We left for Tahoe early in the morning. I got the kids up at 0600. They were cranky and not happy about being up so early, but I prefer making long drives early in the day so I did not give them a choice. We were on the road by 0630 and watching beautiful Park City slowly disappear out of our back window. Getting to Tahoe is pretty much a strait shot across the Nevada desert toward Reno. The drive is about 550 miles and is pretty remote. Once we left the outskirts of Salt Lake City, the highway had us skirt along Great Salt Lake for several miles. The lake is as smooth as glass and surrounded by mountains on all sides - of course there is not a boat, or house, or any sign of life. It was pretty, but you knew that there was something very very wrong at the same time. After we got past the lake we went through about a hundred miles of desert. This desert was different than any I had ever seen. There were evaporation ponds everywhere lining both sides of the highway. White deposits a few inches thick were being mined for who knows what minerals. There were no trees, grass, or ANYTHING green. Kind of spooky weird. After we got through that, we headed into prettier areas with more hills and mountains and the occasional stream which had obligatory greenery lining it. The area got progressively prettier and more moutainy and suddenly we were nearing Reno. Getting to Reno took about 7.5 hours - and it was still only about 1:30 in the afternoon. I LOVE leaving early. My other trick is, pack up the kids lunches and drinks in the car and only stop for gas/pee (and those are the same stops). We only had to stop twice on the way and with the 75 mph speed limit in Nevada, we made excellent time.
We pulled into Truckee around 3:00 that afternoon. We were staying a couple of days with the Turner family - some of our new Chevron Venezuela acquaintances. Tara Turner, wife of Chris Turner and mother of 4 kids ranging from 13 to 4 was our mentor in Carcas when we went for our 'check it out' visit. She had invited us to visit her and her kids when we were in the area so our kids could meet and get acquainted. Luckily for Katherine, her only daughter Kyra is 8 and going into 3rd grade at their school. Katherine and Kyra got along famously and it was as if they had known each other all of their lives. Her two little boys are 4 and 6 and Madeline is smack dab in the middle of them. She seemed to get along with Ryder (the little one) pretty well - but only when she was not trying to hang out with the 'big girls'. Logan the 6 year old, and Hayden the 13 year old boys completed the family.
Tara really outdid herself showing us around. We went to Donner Lake with her kayak and Katherine and Kyra took off in it and crossed the (small) lake. They had a ball. Madeline played in the sand with Ryder, and Logan hung out with Hayden. They all had a fabulous time. We headed home at sunset, bathed the kids, and settled them down with a movie. Tara and I grabbed glasses of wine and went out on her amazing deck to watch the rest of the sunset. The next day we loaded up the kids and drove down to Squaw Valley. There is an awesome hike along a stream that is pretty steep, but allows the kids to climb the boulders and swim in the pools that are formed below the waterfalls. We hiked up about a mile, changed the kids into swimsuits and let them climb and swim. My kids had never done anything remotely close to this so they were in awe. The water was colder than
they were used to (being snow-melt and all), but they plunged in and made the best of it. Later that day we headed out to Donner State Park to meet the Mazur family. They are another Chevron Venezuela family who are summering in Tahoe (they have a place at NorthStar). Karen and her husband have adopted three beautiful girls from Ethiopia. One is 19 and at San Diego State, one is going into her Sr. Year at ECA (Saria) and Hannah is 6 and going into first grade at ECA. Hannah had a friend with her so all of her attention was not focused on Madeline, but I think they will get along pretty well.
Here is a picture of Hannah, Madeline, and Ryder (the "babies") floating around in a dinghy at the State Park. Tara picked up Pizza for the kids and we headed home with happy, exhausted kids. The next day we headed out for a morning on Lake Tahoe before meeting Grammy, Auntie Erin, Tristan, and Auntie Stephannie at the Resort at Squaw Creek. Lake Tahoe was amazing. The kids were able to wade out hundreds of feet before the water got to their waste. I tried to capture it
with this picture, but fear I did not do it justice. After Lake Tahoe, we headed up to Squaw Creek and met our Haver Family Girls for a GNO (plus Tristan). The Turners joined us for lunch there and then headed back to Truckee. We swam all day with the kids and they had a wonderful time with their cousin Tristan. We all met up for dinner at the Hotel and were able to sit outside and let the kids play.
Here are pictures of the kids with Grammy and Auntie Stephannie hanging out at the resort. Auntie Stephannie is expecting our new niece/cousin in October and we are super excited!
We left for Tahoe early in the morning. I got the kids up at 0600. They were cranky and not happy about being up so early, but I prefer making long drives early in the day so I did not give them a choice. We were on the road by 0630 and watching beautiful Park City slowly disappear out of our back window. Getting to Tahoe is pretty much a strait shot across the Nevada desert toward Reno. The drive is about 550 miles and is pretty remote. Once we left the outskirts of Salt Lake City, the highway had us skirt along Great Salt Lake for several miles. The lake is as smooth as glass and surrounded by mountains on all sides - of course there is not a boat, or house, or any sign of life. It was pretty, but you knew that there was something very very wrong at the same time. After we got past the lake we went through about a hundred miles of desert. This desert was different than any I had ever seen. There were evaporation ponds everywhere lining both sides of the highway. White deposits a few inches thick were being mined for who knows what minerals. There were no trees, grass, or ANYTHING green. Kind of spooky weird. After we got through that, we headed into prettier areas with more hills and mountains and the occasional stream which had obligatory greenery lining it. The area got progressively prettier and more moutainy and suddenly we were nearing Reno. Getting to Reno took about 7.5 hours - and it was still only about 1:30 in the afternoon. I LOVE leaving early. My other trick is, pack up the kids lunches and drinks in the car and only stop for gas/pee (and those are the same stops). We only had to stop twice on the way and with the 75 mph speed limit in Nevada, we made excellent time. 
We pulled into Truckee around 3:00 that afternoon. We were staying a couple of days with the Turner family - some of our new Chevron Venezuela acquaintances. Tara Turner, wife of Chris Turner and mother of 4 kids ranging from 13 to 4 was our mentor in Carcas when we went for our 'check it out' visit. She had invited us to visit her and her kids when we were in the area so our kids could meet and get acquainted. Luckily for Katherine, her only daughter Kyra is 8 and going into 3rd grade at their school. Katherine and Kyra got along famously and it was as if they had known each other all of their lives. Her two little boys are 4 and 6 and Madeline is smack dab in the middle of them. She seemed to get along with Ryder (the little one) pretty well - but only when she was not trying to hang out with the 'big girls'. Logan the 6 year old, and Hayden the 13 year old boys completed the family. 
Tara really outdid herself showing us around. We went to Donner Lake with her kayak and Katherine and Kyra took off in it and crossed the (small) lake. They had a ball. Madeline played in the sand with Ryder, and Logan hung out with Hayden. They all had a fabulous time. We headed home at sunset, bathed the kids, and settled them down with a movie. Tara and I grabbed glasses of wine and went out on her amazing deck to watch the rest of the sunset. The next day we loaded up the kids and drove down to Squaw Valley. There is an awesome hike along a stream that is pretty steep, but allows the kids to climb the boulders and swim in the pools that are formed below the waterfalls. We hiked up about a mile, changed the kids into swimsuits and let them climb and swim. My kids had never done anything remotely close to this so they were in awe. The water was colder than 
they were used to (being snow-melt and all), but they plunged in and made the best of it. Later that day we headed out to Donner State Park to meet the Mazur family. They are another Chevron Venezuela family who are summering in Tahoe (they have a place at NorthStar). Karen and her husband have adopted three beautiful girls from Ethiopia. One is 19 and at San Diego State, one is going into her Sr. Year at ECA (Saria) and Hannah is 6 and going into first grade at ECA. Hannah had a friend with her so all of her attention was not focused on Madeline, but I think they will get along pretty well. 
Here is a picture of Hannah, Madeline, and Ryder (the "babies") floating around in a dinghy at the State Park. Tara picked up Pizza for the kids and we headed home with happy, exhausted kids. The next day we headed out for a morning on Lake Tahoe before meeting Grammy, Auntie Erin, Tristan, and Auntie Stephannie at the Resort at Squaw Creek. Lake Tahoe was amazing. The kids were able to wade out hundreds of feet before the water got to their waste. I tried to capture it 
with this picture, but fear I did not do it justice. After Lake Tahoe, we headed up to Squaw Creek and met our Haver Family Girls for a GNO (plus Tristan). The Turners joined us for lunch there and then headed back to Truckee. We swam all day with the kids and they had a wonderful time with their cousin Tristan. We all met up for dinner at the Hotel and were able to sit outside and let the kids play. 
Here are pictures of the kids with Grammy and Auntie Stephannie hanging out at the resort. Auntie Stephannie is expecting our new niece/cousin in October and we are super excited!
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