A Stormy Start In California
This is a photography blog, but sometimes there is a story that has nothing to do with image making, but still needs to be told. So, here goes. My wife and I consider ourselves pretty savvy travelers, but we were recently scammed in Lake Tahoe. A hotel we booked called the Tahoma Lodge was boarded up when we arrived. Later locals told us it had been closed for years. Fortunately, we ended up not losing any money. Even more fortunately, this lead to a real life affirming experience.
Standing in front of this boarded up building, we met a local couple who offered us a cabin on their property to use. I know what you are thinking and we thought it too. Never trust strangers who invite you to a remote cabin, but instinct told us it was okay. It was. The cabin was beautiful and right on Lake Tahoe. The couple, well, they were amazing people. We spent quite a bit of time on their deck talking about everything from life, family, religion, growing up in the area and then some. We also had access to the lake from their property and it yielded some great photography.
Emerald Bay
We picked the original location in Tahoma, California because it was close to Emerald Bay which has commanding views, the beautiful Eagle Falls and and access to hiking in the Desolation Wilderness.
Lake Tahoe First Light On Emerald Bay by Richard Lewis 2019
Eagle Falls Sunset by Richard Lewis 2019
Eagle Falls by Richard Lewis 2019
Early Mountain Light by Richard Lewis 2019
Lake Tahoe
All of the photographs in this set would not have been possible if we didn’t have the access to the lake that the wonderful people we met provided.
Lake Tahoe Glow by Richard Lewis 2019
Lake Tahoe Sunrise by Richard Lewis 2019
Storm On Lake Tahoe by Richard Lewis 2019
Reno and Surroundings.
After a few days on Lake Tahoe we went to a family wedding outside of Reno, Nevada where we managed to find a little time to get out and photograph the local landscape.
Somewhere Outside Of Reno by Richard Lewis 2019
Water Slide by Richard Lewis 2019
Morning On The Yuba River by Richard Lewis 2019
Along The Yuba River by Richard Lewis 2019
Old Homestead by Richard Lewis 2019
Darkness To Light by Richard Lewis 2019
Final thoughts? Most people are pretty decent and some go above and beyond to help. It was a real blessing to not just have access to this wonderful little cabin on Lake Tahoe, but to spend time getting to know some truly remarkable people.
Enjoy
Great photos, Rich. Glad the story had a happy ending.
Thanks Ken. It was one of those great experiences the shows you how nice most people really are.
Great body of work, you must have had a wonderful time!
Thanks John. It was a great trip.
Phenomenal photographs. Thankful that your art and craft brings us these images to see.
Thank you Michael for that nice comment. I’m glad you enjoy these images.
Hope you gave the gracious couple a print. Beautiful series.
Thanks Rich. They are getting several prints from this trip.
Seems like your rental mishap was for the best after all. Absolutely stunning photos!
Thanks Erika. Not that you ever want a mishap when travelling, but this one did lead to a memorable experience with some wonderful people.
Great set of photos!
Thank you Bob.
Great story & photo series. I especially liked “Old Homestead”. If you can make it there, Aravaipa Creek in Az. would be a good photo op.
Thanks Michael. I looked up Aravaipa Creek and it does look really interesting. It will be on the list for our next trip to Arizona.
Fantastic! Great photos and story.
Thanks, I appreciate the comment!
Hi ya Rich. You have done some fabulous work here. Tahoe is a place I have never visited but you make me want to put it clearly on my list. Oh…and glad the hotel thing left you with nothing but an interesting story to tell.
Thanks Craig. I hope you get to Tahoe. It’s a very interesting place even without a hotel scam.
Well… glad you made it back in one piece. What a great backstory. a much needed affirmation that people can be human and kind to one another. Big bonus on the stellar pics!!!
Thanks Mike. This was one time that the photos were not necessarily the best things that happened on this trip.
Great story and awesome images
Thanks Bob
Nice work. Liked the slightly different perspective of the Old Homestead, the eeriness of Storm on Lake Tahoe, and Water Slide left me unbalanced (I know, a little unbalanced to begin with.)
Thanks Ralph I appreciate it. Sorry to leave you off balanced. That slide was a bit strange in how the water ran down the rocks. I felt a little off kilter composing that one.
WOW…You definitely made more than just photographic memories! What a wonderful story to accompany your beautiful images! Of course my attention was drawn to the ones where you used the ND filter. Thanks again for your help last month. I ‘practiced’ a lot up in Acadia!
It was an amazing thing that happened. One of those affirmations of how good people can be. Thanks for your compliment on my photographs here too. I look foward to seeing what you came up with in Acadia. I hope you had a great time up there.