A gullible tourist + a local prankster == A memorable Fallen Leaf Lake drive
Usually when a gullible tourist and a local prankster meet, it results in lot of fun for one and heart burn for the other. Last weekend, the plan was to visit Baldwin Beach after our leisurely Taylor creek stroll. A local with 2 over grown dogs spotted my friends trying tight rope walking on a wooden bridge 
while I was trying to shoot (photo 
) a rather shy duck and decided to play a prank. He started a conversation with us and enquired about our plans for the rest of the evening. Being the gullible tourist that I am, I mentioned that we were thinking of visiting both Baldwin Beach and Fallen Leaf Lake. Then the obvious question - do you like wildlife? And that got me all fired up and I started to whine. I told him how frustrated I was to spot just bear tracks on the yet to melt snow and the closest encounter was the low grunt of an unknown animal during our hike to Desolation Wilderness. He told us that it was worth visiting the meadows of the Fallen Leaf Lake during twilight hours (8-9PM) and he regularly spots coyotes and a big mama bear with 3 cubs.
Me: 3 cubs?
Local: yes!
Me: (A sarcastic smile)
Local:
Since they are very safe in the Sierras and the conditions have been good, they sometimes do have 3 cubs around here. Why not pay a visit? What are you losing by going there?
2 of my friends were very sceptical and one was scared but I insisted on the visit and hence we were off to Fallen Leaf Lake @ 7:00 PM. We drove past the meadows and there were way too many photo-ops and rest completely forgot the wild life and started taking photos as if they were planning to change their profession to modeling.
A combination of late spring + twilight + clear skies made it a very memorable experience and suddenly our multi-GB camera memories weren't enough! The reflectin of the nearby mount on the clear waters of the Lake against the changing colors of the evening sky was magical. Not to mention the wishful sighs we heaved looking at all those wonderful waterfront properties. We finally decided to drive back after it became pitch black on reaching the Stanford Sierra Camp. And did I forget to mention that we didn't spot even a pet animal?
The local must have had a good time narrating how he fooled atleast one gullible tourist to his friends but we were very happy to have visited a beautiful lake at the perfect time for taking photos.