Day 24 – Tahoe part 2

We had a leisurely day today that involved a) no hiking and b) no driving. We’ve only had a few days like this since we left Asheville. They’re a nice recharge.

Today’s reset involved renting a boat and doing some lake sightseeing from the water. We went for the cheapest option, which we regretted pretty much instantly. The boat was an 18′ Four Winns Bowrider that made Leo nervous because it never quite planed at high speed. It made Eva and I nervous because none of the indicators worked. So we took it easy—which was itself easy, because it was a perfect, sunny day and we had nowhere to be.

marina

Leo enjoying slow speeds

scenery!

trying to manage without spedometer

Art at the wheel (momentarily)

It took us about 40 minutes to cruise out to Emerald Bay—a national historic landmark. From the water, we managed to get great views of Eagle Falls, a 500-passenger paddlewheeler named M.S. Dixie, and the mysterious Fannette Island—which is not swimmable from the shore but was swimmable from our boat. This little bit of history made the island even more mysterious. You can’t make this stuff up:

Fannette Island was the home of Captain Dick “Them’s my toes” Barter from 1863 to 1873. The eccentric captain had moved from England and built his own tomb and chapel on the island. He enjoyed sailing and earned his nickname from his penchant of showing his self-amputated toes to guests. Ironically, he was never interred in the chapel he built, as he was lost in a storm off Rubicon Point in 1873.

The COLD water did not deter Leo and I from braving a 100-yard swim to the rocky shore. We were rewarded with a climb over a Tom Saywer-esque island full of little paths through boulders and brush, ending up at a fort-like structure with a great view of the surrounding area (Art stayed aboard and took pictures while Eva manned the helm).

had to swim from here—no anchor

cold dudes on island

wildlife abounds

Leo and I triumphant

had to steer clear of this badboy

On the way back we tried our hand at tubing. We discovered that tubing on Tahoe is easy—it’s such a huge lake that you can go for miles without needing to turn once. It was also unique: the lake is ringed on all sides by snow-capped mountains, which made the experience unforgettable.

Leo indicating “just right”

Art at high speed

brothers not fighting for once!

everywhere awesome views!

Once back in the hotel, we decided to watch Cast Away, starring Tom Hanks. We thought this would be appropriate since the movie is about a man stranded on an island. Good one to watch after an island adventure.