We'd been talking about renting a cottage out in the middle of nowhere for quite a while and our anniversary seemed like a good occasion. So we packed up our car and drove to the Lake Tahoe Mountains.
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| Our cottage |
No Kitchen - But Who Cares
The cottage didn't disappoint - we had been warned that there was no real kitchen so we brought lots of frozen food along that we could heat in the microwave oven (that
Abel and Cole Chilli Recipe never disappoints!). But who cares about the kitchen when you can spend all day outdoors?
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| Alfie and Moose |
Alfie met the camp dog Moose and they got along fine so Alfie earned himself a pass to run off leash on the grounds and oh my god did he run. He pretty much forgot all the commands he knew and just followed his nose, smelling all the wonderful wildlife smells. He actually cried to be let outside as soon as he woke up in the morning, that's how much he loved it there.
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| The River Nearby |
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| The photos don't show how strong the current was - Alfie was not allowed off lead near the water |
Hiking & Bears
We spent the days hiking and exploring our surroundings. We knew there's lots of wildlife around, including
bears - but thankfully we didn't see any. Alfie, on the other hand smelled it all and wagged his tail continuously.
As a side note, according to his owners - the camp dog Moose has apparently 'treed' a number of young bears who'd dared to enter his territory. That's one brave Golden!
Overall they don't see many bears at the camp grounds as bears are naturally cautious and all visitors are asked to keep all food and trash indoors. And we were also told not to pick up the dog poop as apparently it helps keep the bears away!
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| I'm a Mountain Dog in the Mountains! |
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| That way! |
OHV Trails
On the second day we went for another long hike and followed an OHV track. We had to look up what that meant:
Lake Tahoe Off-highway vehicle (OHV) recreation is a popular activity for locals and visitors in the Lake Tahoe. It is a sport that includes 4-wheel drive vehicles, motorcycles, and all terrain vehicles (ATVs).
Apparently OHV is a big thing over here - and judging by the evidence in the woods, off road vehicles go along with guns.
Thankfully I wore a bright pink fleece so no one could mistake us for something shootable :-)
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| Can I shoot it? |
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| Stranded! |
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| I guess we'll go that way then... |
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| This forest is all MINE |
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| Time to turn around... |
We loved it so much up in the mountains that we've decided to go back again soon...
