a series of choppy moguls, and the effort of turning on them wore out my leg muscles. Anyway, we enjoyed the top of the mountain. That night, we took a shuttle down to the CalNeva hotel-casino on the state border. We played some roulette and Phil won $10!

This is Lake Tahoe as seen from CalNeva. Click for an even better view.
Lake Tahoe from the CalNeva casino
The next afternoon, before we caught our flight back to L.A., we walked around and found a tiny public beach, surrounded by fenced-off private beaches.
a Lake Tahoe public beach


I love how clear that water is! We saw guppies swimming in it.
a Lake Tahoe public beach
The water is icy snow melt, but some guys waded through it to get on the rocks.
a Lake Tahoe public beach



Phil at Lake Tahoe



Abby at Lake Tahoe


If you'd like a hi-resolution version of any photo, just ask me.
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This page was posted on March 20, 2007
All material Copyright © 2012 Abby Goldsmith, except where otherwise noted.
All rights reserved.  No part of this may be reproduced or reprinted without prior written permission from the author.
Document updated: 05 September 2008 - 23:48:44