The rest of our winter was spent over Donner Pass, nestled right in the magical snowy Tahoe Basin, surrounded by mystical National Forests. We had a ski season to finish out.
All the National Forests of the Tahoe Basin
Powerful Lake Tahoe gets a lot of the attention, but what makes me feel so warm and cozy in a snowy cold winter in the Tahoe Basin is the National Forests that hug it. And I really mean hug, 3/4 of Lake Tahoe’s watershed is National Forest Lands. It is comprised of three National Forests: the Tahoe National Forest, Eldorado National Forest, and Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest. Each one magical in a different way, strewn with granite rock giants of the Sierra Nevada.
We Love You, Tahoe Basin, But Have to Go For Now
The Tahoe Basin is a great home, but we can’t swing the high cost long-term. So our future plans after finishing out the ski season is to move to Ashland, Oregon. We are excited to move to the Rogue Valley, we really want, and need, a home base, and as of right now, I think we made a great choice.
But back to Tahoe, a fantastic winter wonderland, world class skiing, and just surrounded by raw nature and my favorite Tahoe Basin trees, towering, beautiful sugar pines. We kept ourselves happy van life in the winter by getting outside lots. We were parked at Coachland RV Park, which has is a great place to call home. Aside from skiing lots, we sled and hiked at pristine Donner Memorial State Park. Tahoe is a winter paradise.
The Tahoe Basin is truly a nature lover’s playground that could be visited an entire lifetime. And that is what people in the region do. I can’t wait to come back to teach the girls more about the First Nation history, the Washoe tribe of Nevada and California, and more about Tahoe’s other life forms, like the truly mesmerizing Quaking Aspen, one of the largest living organisms on earth. We avidly use the simple, easy download Forest Service USDA guides when learning.
What’s Our Next Educational Adventure?
A history lesson on wheels to America’s Heartland, home to the Upper Midwest. The van is the most versatile thing a family could ever own. If you are serious about experiential education, then Van Life is the absolute best way teach children, thousands of miles of social studies, science, wilderness skills, edible & useful plant identification, nature awareness. The list goes on. I’ve always wanted my children to grow up seeing the richness of the world around us. And here we are, an accidental Van Family that will never go back. “What you seek is seeking you” – Rumi.
