Lake Tahoe is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Northern California. Every year it has attracted thousands of tourists during Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas holiday. Lake Tahoe is located at the border of California and Nevada and it is about 2 hours away from Sacramento. There are numerous ski resort built around the Lake Tahoe region and it is one of the reason why it is a popular vacation destination during the winter holiday.
During this year's Thanksgiving holiday, we took Alaska Airline flight down to Sacramento from Portland. The flight time is a bit less than 2 hours. When we got to Sacramento airport, we were surprised by how quiet the airport is. There was barely anyone there even during Thanksgiving holiday! We then rented an SUV to drive to Lake Tahoe. I really recommend to rent an SUV instead of a regular sedan since we have to drive through the mountain. On the way to Lake Tahoe, we were lucky enough to find a super market that was still open on Thanksgiving holiday and able to pick up a turkey for our Thanksgiving dinner!
After 3 hours of driving, we finally arrived at the cottage that we rented. This time we chose to stay at Cedar Crest Cottages at the West side of Lake Tahoe. The cottage is about 40 minutes away from South Lake Tahoe and Heavenly Mountain. This cottage is amazing and the staff is extremely friendly. I believe this cottage is a family owned cottage. Although the cottage is family owned, the cottage itself is very luxury. We chose a cottage with 2 rooms for 4 people and the rate is around $450 per night. The cottage itself has a TV is the living area and a TV in each bedroom. Also, the cottage uses radiant heat instead of regular heater coming out of the vent. The radiant heat comes up from the floor and this helps to keep our feet warm. In addition, the cottage really has everything that you need. It has brand new washer and dryer. All the cook wares and tools are available for user. It even has zip locks and aluminium foils in the cabinet. Outside of the cottage in the shared area, there is a bonfire with several chairs for people to sit. This is a great place for people to hang out at night and have a drink.
The next day morning we went to Fire Sign Cafe for brunch. It is North of the cottage and about 10 minutes drive. Apparently Fire Sign Cafe has been there since 1978 and it was quite crowded. We were lucky to get a table right away when we got there. The portion of each dish is gigantic as well. I could barely finish all the food.
After the brunch, we headed South to Fallen Leaf Lake. We drove around the West side of Lake Tahoe to get to Fallen Leaf Lake road. The road was filled with snow during this time of the year, but since we have an SUV, we still went to Fallen Leaf Lake. The road was wide originally, but it started to get narrower as we go further on the road. At the end the road is blocked by the sign indicating it is closed. This was very unfortunate. Thus we parked the car on the side of the road and decided to hike to the lake instead. I must say it was fun to hike in the snow. When we got to the shore of Fallen Leaf Lake, it got extremely windy and you could see the wave on the lake surface. It was extremely cold due to the strong wind.
After the hike, we went to South Lake Tahoe to walk around. South Lake Tahoe is the largest town at Lake Tahoe. There is a lot of unique shop offering crafted items. Since we got to South Lake Tahoe late, we didn't have too much time to spend there and decided the cross the state border to go to the Nevada side. We went to the Casino at Harrah's for some fun but didn't win anything of course. We were hoping to win back $10 parking fee.
At night, we decided to gather around the bonfire and grill some S'mores. This was an amazing experience. It was extremely relaxing to grill marshmallows during cold weather and having some drinks.
Next day morning we drove to South Lake Tahoe for brunch. This time we went to Driftwood Cafe. This place was very crowded as well and we had to wait for around 20 minutes. Similar to the one went the day before, each plate portion is huge and I could barely finish. After the brunch, we decided to take the gondola up to Heavenly Mountain to the observation deck. The cost for each adult ticket is $52, which is a bit expensive just for sight seeing.
The observation deck is at the middle of the mountain. It provides a perfect view of Lake Tahoe. However, it was extremely windy on that day! I felt like the wind is about to blow me away! Also, the temperature at the top of the mountain is much colder than the temperature at the village, so make sure to dress up appropriately! After visiting the observation deck, we went up to the ski resort. I must say Thanksgiving is not a good time to come to Lake Tahoe. There is barely any snow and only 1 lift is open. Snow tubing is not open either. I was quite disappointed.
When we got back down to the village, we noticed that it started snowing. We quickly wrapped up our stuff and headed back to our cottage. While we were on the road, the weather condition got worth. There was snow on the ground and we saw many cars lost traction and went into the ditch. Fortunately, we grew up in the North with experience driving in the snow and got back to the cottage safely.
Next day morning, we packed up our stuff and prepared ourselves to get back to Sacramento. When we got to our car, our car was pretty much buried in snow. Luckily the cottage staff prepared snow shovel and brush for us to clean the snow on the car. It still took us a good 30 minutes before we can get on the road.
Note: Make sure to rent an SUV with 4 wheel drive to prepare to drive in snowy condition. Audi or Subaru would be the best choice! Thanksgiving is not the best time to come here if you want to ski or snowboard.
Guadalajara is a technology hub in Mexico. It is also the capital city of Jalisco state of Mexico. To get to Guadalajara from Portland, there is only 1 direct flight each day. The flight is a read eye flight departing around 11:30pm and arrives at Guadalajara at about 5:30am. The flight time is about 4.5 hours.
When we went to Guadalajara this time, we did not take the direct flight. Instead of taking direct flight, we flew to Phoenix first with American Airline, then flew to Guadalajara. The layover time is only an hour, but that is enough because the flight to Guadalajara is at the same terminal. As long as the first flight is not delayed, there is definitely enough time to catch onto the second flight. When we got to Guadalajara, the weather is absolutely sunny compared to Portland's cloudy and rainy weather!
We did not rent a car this time. We took a local taxi to the hotel instead. The taxi is really old and crappy. It did not even have AC turned on and still charged us more than 200 pesos. Later on we just called Uber to get to other places. Uber cars are definitely better and offered a lot more stuff such as candy and bottled water. This time we stayed at Hotel Riu Plaza. It is quite a nice hotel and many Americans choose to stay at this hotel when they come to Guadalajara. It also offers complimentary breakfast, which is an absolute plus!
We visited Guadalajara in November and of course also attend Mexico's celebration of day of the dead. It is like the Halloween in North America, but there isn't any trick or treat. Along the street, we can see many unique decorations of dead people dressed up in colorful clothing. Many restaurants also put up a lot of decorations of dead people. Another things that is different is that Mexico's day of the dead is a national holiday! Everyone is off work on this very day! Wouldn't it be awesome if we don't have to work on Halloween?
Next we also visited Guadalajara Plaza. There are museums and big churches around the plaza and this is where most tourists are at. Around the plaza, there are many signs that talks about the history of Guadalajara. In front of the Guadalajara museum, there is a sculpture that is said to be the tallest sculpture in North America. It did not look that impressive to me however, but it could be appealing to other people. The church is also a big attraction. It is very well maintained with beautiful stain glass windows. Based on the appearance of the church, it has been over hundred of years. Thus it is a place that it is worth a visit.
In addition, we went to the famous Lake Chapala. It is a large lake with many tourists. Many people here rented a boat to go onto the lake and went fishing. We simply had a good walk along the lake shore and checked around the merchants along the lake shore. There are many merchants there that offer unique craftsmanship on sculptures. The lake shore at Lake Chapala is also a nice place to walk around with palm trees and flowers along the side. At night, there will be night market vendors along the lake shore.
Lastly, we also visited the tree pyramid. Tree pyramid is an unique culture at Guadalajara. The tree pyramid is not as big as Chichen Itza pyramid at Cancun. The tree pyramid is more like a small hill with jagged edge, but it is still interesting to visit. There are many tree pyramids in the area but most of them are still buried under the earth. Only few tree pyramid have been dug out for people to see.
In general, Guadalajara is an interesting place but should not take more than 3 days to visit. One thing I don't like is that the public washroom at many tourist area costs money! Even the paper towel costs money! So make sure you bring some changes with you at all times!
Cape Horn trail is a marvelous hiking trail along Columbia gorge. This hiking trail is on the North Washington side of the gorge instead of Oregon. This trail is relative new compared to other trails. The trail is essentially a loop that goes up on the cliff side and then comes back down. It is around 8 miles long with 1300 feet elevation gain. So it is relatively an easier hiking trail.
The trail head of Cape Horn trail is at the intersection of highway 14 and Salmon Road in Washington state. It is about 30 minutes drive from Portland. We got to the trail head around 9am in the morning to avoid the crowd and the parking lot is almost full. If the parking lot is full, there are also options to park on the side of the road. At the start of the hiking trail, the trail branches off into 2 paths. 1 path that heads up first and the other heads down. As I mentioned before, the trail is a loop so it doesn't really matter which way to go first. We chose to take the upper trail first so that we can get to see the gorgeous view of Columbia Gorge first. The trail starts to climb instantly but it is not steep. The only thing to be cautious on is that the trail is quite wet and we had to be more careful not to slip. After 30 minutes, we arrived at the first view point at Pioneer Point. It provides a perfect view on the Columbia Gorge! Some elderly senior people actually just head back down after they got to Pioneer Point.
We continued to hike for another hour and eventually got out of the forest and got onto the road. The trail actually crosses an open country road and goes through the farm land. This part is quite easy to walk on since it is just flat and straight. After walking on the country road for about 20 minutes, the trail turns back in into the forest.
The next view point that we got to is Nancy Russel Overlook. This is a great resting place as there are carved stones to sit on and also has a gorgeous view on Columbia Gorge. This is also where we had our lunch. After resting for 30 minutes, we continued to hike on the trail and now the trail is heading downwards to the cliff side. Eventually we got to the underpass that goes under highway 14. This also marks the mid point of this trail and the trail beyond this point will be the lower Cape Horn trail.
While we were hiking on the lower Cape Horn trail, we noticed that there are less people here. In addition, we noticed that there are many snakes on the lower Cape Horn trail. These snakes are small snakes and just snailed away from us. So you don't have to worry when you see them.
Another thing that I found is that lower Cape Horn trail seems to be more difficult to hike. There are sections that are wet due to the water stream running across the trail. So be more cautious here. Moreover, there are sections where we were walking on the jagged rocks. So if you bring dogs with you, make sure they don't hurt their paws! This rocky trail part is also not suitable for senior people to walk on since it is very easy to trip over these rocks!
The last section of Cape Horn trail is very easy. The trail simply turns into a paved Cape Horn Road. It is a very flat road. This section took us about 30 minutes to complete and it was quite boring because there is nothing to see. Then near the end, we went through the underpass to go under highway 14 again and got back to the trail head to complete the Cape Horn loop.
Overall, it was a great trail! I love the trails that make a loop! One thing to be aware of is that between February and July of every year, part of the trail is closed due to Falcon Closure. So hiking the whole trail loop is not possible. The best time to hike this trail would be in August and September.
Whistlers Peak is one of the highest peak and most accessible mountain summit within Jasper National Park. This is not the same as Mount Whistler in British Columbia, Canada. Whistlers Peak is about 2300 meters above the ground and located just 10 minutes South of Jasper. There is tram service that take people all the way up to the mountain summit, or visitors can choose to hike up there. The trail is around 11KM.
We got to the bottom of the mountain around 9AM in the morning. There were already many people at the Jasper Sky Tram station. Originally we were thinking of hike all the way up there, but we changed our mind because the weather was cloudy. The tram ticket is about $50 per person for both ways. Unlike gondola where the service is continuous, the trams operates very slowly. There are only 2 trams in service and can take up to 25 people at a time. We bought our ticket and was told that we need to wait for 45 minutes before we can go up there. There are many people before us.
We got to the upper tram station at around 10AM. The view from the top was gorgeous, but we are not at the summit yet. The summit is another 2KM hike. As we hike up there, we saw many people having breathing problem due to the thin air at the top of the mountain. Some people wear shorts and skirts, and they were freezing. The temperature is very low up in the mountain.
After about 30 minutes, we have finally got to the summit. At the summit, there is a sun dial and it is very easy to spot and figure out the directions. In addition, there are many small rocks on the ground. Many people take the rock and pile them up to make a totem. We are guessing that is the tradition here and we did one as well. While at the summit, the cloud seems so close to us. It felt like we could reach the sky. It was just amazing.
Overall, we loved Whistlers Peak. Being at the top of the world just felt so different and it felt like we could reach for anything. We highly recommend visiting this place if possible. It definitely did not disappoint.
Patricia Lake is another beautiful lake located within Jasper National Park. The lake is just about 10 minutes North of Jasper. The Patricia Lake is actually just South of Pyramid Lake. These 2 lakes are about the same size. There is also a lodge just at the South side of Patricia Lake.
Since we are visiting Pyramid Lake, we decided to drop by Patricia Lake as well. When we got to Patricia Lake, we were not quite sure where to park the car. Then we took the wrong turn and went in to the Patricia Lake Lodge area. We took several turns and finally got out of the lodge area without disturbing anyone in the early morning.
We continued to drive further North and finally found a place to park our car. Once we got out of the car, the lake is just beside us. The lake shore is sandy and quite spacious for people to walk around. We also saw some other people here taking photos.
While we take pictures, a tour bus pulled over and many elderly people got out of the bus and came to the lakeside. It looks like a tourist group from BC. However, they seem to have left in a hurry within 5 minutes. They should have stayed to enjoy the view more.
We were told by the locals that the Patricia Lake is a perfect spot for taking astrophotography. Thus after dinner when the sky is clear without moon, we came to Patricia Lake again. This time, we saw many cars parked on the side of the road and when we walked to the lake shore, we saw many people who have tripod set up and taking photos. The stars were so bright and we could see many constellations clearly in the sky. The Big Dipper was very clear in the sky just over the mountain. We were able to find the polar star very easily as well.
In general, we loved Patricia Lake, especially at night. Stargazing at Patricia Lake is just an amazing experience and we would definitely do it again when we visit Jasper next time.
Pyramid Lake is a beautiful lake located 15 minutes North of Jasper. The lake lies right beside Pyramid Mountain. The calm lake water reflects Pyramid Mountain like a mirror. Many tourist groups come by Pyramid Lake for a short stop just to enjoy the view. The Pyramid Lake Resort is also just right beside the lake. There are many canoes and boats that can be rented by people and enjoy a relaxing quiet day on the lake.
We went to visit Pyramid Lake early in the morning to avoid the crowd. There isn't a lot of parking space, but the road is wide enough to park on the side of the road. When we got to Pyramid Lake, it was around 8AM in the morning. We could see the morning mist hovering above the lake and the cloud on the mountain was just clearing away. It was so quiet in the early morning when no one was there.
We walked along the lake shore. There is a dock right in front of Pyramid Lake resort with several benches for people to take rest. We sat on the bench and enjoyed our morning coffee.
As we enjoyed our view, we saw several tour bus driving by and headed North along the lake. The tour bus was heading to the Pyramid Island. The Pyramid Island is just North of Pyramid Lake Resort. There is a bridge connected to Pyramid Island from the lake shore to allow people to walk to the island.
There are also several hiking trails around Pyramid Lake and they go really far. At the trail head, it has warning sign indicating the sighting of bears in the region and warned to have proper equipments before proceeding with the hike. We had bear spray with us, but had other plans later in the day. So we decided to try the hiking trail next time.
Overall, Pyramid Lake is a lovely place to be at to enjoy the morning. When the sun light shines upon the mountain, its reflection on the lake is just breath taking. We highly recommend people to come visit this place at Jasper National Park even if it's just for 30 minutes. One thing to note is that the road to Pyramid Lake is not very well maintained. So extra caution is needed when Driving to Pyramid Lake.
Maligne Lake is one of the largest lake in Jasper National Park. It is also the most popular lake for tourists to visit in Jasper National Park and attracts millions of visitors every year. Maligne Lake is very long and narrow. It is about 1.5 hours of drive from the town of Jasper. There are also several hiking trails such as Bald Hill trails around Maligne Lake. Since we are visiting Jasper National Park, it is a place that we cannot miss.
We left Jasper around 7AM in the morning and got to Maligne Lake around 9AM. It took us about 2 hours since we stopped at few view points to take some pictures. On the way to Maligne Lake, we could see some pine trees being damaged by the forest fire few years ago. It was sad to see. When we got to Maligne Lake, the parking lot is huge and there are 3 of them. So people don't have to worry about find a parking space.
The day was cloudy and a little bit rainy. We got ourselves a Spirit Island Cruise package from the Maligne Lake lodge. The boat will take us to the famous and sacred Spirit Island at the middle of Maligne Lake.
The boat is not very big and can probably hold only 50 people at once. After it left the dock, it took around 15 minutes to get to Spirit Island. During the ride, we walked out onto the deck at the back of the boat to enjoy the soft wind and the view. The guide on the boat also gives some background and history on Spirit Island.
When we got to the Spirit Island, it was actually connected to the lake shore. This is because the water runs dry during the summer. During the other seasons with higher water level, it will become an island. One thing to note is that people cannot set foot on the island due to it being very sacred to the local people. Also, the cruise boat cannot go further into the lake beyond where Spirit Island is. Spirit Island is right in front of the holy gate and the portion of the lake behind Spirit Island is also sacred.
When we got back to the lodge, it actually started drizzling. We were glad that we got back early. Maligne Lake is definitely a must visit place when visiting Jasper National Park and we highly recommend it.
Columbia Icefield is the most popular tourist attraction within Jasper National Park in Canada. It attracts millions of visitors everyday. Columbia Icefield is located directly off the Columbia Icefield Parkway. When driving along Icefield Parkway, you can clearly see the glacier on the left hand side and the mist on top of it.
This is a must visit place for us since we are driving up to Jasper from Banff. We got to Columbia Icefield around 11AM and bought the package. The package includes the tour on Columbia Icefield and Skywalk. The bus departs from Columbia Icefield Discovery Center and will head to the Columbia Icefield first, then head to the Skywalk.
It was finally our time to get on the bus around 1:30PM. The wheel of the bus is gigantic. It is as tall as a child with a lot of traction on it! The bus drives from around 10 minutes to get to the glacier slowly. At the glacier, there was a steep climb where the bus is almost in a 45 degree decline.
When we got off the bus and stepped onto the glacier, it was cold and freezing. We were glad that we wore jackets that were thick enough to keep us warm. We saw many people wear shorts and skirts, and freezing themselves.
On the glacier, there are marked boundaries indicating the safe area where you can set foot on. If you go beyond the boundary, then you are at your own risk and could fall into the glacier. So make sure you watch out for the boundary sign.
The water on the glacier was also freezing and clear. We actually had a taste of it and the water was actually sweet.
We got back onto the bus and headed towards the Skywalk. The Skywalk is really nothing special. It is essentially a glass walk way sticking out of the cliff for people to view the valley carved out by the glacier thousands of years ago. That is all it is. It was very disappointing. We felt that it was a rip off.
In general, Columbia Icefield is definitely a must visit attraction when visiting Jasper. However, we strongly recommend to skip Skywalk. Skywalk is really a waste of time and money.
