I stepped out of the front door and was greeted with a blast of chilly air. Cars and sidewalks sparkled from the overnight frost that would remain crystalized for most of the morning. I glanced at the trash pickings left by three bears and a coyote the night before. For the first time in many never-ending-heated months, I was happy to bundle up against the unfamiliar cold. Despite three layers of socks, my toes still went numb in my athletic shoes designed to allow air flow. Time to invest in a different type of shoes.

Our first stop was at Fallen Leaf Lake – a must do for all of our Tahoe trips. Today it was unusually quiet with the campgrounds long closed for the season. We hiked for over an hour without running into another person. The lake was crystal clear and blue, with the mountains towering mystically in the distance. The stillness was soothing and such a relief from the bustling city we call home.

We came to an Aspen grove, devoid of most of the bright yellow leaves. I noticed a pinecone in one of the trees – “oddly placed,” I thought. Curiously, I zoomed into the pinecone with my frozen binoculars, only it wasn’t a pinecone (as you might have suspected already). “Owl!” I shouted, maybe too loudly, to Gabe. A little Northern Pygmy Owl sat there watching us with yellow, piercing eyes, sometimes flashing its feathered false eyes on the back of its head when it was comfortable with directing its attention elsewhere for a brief moment. Double exciting was submitting an eBird report for this “unreported” species for Fallen Leaf Lake. After watching the tiny bundle of owl for a while, we quietly snuck away to give it some peace.

After the first park visit, we grabbed sandwiches and headed over to a newly-discovered birding location called Lake Baron, which is nestled in Tahoe Paradise Park. I was awed by this community park. It had picnic benches and sported a play area like I’m accustomed to seeing at home, but manicured grass and crawling sidewalks were replaced by towering mountain trees and bustling with bird activity. A group of Hooded Mergansers and Common Mergansers swam with American Wigeons in the lake. A Townsend’s Solitaire was calling off in the distance. Mountain Chickadees and Dark-eyed Juncos were busy foraging in the trees and bushes. Perhaps the oddest sight for me was spotting a Bald Eagle sitting in a pine tree. I’m accustomed to these majestic creatures dwarfing their surroundings in the Bay Area, but this one seemed small and out of place to my inexperienced mountain eyes. It’s about the closest I’ve ever been to a wild Bald Eagle.

I was sad to leave Tahoe so soon, but a storm was threatening to dump several feet of snow and close the nearby roads. We’ll be back to explore new parks and bask in the serene and peaceful mountain experience in the New Year.