Squaw Valley

We had the good fortune of spending a long weekend with my Mom and Russ in Squaw Valley over the Labor Day holiday. Our extended family, Roy and Sue Vinyard, graciously offered up their time share and helped us reserve an additional room for dirt cheap! We had an amazing time! The Olympic Village Inn was adorable and very comfortable. We were a short drive to Sand Harbor Beach and a short walk to the Squaw Village.

Owen and Grandma Brenda hanging out in the lobby while we're checking in.

Our room was on the first floor opening up to the courtyard and overlooking the beautiful grounds. Grandma & Grandpa were above us, two doors over.

All of the rooms are very family friendly. The living room/kitchen space had a fold out sofa bed for Owen to sleep on. As well as a fold up table to eat on. Our bedroom was on the other side of the hallway/bathroom.

We brought some food with us and stopped for some groceries once we were nearly there. After unpacking we realized that Aaron had forgotten all his bathroom "stuff." So we headed back to the store and enjoyed a delicious dinner at a local pizzeria.


It was a short walk to Squaw Village. Here we found lots of cute shops, yummy restaurants, and other activities to keep us occupied. It was so nice not to have to get in the car to go everywhere.

Our first full day we packed a picnic lunch and headed to Sand Harbor Beach!

The guys examining the map

Beautiful Lake Tahoe

The water was cool and refreshing!

Can you believe how clear this water is?

We have a laugh at our house about sand toys, for a family that doesn't have a sand box we sure have a lot of them! We took a whole bunch with us and Grandma Brenda brought some too. Owen wasn't very interested in playing in the sand, he mostly wanted to be in the water, and snack ;-) I however was determined to make something with those toys! I call it Truck Town!

My handsome husband

After returning to our room for a nice nap, we headed over to Squaw Village for dinner. We had to stop and jump first! Owen and Aaron were mesmerized by the Sky Jump.

Above, Owen - "I'm flying!"

Below, Aaron doing a flip

We had dinner at an Irish Pub - yum!

Today we spent the day at Squaw Village. We played miniature golf and rode the cable car up to high camp. High camp has a beautiful swimming pool and we packed our suits but it was too cold and windy to swim.

Below, Owen playing on the swing set at the Inn.

Outside at the Inn was speckled with hammocks to relax in by a Little man made stream running through the property. It also had both an indoor and an outdoor rec room with games and such, free bicycle rentals, a play area, and a swimming pool. Owen especially liked the fooze ball table (not sure if I spelled that right!)

Owen getting ready to play miniature golf. The course was like a putting green treasure hunt all over Squaw Village.

Time to ride the cable car up to High Camp.

I'm not afraid of heights but there was a moment, on the way up and on the way down, when this feeling washed over me. It was a we could all plummet to the ground and die feeling. It went away almost as suddenly as it came on and I was able to enjoy the ride and the breathtaking view. Owen LOVED it!

The swimming pool at the top.

Bummer it was so cold and windy. Owen and Grandma Brenda gave it a try before Grandma headed to the spa with Grandpa Russ and the three of us went exploring for indoor attractions.

Once inside we visited the Olympic Museum and took a peek at the Olympic Ice Skating Rink. Finally, we had a nice lunch at the cafe then headed back down the mountain.

Going down!

GULP! This last part is steep!





On our way home, Owen announced he had to go potty. He hung in there until we found a moderately safe place to pull over. Owen thought going potty on a tree was great fun.

This was a super fun trip! We will definetely visit Squaw Valley again!

Some Video Clips from our Trip:

From top to bottom, "The Pee-Pee Tree", "Sky Jump", "Cable Car Going Up", "Cable Car Going Down", "Miniature Golf"