Lake Tahoe

Sun, 8/21/11:
Goose Meadows NF Campground, Truckee, CA:  Got up late again and relaxed outside reading and enjoying the peace and quiet of this place.  Topped off the water tank.  Then we drove to Tahoe City and had lunch at the Gar Wood restaurant out on their deck overlooking beautiful Lake Tahoe.  A couple of people in swimming.  Water temp is 68 degrees!.  After lunch we drove to a little park by the dam.  They dammed up the outflow from the lake to the Truckee River some years ago in order to control water levels—both in the river and the lake.  Another amazing fact about Lake Tahoe—once water makes its way into the lake, it stays for a long time.  It is estimated that the water stays in Lake Tahoe 700 years!  By comparison, water stays in Lake Erie 2 years!  That means that some of the water going down the Truckee River was here when Marco Polo returned to Europe!  That is just amazing to me.  Had a camp fire tonight.  Played cards.  Then turned in.