Sacramento, CA to Tonapah, Nevada, Oct. 26
After our-3 day stay with Chris’ brother, Brad and wife, Connie that turned into almost 3 weeks…we finally got on our way to phase two of our journey in Mexico. We were planning to test out the improvements to the boat and the new larger 8-hp. Tohatsu 4-stroke motor in Lake Mead. It seemed really cool to me to sail in the lake created by the Hoover Dam. Typical when the brothers are together, we got a later start than hoped, 3:30 in the afternoon, not our usual style of getting on the road in early morning. Throwing leftover 4th of July firecrackers at each other was not the most mature nor timely thing to do that morning, but Brad and Chris are definitely deficient in the “maturity and timely departments” when they are together.
After our-3 day stay with Chris’ brother, Brad and wife, Connie that turned into almost 3 weeks…we finally got on our way to phase two of our journey in Mexico. We were planning to test out the improvements to the boat and the new larger 8-hp. Tohatsu 4-stroke motor in Lake Mead. It seemed really cool to me to sail in the lake created by the Hoover Dam. Typical when the brothers are together, we got a later start than hoped, 3:30 in the afternoon, not our usual style of getting on the road in early morning. Throwing leftover 4th of July firecrackers at each other was not the most mature nor timely thing to do that morning, but Brad and Chris are definitely deficient in the “maturity and timely departments” when they are together.
The hope was to get through the Sierra Mountains on Route 50 before dark and to make it to Miller’s rest stop north of Tonapah, Nevada to spend the night in the boat at the rest stop. We hadn’t had lunch and figured we needed to eat something, so down the road about 45 minutes we decided to get one of our favorite cheap meals and fill up the truck at Costco which was right off the highway. When I went into my purse to get my debit card, I noticed my card holder was missing. In the rush to leave, things I’m used to packing were packed by others and I hadn’t double checked. We called back to Brad’s and asked if they saw a bright blue aluminum card case. (This case held every single credit card I owned, so it was a critical loss, not to say potentially time consuming in cancelling and getting replacements.) Brad and Connie looked around their home while we grabbed some food and tore apart the truck and boat looking for it all to no avail. I decided I had to go back to the house and retrace my steps looking for the case.
We headed back to their home. While in transit, we got a call saying that Brad had found the card holder under some sheets. Not known for knowing where his own things are, it was quite amazing he found the case. A quick pick up of the case and more goodbyes we were on our way again, an hour and half later.
Chris was discouraged and thought we should look for a place to spend the night before we reached the mountains, but I convinced him that there was enough daylight left to get through the worst of the mountain journey and we proceeded on to Nevada.
Rt. 50 east to Tahoe and Nevada is one of the first highways built in this area. Though it has had improvements, as it wends its way through the worst parts of the mountains, the road is undivided with one eastbound lane with lots of switchbacks. It follows the east fork of American River. With tall evergreen trees on both sides of the road, light was dimming quickly. Along the way were old cabins from the 50’s built for rentals for mountain vacations in both winter and summer.
We headed back to their home. While in transit, we got a call saying that Brad had found the card holder under some sheets. Not known for knowing where his own things are, it was quite amazing he found the case. A quick pick up of the case and more goodbyes we were on our way again, an hour and half later.
Chris was discouraged and thought we should look for a place to spend the night before we reached the mountains, but I convinced him that there was enough daylight left to get through the worst of the mountain journey and we proceeded on to Nevada.
Rt. 50 east to Tahoe and Nevada is one of the first highways built in this area. Though it has had improvements, as it wends its way through the worst parts of the mountains, the road is undivided with one eastbound lane with lots of switchbacks. It follows the east fork of American River. With tall evergreen trees on both sides of the road, light was dimming quickly. Along the way were old cabins from the 50’s built for rentals for mountain vacations in both winter and summer.
We made it through to Tahoe before it got really dark and started taking a lot of back roads south towards Lake Mead. Elevations through this part of the journey ranged from 4,000 to 7,000 feet (and we thought the Siskiyou Summit was high). The plateau we were now traveling across had groupings of mountains around us. Watching the sunset and the moon rise behind these, we were treated to some spectacular views. The road took us past Topaz Lake and Walker Lake. The views of the moonlight on these salt lakes with the ripples from the wind were spectacular and beautiful break in the dark landscape around us.
We made it through to Tahoe before it got really dark and started taking a lot of back roads south towards Lake Mead. Elevations through this part of the journey ranged from 4,000 to 7,000 feet (and we thought the Siskiyou Summit was high). The plateau we were now traveling across had groupings of mountains around us. Watching the sunset and the moon rise behind these, we were treated to some spectacular views. The road took us past Topaz Lake and Walker Lake. The views of the moonlight on these salt lakes with the ripples from the wind were spectacular and beautiful break in the dark landscape around us.
At last at around 10:30 pm, we arrived at Millers Rest Stop. Getting out of the truck we were struck by how cold it was but quickly climbed into the boat and went to sleep. We had stowed our heavy sleeping bags in the truck because we were heading south and the weather was going to be warm. In the middle of the night both of us were reaching for towels, blankets, clothes, anything to get warmer. We woke early to be able launch the boat in Lake Mead that day. Getting out of the boat, we discovered frost on the truck bed cover, enough for Chris to write something in the frost on the truck. Here we were 1000 miles south of Canada, and we experienced our first frost. Where is the warm weather?????