roadtrip 2013, part 2

After we left San Francisco, we trekked across California to find the snow. We landed in South Lake Tahoe which is a small town at the base of the Heavenly gondola. South Lake Tahoe became our basecamp for the next week while we boarded down mountains, zoomed out shopping and hiked around the area.

.

If you're a long term follower of Badskirt, you'll have seen this area before. Craig and I stayed here in both February and December 2009. With such amazing scenery, it is easy to see why we came back.  Of course, everything good is even better when wearing ridiculous hats...

One of my favorite places near South Lake Tahoe is a small lake just west of town called Fallen Leaf Lake. When I lived in San Francisco, I used to come out here camping. We always make a point of visiting. The water sparkles and the air is so clean that you find yourself full of ridiculous energy.

Not the reaction you were expecting?!  That is my warrior pose.

At this point in the post, I was going to show you an awesome video of my husband making a fool of himself out on those rocks in the water. Unfortunately after a lot of goading, he never fell in. I just look the fool encouraging my husband to wander further out. It's just as well, I'm not sure those ankle socks he was wearing would have kept him warm.

If you're visiting the US and looking for natural beauty, Lake Tahoe and Fallen Leaf Lake are ones for the list. The view from above at Heavenly mountain is amazing too.

For shopping, you can pop over to Reno (approx 1.5hrs) for outlet malls and shops. If you're after yarn or fabric, Jimmy Beans Wool is the pick of the litter. They've long served the world with yarns, and they've recently added modern fabrics.  They are currently building out their fabric center, but in the meantime you're welcome to pop back into their warehouse and visit Gus with the bolts of fabric. This is a modern fabric lover's dream shop with nary a misstep in designer and collection choice. The service was phenomenal. I popped by twice and had to drag myself away each time. They ship internationally and have some really good sale prices which are regularly scooped up by buyers in Australia and Europe. I also stopped by Going Batty and Windy Moon Quilt which are both worth visitng, if you are in the area.

We love Tahoe, but decided to spice up our trip a bit and headed for the Mojave desert. I've landed somewhere unbelievably special... [Part 3 will tell you about a dream come true. Take an early sneak peek on flickr]