Reality Tour 2: Lake Tahoe

MS Dixie II Day 6 is all about Lake Tahoe.

Let’s skip the ride there and get right to the good stuff.

Resting on the border of California and Nevada, Lake Tahoe is a massive freshwater lake – America’s second-deepest. It’s also a huge tourist draw.

This place was never on my to-do list. But now I would recommend the lake to anyone visiting the area. The cruise on the MS Dixie II came at the perfect time in the tour. I needed some fresh air to clear my thoughts and gear up for the home stretch.

The bow I spent most of the ride at the bow of the ship, watching the mountains come closer and closer. It’s true – the water here is incredibly clear. Out on the waves all my worries slip away as the wind blows in from across the Sierra Nevada’s. We really are in the middle of a huge bowl in the mountains.

The cruise also featured Darin Talbot, known as the voice of Lake Tahoe. He’s playing guitar and telling stories from the lake’s rich history. Darin’s sort of doing a troubadour, stand up comic thing which many people seem to enjoy. I love the tales (true or not) he’s dropping on us.

You might remember The Godfather Part II, and how the Corleone family lived on the shores of the Nevada side of the lake. As the film comes to a close, Fredo takes his last “fishing trip.”

And since returning I’ve learned that, as usual, the truth might be stranger than fiction. There’s a part of the lake off the South Shore that the locals call the graveyard. Some believe (because the water is so pure and that there’s no oxygen at great depths) that gangsters with cement shoes and pinstriped suits dot the bottom of the lake. Perhaps not a selling point but interesting none the less. Lake Tahoe Mts.

And of course there’s supposed to be lake monsters and perhaps giant sturgeon down there. Darin even tells a story (I can’t confirm it) that Jacques Cousteau once explored these depths and returned to the surface saying, “The world isn’t ready for what is down there.”

What I am trying to say is that in addition to being a stunning place, Lake Tahoe has a lot of character.

When the MS Dixie II hits our turn around point in Emerald Bay and starts the journey back across the lake, I am alone with my thoughts and enjoying the scenery. A group of 40 passengers always sounded too big to me but I haven’t found it the least bit cumbersome. For better or worse, we’ve grown into a little bit of a family.

Today felt like a bonus, some of that built in value we are always talking about at Collette.