day 6 // sunrise and ziplines

Today started with the sun.

Normally I'm not one to be pulled out of bed at 5 in the morning however I am increasingly willing lately to do so for that golden light streaming from the clouds, the glowing red orb hoisting itself above the mounts and the mist that somehow proclaims God's majesty and a hope of mankind. 

We left on time to get to the Vista Point [the one we were at before] on time and had 10ish minutes before the sun started peeking out behind the mountains. There was some pretty heavy, chunky cloud cover and we were on the verge of leaving with [still gorgeous!] pictures of fluffy clouds reflecting orange and pink...until we turned around and saw the glowing orb itself make an appearance between the gaps. 

Cameras were all on at that point and I even had to stop because I just wanted to look at it and take it in. There's something great about immortalizing a sunrise within a square, digital exposure but there's also so much to be said for sitting on the rock in silent awe, watching the movement of the sun before your eyes. Please enjoy the below pictures of the sun's steady progression:

We left the rock at the Vista Point shortly after and headed to a small coffee shop called Wild Cherries for some caffeine. I got a white mocha but ended up only taking a couple sips on the ride back... and promptly fell back to sleep once I got back in the house. I finished my coffee with breakfast [at a normal time] later, though. It was really good. 

After a delicious home-cooked breakfast, we hung around the house for a bit until it was ready to leave-- we had a reservation for zip-lining at a local zip-lining park called the Treetop Adventure Park and Ropes Course in Granlibakken Tahoe. It was broken up into two sections, one of which was for smaller kids [the "flying squirrel" section] and then the bigger people/adults ["monkey" section]. The Monkey section was comprised of 5 courses, all of which were rated like ski slopes: 1 easy, 3 intermediate, and 1 expert [or "black diamond"]. 

All of them were pretty easy going except for one part of the black diamond course-- it was literally a zip-line cable through a sea of hanging hoops on strings that you were supposed to put your feet on and cross that way... I fell after the first couple of rings and had to pull myself across the rest of the way. My biceps hurt a lot after that. But it was loads of fun, and I'd recommend the experience to anyone!

Park entrance/registration hut!

Greeted by a massive climbing wall! 

Struggling to get on a platform 

Look at that form as I zip to my death!

J and I on a platform about to zip!

There was a "snowboard" element to this course. It was kind of slow and not really smooth but still kinda cool!

After we completed all of the courses / our limbs couldn't take it anymore, we left the park to grab a snack at Gar Woods, which is apparently known for their stiff drinks [and rather suggestive drink menu...?]

But there was a pier right behind the restaurant and the views were PHENOMENAL. I especially LOVED the white fluffy clouds! [LOL couldn't decide on a fave pic so here's like, all of them]:

We then headed back to the house to relax a bit before actual dinner-- a delicious set of tacos :D [my roomie is addicted to these so shout out to her]. 

I don't think I'll have a problem sleeping tonight...

One last glimpse at the lake from the car (:

Until next time,

xx

steph