Wednesday, November 21, 2018

2018~Lake Tahoe, Part 1

In September, we met up with Jack & Middy in Lake Tahoe for a few days. It was late in the afternoon when we arrived, and oh my, what a magnificent place! 

The waitress at the restaurant 
where we ate dinner, directed  
us to stop at the lookout over 
Emerald Bay.
Found it!
And it is stunning!


See the little island to the 
right of the tree trunk?
That's Fannette Island


Closer.
It's the only island on Lake Tahoe


It has an interesting history too--some folks 
believe that the island is haunted. This

tells that story and more. 
It's quite intriguing (or it was to me)! 


There's a castle in Emerald Bay too.
It's on the widest part of the white, 
sandy beach between the trees.

It's Vikingsholm Castle to be exact.
Here's a closer look but it's hard to see.
Hiking is the only way to get there
and it's a mile down.

Tomorrow we'll hike to it.

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The next morning Middy discovered these 
large pine cones out behind our cabin.


Wow!
Very cool!
We both took some big pine cones home.

In the background is the cute 
A-frame cabin where we stayed.
We booked it through the VRBO site.

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After breakfast, we took a nice stroll 
along the lake in Tahoe City.
 where there's an abundance of
striking blues in the lake and the sky!

Along the way.

At one point during our walk, we were  
approached by a Ranger who calmly told us to 
walk on the far left side of the walkway because
a bear was sleeping 
in the trees on the right side!

She let us take a few pics but rushed us along.

Can you see the sleepy head?

Much to our delight, the walk took 
us through a Farmer's Market too!
After buying some vegetable goodies for an 
evening cookout, it was time to hike down to 
 in 

It's a perfect weather day too!
Here we go.

Starting out the hike, we had a 
clear and closer view of
 Fannette Island.
The white spot at the top, far end
 of the island is a tea room. 


Lora Josephine Knight purchased 240 acres of land and Fannette Island for $250,000 in 1928 to build her summer home that would be called Vikingsholm Castle.    

Emerald Bay reminded Mrs. Knight of the fjords she had seen while in Scandinavia so she commissioned her nephew by marriage, a Swedish architect, to build it and it was completed in 1929.   


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Once we arrived at ground level, 
some very cool trees were screaming,
"Photo op!"

And when cool trees scream, we listen! 

Here's a ground view across the water of 
It's just to the right of the tour boat.

Jack & Middy drew a heavenly 
aura sitting in front of the castle 
while heavenly aura music could 
be heard floating from above!
We've all heard that two heads are better 
than one but this pic begs the question: 
Are two hats better than one?

Waiting to take the castle tour.

A couple castle exterior pics.


Part of the living area.
It does say Scandanavia!
We heard it.

Kitchen with giant fridge.

A 1936 Dodge in the courtyard garage.

The hike down was a breeze (of course) coming back up, not so much. Jack & Middy made it back up about 15 minutes before we did. Not going to say who but somebody (maybe me) had to take baby steps and stop for a few minutes every once in awhile but it was still fun! 


At last, we emerge!

We all enjoyed the hike and the castle tour.
 Actually, the entire day was really neat! 

Part 2 soon.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone,
D~~~~

Wednesday, November 7, 2018

Part 2~Santa Fe, A Museum & More

In addition to visiting The Loretto Chapel and The Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe as posted in Part 1, we took a stroll through the Georgia O'Keefe Museum


A bit of Ms. O'Keefe's art is below.
Abstraction White Rose, 1927

Calla Lily in Tall Glass - No 2

Gerald's Tree, 1937

Church Bell, Ward, Colorado, 1917

Black Cross with Red Sky, 1929

Church Steeple, 1930

Horse Skull with White Rose, 1931


Thigh Bone on Black Stripe, 1930
The two descriptions in the case read:
Cow Bones and Horse Skull

Blue-Headed Indian Doll, 1935

These two pieces are 
Paul's Kachina, 1931



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As I said in Part 1, there are a lot of shops, museums and other things to do in downtown. We barely scratched the surface with only a day and a half spent in the downtown area, and I didn't take a lot of photos. 

Here are some side street sights.






A weekend fiesta was beginning!

Fiestas and other events are held on the Plaza.

We hope to visit Santa Fe again in the future. In addition to exploring more of downtown, we'd like to drive the Turquoise Trail, a national scenic drive that's off-the-beaten path. It runs from Santa Fe to Albuquerque with pretty views along the way, and stops can be made in old mining towns where arts and crafts, museums, restaurants and more can be enjoyed.


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We stayed at Santa Fe Skies RV Park conveniently located just off I-25 and has mostly all pull-through sites. A 3/4 of a mile walking trail circles the park, and our dogs relished in walks on it.


Santa Fe Skies tall evening 
shadows on the walking trail.
Our Mini Schnauzer, Elmer, is in 
the middle but you can't see 
Chihuhua Chewy's shadow.
He's off to the side 
sniffing the ground!

Evening view out of the RV back window.

For more info on the park, 
click the tab "2018 RV Trips" 
at the top of this blog 
or 
click here.

Up next, amazing Lake Tahoe!

Smiles,
D~~~~

Saturday, November 3, 2018

Part 1~Santa Fe Churches

On the way home from Colorado, we spent a few nights in Santa Fe, New Mexico. With two full days to explore, we opted to spend them both at the Plaza and surrounding areas in historic downtown. It's a quaint, artsy locale that's rich in history. We found a lot to do and see--museums, art galleries, churches, stores, restaurants and more. 


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It's quite beautiful!

The chapel houses a spiral staircase 
with a miraculous story behind it.

The staircase as it appears today. 
It looks quite different than when it was built.
For one thing, the architect died before 
the stairs to the choir loft were built. 

After lots of prayer by the sisters, 
the staircase was built by 
mysterious man.
How about you read a very

I think it's pretty amazing!

The writing in the photo below reads:
"This picture is a simulation of how the Staircase looked between 1879 and 1887 before Phillip August Hesch installed the banisters at the Sisters' request."
The staircase when it was built.

According to the short article 
"The staircase has been the subject of many articles, TV specials, and movies including 'Unsolved Mysteries' and the full-length movie titled The Staircase starring William Petersen and Barbara Hershey.
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Don't you love the stained glass?

I do!

Walking to the 
Stations of the Cross Prayer Garden

Along the way.

There are 15 stations.
I only have pictures of nine.
I have no idea why I don't have them all!
Clearly, something went awry! 
Oh well.

Jesus condemned.

Jesus carries His cross.
Jesus falls down.

Jesus and his mother Mary
 Simon tries to carry Jesus' cross.

I'm not sure about this one.
Sorry!
Jesus clothes are stripped away from him.
 Jesus dies on the cross.

Jesus is laid in the tomb.

The good news:

HE AROSE!
YAY!

I found a nice article 
(with all the photos)
of this prayer garden on 
It's written by Chad Claeyssen.
You can view it here.


Part 2 of Santa Fe is up next!

With Santa Fe Smiles,
D~~~~