We did, finally, manage to drive out for a bit of exploration; first, in the Lake Tahoe Basin

we went to see the Inspiration Point:

But the trail wasn’t really suitable for walking with The Biddles, so we decided to just look at Emerald Bay and see if other trails would be easier. But Emerald Bay itself was quite breathtaking….

Here's Fannette Island (variously named at various times), the only island in this bay with the incredibly blue, clear, water: The canoe in front gives an idea of the size and distance of the island. We had the regulation tourist photo taken(taken by another tourist), but our tee colours made the pic a little unusual! We decided that the Eagle Falls trail was worth doing, for as long as GD would allow it... The walk was uphill as the Falls were over a shoulder of the hill; the scenery was so lovely! We finally arrived at the falls.... There was a little bridge over the rushing stream: The water just rushed along, throwing up sparkling droplets: The rock formations were squarish, and the grasses blew in the breeze: the blues of the new pine needles contrasted beautifully with the greens of the old: I did find a couple of birds that I had never seen before; here's the BROWN CREEPER which Yathin tells me is the only tree-creeper in North America: There was also a DOWNY WOODPECKER on the same tree. And I also saw a pair of what I later id'd (thank you, Dave Pierce!) as TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE: Here's one of them, looking alertly up at me, even though I was quite far away: And here's a video of the bird pecking at the plant nearby; you can hear the sound of the rushing water! I did see some rodents on the rocks, but they whisked themselves off before I could see clearly if they were MARMOTS. But I did get to see a few delightful little CHIPMUNKS: Here's a closeup of Rocky, the Chipmunk! this un id white wildflower looked so pretty, in that rugged place: the scenery inspired photographers to photograph other photographers photographing:

We left the Eagle Falls trail only at sunset…

The next day, we went to Falling Leaf Lake, and to Glen Falls…watch out to see what KM called the former!