Having not had much success with hiking the previous day, we decided that we would make a more concerted effort to find a trail that would accomodate a perambulator (or a stroller, as it is called here.)

Now,KM is famous for getting names wrong, so we fell about laughing when he started calling it the Fig Leaf Lake. We corrected him and told him it was Fallen Leaf Lake. So….when his elder brother called up, he said, “We are at Fallen Fig Leaf Lake”…..!

We went to

Fallen Leaf Lake , which is quite as stunning as the larger Lake Tahoe near it:

It was easy to see why the blue waters remained so clear, when we saw how strictly some rules were enforced....can you imagine that the boats have to be washed before they get into the water? There was also this patrol sign: Overlooking the lake was the Fallen Leaf Lodge: Which had a historic little Post Office with a beautiful little sign! Poisonous weed warnings were accompanied by specimens of the weeds themselves! I wish we could also do this in resorts in India: The sight of so many cut trees wasn't a great one, but I guess there's a lot of tree-planting also being done in the area: It tickled me to see that Fallen Leaf Lake seemed to have residents with an eponymous number plate! The wild flowers and berries that I saw were very numerous; this yellow berry looks just like the one I see in Valley School back home! These berries were bluish and very pretty! I loved the lines of the reeds, the texture of the rock, and the plant blooming in between, in this photograph: This flower was blooming all over: These flowers looked like strawberries! This one reminded me of the Glory Lily back home, but was much smaller: I liked the shine of the cobwebs behind this yellow flower and the bee on it! This flower looked like Nature had lit little flames everywhere! I neither know the name of this white flower, nor of the wasp on it, but they made a lovely image! Having walked around Fallen Leaf Lake, we went to the Glen Alpine Trail, and hiked to the Glen Falls. It was a really lovely hike, very short and convenient to walk with GD in her Baby Bjorn that I think looks like the thingies that Red Indian American Indian Native Indian squaws carried their papooses in! But we got a lot of conflicting opinions (from various hikers on the trail) on how long the trail was; all we did was, go up to Glen Falls, and come back. I called the point where we stopped at the Glen Alpine Trail..."Chappal Point"....that sandal stayed balanced on that rock as long as we were there! Here's a view of the bridge we crossed: What kind of lucky people own this lovely house that we saw perched on the slope on the trail? This is what the slope itself looked like, with people trying to climb it! Up a bend, we came to the beautiful Glen Falls themselves: I took another picture after clambering closer to the water: Here are the falls with A there, to show the size: The alpine scenery, of course, was breathtaking! We saw a "historic" short trail: The trailhead (trail beginning) had a list of do's and don'ts: We didn't see too many mammals at Glen Falls, one juvenile being this one, which was kicking up dirt: However, the CHIPMUNKS were amazingly entertaining! and almost at the end of the trail, we saw this dam built by the BEAVERS I did see a couple of beavers, but they vanished into the water at once, and I didn't see them again! I liked the blue of this STELLER'S JAY feather: And that was followed by the sight of one of the birds, carrying some food towards its nest: On our way back, I managed to get a quick shot of this juvenile GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE Just my luck...the adults are so colourful, and all I got to see was the dull-coloured baby! I saw a couple of BROWN CREEPERS, on some tree-trunks, too:

Well, it was a long day, but one spent outdoors, amidst great natural beauty….so it was most enjoyable!