Day Five - Farewell to Tahoe

It's day five and our last day of our vacation. Nick, Kyla, and I started our morning with a planned early hike to Eagle Lake in southwest Lake Tahoe, near Emerald Bay. We were up early and on the trail by 7:30. There's something to be said about enjoying your time with nature that early in the morning.

The hike was considered "moderate" in our trusty, dusty trail guide book but it was more like a Mother Nature's granite stair-step machine. Kyla had a surprising amount of gusto as she proceeded to leap up granite boulders and charge up the trail as though she had fully rested from the day before. Our little dog showed no sign of fatigue. Quite the contrary. She was full of sass as she grabbed the leash and pulled us up the trail. The bugs were in out full force and the granite steps were plentiful.

After about 45 minutes, we had reached Eagle Lake and decided to turn around. The sights were amazing as the shear granite mountains were mirrored perfectly in the placid lake. During our descent, we passed several hikers on their way up the trail. Kyla strategically picked the hikers she wanted to growl at and we had to debunk the myth that she was a Bernese Mountain Dog. The hike was perfect to get the blood going and loosen our stiff bodies from the Squaw Valley hike the day before.

We returned to our perfect little hotel room, showered, and packed the car for the long ride home. We hit the road at 10:30 and had a long drive ahead of us. We pushed through to Bishop and stopped at the famous Mahogany Smokehouse to fill orders for the parents and great deli sandwiches for us.

During the summer months, Caltrans closes or limits access to parts of HWY 395 to repair sections of the road damaged during the winter months, thanks to snow and ice. Our Friday trip home was no exception. At one point, we were stuck on HWY 395 with the engine turned off for over 25 minutes in the heat of the July sun. It was WONDERFUL!

We finally returned home at about 8:00 PM. Kyla was extra excited to be home because she hadn't gone potty the entire trip home (about 10 hours). Now starts the unpacking, endless laundry, and getting back to normal life. Overall, our vacation was amazing and just what we all needed. Our little family had a great time and our puppy was a champion. But after everything we packed into the past 5 days, Kyla looks like how we all feel...wiped!