tahoe life. cabin life. happy life.
Welcome to Happy Cabin, our happy place and your second home for stories, travel tips, and inspiration from North Lake Tahoe and beyond. Join our family as we savor time together, celebrate cozy places, and make memories that linger long after the trip is done.
Like so many other things in the post-Covid-19 world, our local North Lake Tahoe resorts’ winter plans have left us confused, disappointed, and more than slightly unsettled. Here is what we’ve learned. . .
Grandpa toiled for weeks in the hot summer sun over built-in redwood bunks, crafted by hand from pieces of redwood he'd been saving for a special project. Not only are they functional and fun, the smell of linseed oil and old wood takes me back to another happy place we discovered on a trip to Turkey we took when Anaya was only 4-years-old.
welcome!
Thanks for stopping by. Happy Cabin is our family’s second home. It’s a real place—a vintage log cabin in North Lake Tahoe. But it’s more than too. It’s an idea we had when we ventured out as a family to create something together. We imagined a joyful place for gathering, growing, and creating. Our blog evokes what Happy Cabin means to us. Join us as we share stories about the people, places and experiences that make us happy. To visit Happy Cabin on your next trip to North Lake Tahoe, get in touch.
— Heather & Family
Reader Favorites
We caught some early-morning prowlers on our security camera! It was a good reminder for all of us how important it is to STAY AWARE--to stay aware of our local ecology, to stay aware of how our actions affect our wildlife neighbors, to stay aware of how important it is to store food in bear-safe containers and make sure left-overs don't get left outside.
A few days before All Hallows’ Eve, we travel to where the veil is thin, searching for ghosts.
Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speech to the United Nations got our family thinking about climate change and what we can do to help fix it.
The sleeper train delivers a novel and inexpensive way to traverse the 11 hours between Bangkok and the southern islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Best of all, we finally get some sleep. . .
In the cold of this frigid, snowy winter, we found ourselves reminiscing about a desert trip, replete with ghosts, misadventures, and boondocking east of nowhere.
Grandma Ruth grew up in San Francisco during The Depression, giving her a unique perspective on The City. Here are ten things she loved to share in her hometown.
On a recent trip to Tomales Bay, we introduced a third generation to the wonders of clamming. Hunting for cockles is like hunting for treasure. It requires a journey, discomfort, hard work, and a lot of faith that all the effort will turn up gold. Not only did our hard work pay off, our kids loved the thrill of the hunt.
At the end of a long workday, Eben snuck away to Sand Harbor State Beach, just over the border in Nevada, for a dip in the now-frigid waters.
After a few months of frequent trips to Northstar California Resort, we’ve nearly gotten the hang of snowboarding in a pandemic. Here’s our candid take, and some tips to get the most out of your Spring Break trip to the snow.
Like so many other things in the post-Covid-19 world, our local North Lake Tahoe resorts’ winter plans have left us confused, disappointed, and more than slightly unsettled. Here is what we’ve learned. . .
On the first weekend that North Lake Tahoe is open for “hospitality,” we venture out to enjoy the region from a safe social distance. This is what we find. . .
I can’t tell you how many times, I’ve typed “When will be able to travel again?” into my browser, searching for guidelines, a timeline, a hint of news. Even today, nobody really seems to know. But there are rumblings that this summer is a possibility. Here is what we know.
Just as we hoped, March brought snow. Fresh, bountiful powder fell by the pound, promising an invigorated snowboarding and ski season. Alas, this Spring dream quickly dissipated into a shifting nightmare, as rumors of a novel corona virus quickly spiraled into a global shutdown. North Lake Tahoe, like every other California community, is sheltering in place.
The Farmer’s Almanac and NOAA have weighed in on whether this will be an epic or a ho-hum year for snow in North Lake Tahoe, and their predictions couldn’t be more different. Stay tuned for real-time updates, as we give you bi-monthly updates from the mountain.
Happy Cabin gets happier around the holidays. Here are some of our favorite North Lake Tahoe holiday traditions to get you into the spirit.
We caught some early-morning prowlers on our security camera! It was a good reminder for all of us how important it is to STAY AWARE--to stay aware of our local ecology, to stay aware of how our actions affect our wildlife neighbors, to stay aware of how important it is to store food in bear-safe containers and make sure left-overs don't get left outside.
Our first winter of cabin life inspired some updating. A custom leather sofa for 8 and a dining nook crafted from a live-edge dining table and extra-long dining bench make it easier to host a crowd.
Happy New Year from Happy Cabin! May this year bring you all that you wish for, along with a few surprises.
Packing a few extras is often just the thing to make someone else’s second home feel like home to you. Here’s a short list of things to consider packing when you visit Happy Cabin.
Happy Cabin is a clean slate when it comes to holiday decor. We are still making our traditions as we go. In the meantime, I’m feeding my imagination on other people’s visions of a log cabin holiday.
The beauty of a destination Thanksgiving is you get to go off-piste a little bit with the fixings. Nobody is going to fault you for cutting a few corners when you are hours away from home in an unfamiliar kitchen.
Food traditions abound on New Year’s Day. We look at global traditions, while sharing a few traditions of our own.
At the tail-end of a sweltering Midwest summer, three generations of Rogers gather in Minnesota to celebrate Grandpa Billy.
A few days before All Hallows’ Eve, we travel to where the veil is thin, searching for ghosts.
Greta Thunberg’s impassioned speech to the United Nations got our family thinking about climate change and what we can do to help fix it.
The sleeper train delivers a novel and inexpensive way to traverse the 11 hours between Bangkok and the southern islands in the Gulf of Thailand. Best of all, we finally get some sleep. . .
On a recent trip to Thailand we followed the whispers to Chiang Dao and a simple slice of paradise called “The Nest.”
A “little walk, straight up mountains” off the beaten path is exactly what this motley crew needs to shake off the doldrums of a cloudy day and find some magic. Henry Coe State Park delivers a wildflower-filled, rugged adventure.
After a few months of frequent trips to Northstar California Resort, we’ve nearly gotten the hang of snowboarding in a pandemic. Here’s our candid take, and some tips to get the most out of your Spring Break trip to the snow.