Reno/Lake Tahoe

June 5 – 19, 2021

We left Las Vegas behind as we headed north west on US 95 across Nevada. Along the way, we skirted Area 51 (Truck Stop), drove through Tonopah (where Bill did some survey work while in the Air Force), and saw lots of desert landscape with scrub brush and Joshua Trees.

We stopped overnight at Whiskey Flats in Hawthorne, Nevada. The next day as we continued on US 95 we passed a surprisingly beautiful lake – Walker Lake.

Eventually we cut across to I-80 through Reno and into Verdi.

Gold Ranch Casino and RV Resort

We had trouble selecting a campground for the area and finally settled on Gold Ranch Casino and RV Resort in Verdi, Nevada. The sites are paved with a grass living area. Most sites have trees. The campground was full when we arrived as a Heartland RV Chapter Rally was just ending but most left in the next couple of days.

Spooner Lake – Lake Tahoe

For our first exploration, we decided to start with Spooner Lake – Lake Tahoe Nevada State Park about an hour south of Verdi (via I-80 east , I-580 south past Carson City, and US-50 west). There we walked through a lovely wooded area and partially around the lake. The lake was a beautiful blue surrounded by tall fir trees and even some aspen – such a change after all the red rocks of our last destinations.

After Spooner Lake, we turned north on NV-28 to follow the east shoreline of Lake Tahoe. We stopped at Sand Harbor Beach where we toured the visitor center and followed a boardwalk around a portion of the sandy beach. The views were mesmerizing – lovely blue water and views across Lake Tahoe.

After leaving Sand Harbor, we decided not to stop at Memorial Point, instead continuing along the lake to Incline Village. We thought there might be some nice shops here but didn’t see any along NV-28. We did see lots of grand houses.

We continued along the north side of Lake Tahoe on NV-28 through Crystal Bay and into California. We drove through Kings Bay and Tahoe Vista before stopping in Carnelian Bay. Our target there was Gar Woods Grill and Pier for lunch and an opportunity to try a famous Wet Woody or two (I had a Prickly Pear version while Bill had an original). Although a little cool when the sun went behind a cloud, we enjoyed our lunch (and Woodys) on the deck overlooking Lake Tahoe.

Virginia City

The next day, we repeated a portion of our earlier route (I-80 East to I-580 South) but turned off on NV 341 (Geiger Grade Road) – a beautiful albeit twisty mountainous drive – which brought us into Virginia City.

Virginia City sits about forty minutes southeast of—and almost a couple thousand feet of elevation up the Geiger Grade from—Reno, and about twenty-five minutes northeast of Nevada’s capital, Carson City. Built on a mountain side in the Virginia Range, the town’s stunning “hundred mile view” eastward can be taken in from many restaurants, saloons, and hotel rooms. But before there even was Reno, Carson City, or even the State of Nevada itself, there was a silver strike up in them thar hills—one of the biggest in history.
In 1859, miners, suppliers, businessmen, deep-pocketed investors, and other fortune-seekers followed news of what could be (and was) the greatest discovery of silver ore in American history, and flooded to the Virginia Range from San Francisco, all over the American West, and world. booming the settlement of Virginia City into existence, practically overnight.
The success of the mind-bogglingly large “Comstock Lode” shaped the town into a bustling, rough-and-tumble mining center that overflowed with unimaginable wealth and prosperity, rocketing Nevada Territory into statehood, and earning Nevada the famous nickname: the Silver State.
travelnevada.com

Our route provided a great view of Reno and the valley.

In town, we stopped first at The Way It Was Museum.

Here, visitors can revel in an amazing window into the region’s rich Western heritage, thanks to an abundant selection of rare photographs, mining and mineral artifacts stemming from the mighty Comstock Lode, vintage maps, lithographs, and many original relics that tell the story of the richest city in the American West. Comprehensively, The Way It Was Museum proudly claims this is the most complete collection of Comstock memorabilia in the world.
travelnevada.com

Following our museum tour, we continued walking along the historic Main Street complete with saloons, shops, restaurants, and wooden boardwalks.

One block above the Main Street we found the Courthouse and Piper’s Opera House while Saint Mary’s in the Mountains Catholic Church was located a couple of blocks below.

We had a great time in Virginia City and found some great pizza at the Red Dog Saloon.

Truckee

Just 25 minutes to the southwest of our campground was Truckee, California.

Welcome to California, Cullen Bohannon—and Hell on Wheels. For the final season of AMC’s railroad drama, Anson Mount’s rugged character will head further west to join the Central Pacific Railroad company in a town called Truckee.
Entertainment

As a Hell on Wheels fan, Bill was looking forward to touring Truckee. Unfortunately, the biggest draw for him – the Truckee Railroad Museum – was closed.

A big part of Truckee’s history was a Central Pacific train station built in Coburn Station (now Truckee). In the mid 1800s a man named Theodore Judah dreamed of making a railroad across the Sierra Nevada. The thought of building a railroad through the Sierra Nevada was considered absurd at the time, but four men named Leland Stanford, Collis P. Huntington, Mark Hopkins, and Charles Crocker (later called the “big four”) agreed with Judah. The “big four” created a company called Central Pacific. Crocker became the head of construction.
In about six years, the project was completed, and Judah’s dream came true. In 1959, the Central Pacific formally merged into Southern Pacific. Southern Pacific was bought by Union Pacific in 1996.
History of Truckee

We spent time walking around town and doing some shopping but really didn’t find a lot to do so we headed back to the RV.

Reno

On another day, we decided to visit downtown Reno. We were able to find a public parking lot and then walked along Virginia Street past several casinos. At the intersection of Virginia and Commercial Row, we came upon the Famous Reno Arch – the third iteration of the arch on Virginia Street. The first was built in 1926.

It was inspired by the automobile and, more specifically, the completion of America’s first coast-to-coast motor routes, The Lincoln Highway and The Victory Highway.
History of Reno Arch

As we continued our walk down to the Truckee River and the Riverwalk, we passed the City Plaza and the Space Whale. First displayed in 2017, the 50 foot stained glass sculpture of a humpback whale mother and calf faces an uncertain future as funding debates continue.

Although we did find a good Mexican restaurant for lunch, overall our trek into downtown Reno missed our expectations.

More of Lake Tahoe

For our last outing in this area (and possibly more Wet Woodys at Gar Woods) we decided to drive around Lake Tahoe starting on the lower east side and up the west side. We once again took south US 50 from I-580. We were going to stop at Cave Rock but the parking lot was full. Instead we continued on to Stateline (which literally sits on the the Nevada-California line) where we found lots of interesting shopping.

Leaving Stateline, we continued south on US-50 through South Lake Tahoe, then turned onto CA-89 and proceeded up the west side of the lake to Inspiration Point for a view of Emerald Bay.

We had planned to make other stops along the western side of the lake but since it was a beautiful day lots of other folks had the same idea and parking areas were full. Instead, we continued on to Gar Woods where our Wet Woodys were calling. Then it was back to the RV.

Leaving Nevada

We really enjoyed this portion of Nevada – quite different than the red rock desert landscapes in prior locations. There is just something about blue water, pine forests, and mountains (some snow capped) that we find rejuvenating.