Tahoe Queen, Lake Tahoe, CA.

Wednesday 5/16/2012

The office manager at Tahoe Valley Resort told Joe that a boat ride on the Tahoe Queen was well worth the price. We were told to be there at 10AM. Joe got in line to buy our tickets, at $39 each, but our resort gave us coupons for $10 off, so they ended up being $29 each.

You can rent boats, jet skis, kayaks, and paddle boats here. They also have parasailing.

Next to the rental and ticket sales office is a restaurant,

called the Riva Grill.

The Tahoe Queen left at 10:30. We arrived about 9:50, and there were a lot of people already getting on the boat.

Tahoe Queen behind the Tahoe Paradise.

Of course they took pictures of you as you board. And of course I bought them for $25 just like 3/4 of all the people on the boat. (Joe thought we are all crazy for buying the pictures). I just took a picture of the picture for the blog.

We were on the top deck of the Tahoe Queen watching the last few passengers board.

Temperature was 67 degrees at 10AM, so we dressed in jeans, t-shirts, and jackets The sun was out and there was no wind, so the jackets came off quickly.

You can also rent the surf boards that you paddle with standing on them.

The newest water sport.

While we waiting for the 10:30 departure, I took a picture of the SW corner of Lake Tahoe,

and other pictures.

As we left the port, we had a commentator who gave us information about the lake. He told us, that there were billions of clams that were polluting the lake water. They were brought in on the bottoms of a boat that was brought in years ago, before regulations. Now they are multiplying.

I had Joe sign me 50, so I could remember how many feet we were at according to the captain, and could still see the bottom. I also read that there are spots that the bottom can be seen at 67 ft. deep.

Before we left land, we were told that only 70 people could be on the top deck. If you had a seat, you were fine. If you didn't have a seat, you needed to go down to the lower decks. We had seats, so we were fine.

Views of the casino's on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is 22 miles long and 12 miles wide.

I though that the boat ride would not have good views, since we would not be up high. Boy was I was wrong!

When we were up in the front, we needed our jackets, because it was a bit chilly.

The color of the water is so pretty. The color changes from the different depths. The captain said the color is comparable to the Caribbean waters.

You have to be the first people on the boat to get the few cushion seats.

Joe does not have any padding on him, so he couldn't sit real long on our hard seats.

This is Cave Rock, which is on the Nevada side of the lake. It is a sacred site to the Wahoe Indians who used to spend summers at Lake Tahoe, and held ceremonies inside it. I will post better pictures of it in my next blog, because we went on the east side of Lake Tahoe the next day for another adventure.

In this picture we started to enter into Emerald Bay. You can see Eagle Falls in the far left corner of the picture.

In this picture, you can see Eagles Fall on the right. Vikingsholm Castle in the middle, and Fennette Island to the left.

Vikingsholm Castle and Eagles Falls

Vikingsholm Castle that can be toured in the summer.

Beach at Vickingsholm Castle.

Tea House on Fennette Island.

Leaving Emerald Bay.

As you leave the bay, our captain told us to watch as the water changes colors.

The emerald green turns to a beautiful blue.

He also points out an osprey nest, along the shore.

Back out on the main lake.

Tahoe Queen is a paddle wheeler boat.

The Tahoe Queen hold 312 passengers.

We were told that Lake Tahoe is 99.7 percent pure. It is more pure than water that comes out of the facet. Unfortunately it is slowly filling up with debris from streams that run into it and cities and streets that have run off that goes into it. They are trying very hard to slow this pollution.They figure they are loosing 1 ft. per year in depth clarity.

Mt. Tallac 9735 ft.

In the beginning of the ride, a worker came up to the top deck and went around asking volunteers to go downstairs because there were too many people on the top deck.

What a way to see the lake!

I did this once with my daughter Alisha, down in Gulf Shores, AL. It was a lot of fun, except it made me more afraid to get in the ocean. While parasailing above the ocean, we could see all kinds of really large sharks down below.

Another cruise boat that starts on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

Lake Tahoe is the largest alpine lake in North America.

You can catch ferry cruises also from Zephyr Cove on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe also.

The deep water is a sapphire blue color. I just could not get over how beautiful the water color was!

Shoreline as we head back to the harbor. Do you see the lady lying in the mountain range? The captain told us a Indian folk lore about her and now she lays where everyone can see her.

Nevada side of Lake Tahoe.

Close up of previous picture. The Nevada side get's about half the rain fall as that of California side.

As we head into port, we could see the Heavenly Ski Resort.

I came home with a really bad farmers burn. I forgot to use sunscreen on my arms. Joe didn't use any sunscreen either, but didn't seem to get anything except for the top of his ears.

Lake Tahoe's maximum depth is 1,645, making it the 2nd deepest lake in the USA. Crater Lake in Oregon is 300 feet deeper at 1,945 ft deep.

Lake Tahoe never freezes because of the extreme depth.

Sixty - three streams flow into Lake Tahoe. There is only one river that flows from Lake Tahoe. This is a picture of the SE corner of Lake Tahoe.

SE corner of Lake Tahoe, also the city of South Lake Tahoe, the largest city around the lake. Our campground was located at South Lake Tahoe.

After a 2.5 hour cruise, we got back to Ski Run Marina.

We watch everyone depart.

Looking behind the boat, we could see the canal that the Tahoe Queen departs and enters in.

Below us, someone was enjoying the waters.

As we leave I took a picture of the second inside level. The Tahoe Queen also has diner cruises.

Beach at the marina.

At the marina there is a little shopping center with a few gift and snack shops. The Tahoe Queen boat ride was well worth the money. If you go to Lake Tahoe, take the boat ride, because you will get a different perspective of the lake.

Tahoe Park on Dwellable