Question on Lake Tahoe

[Sigarms]

Taken from the lake looking up at the "pass"...

The irony is 178 years later, you can knock yourself out and buy a house on the road off the lake

https://www.realtor.com/realestateandhomes-detail/14580-Donner-Pass-Rd_Truckee_CA_96161_M95210-93585?from=srp-list-card

See those houses on the road left us scratching our heads. Everything off the lake on the road is pretty much on a hill with a LOT of steps up to the house. Given how much snow the area gets, not certain why you would want to deal with all those steps in snow...

 

[Sigarms]

If anyone from California could tell me what type of plant this is, I'd greatly appreciate it!

Plant was growing like weeds around the Frenchman lake area and saw it from Sierraville to Vinton...

 

[Sigarms]

Ironically, both my wife and I agreed (perhaps why even though we're so opposite of each other, we seem to agree on a lot of things) was going up to Sierraville, then to Loyalton and then Vinton.

Frenchman lake (a reservoir) and the road in to the lake north of Vinton (made for a great unplanned side trip we didn't expect to make)...

 

[Sigarms]

Sierraville and Loyalton areas

California still has amazed me even though this is only our second trip out there due to the ever changing topography and climate.

We liked Donner pass so much and I only made it to the first vantage point over the lake that we returned to Donner pass a second time because I wanted to drive the whole pass road (gave up after Soda Springs as wasn't certain how far we'd have to go and I wanted to go north up 89 that day).

The trip up to Sierraville, Loyalton and Vinton was done in the same day and where we had snow up at Donner's pass, this was the climate the same day only about an hour north of the Donner pass road area.

Again, great area to visit, not certain if I could live there. When we drove out of Charlotte from the airport, stopped for a decent dinner for the two of us late at night, and total bill was $45. Lunch and breakfast around Tahoe and Truckee was at least $50

 

[Sigarms]

Tahoe was nice, but wife and I agree for whatever reason, really wouldn't want to go back although we thought the area was great.

The standard Emerald bay picture

View from the condo. You can see the casinos on the state line area if you look to the center left...

89 north going to Emerald bay

89 leaving emerald point overlook a couple days later

 

[Sigarms]

Next trip to California might be the Mammoth Lake area.

Half tempted to drive it from Tahoe, but the weather was kind of funky, and didn't want to risk it.

One thing I never really experienced in a long time was the wind advisory weather alerts. Had a couple in the area with snow, and that wind was something else in the area.

They don't give you chains for a rental car and we got a Ford edge as a mid size SUV, and really hated the car due to it's driver view with the oversized front front body.

 

[Sigarms]

One thing my wife made the comment on our visit, see has never seen as many coyotes in her life until we hit Nevada.

Came up at a stop sign going up 431 to Mount Rose, and there a dang coyote is just walking in front of us on the road like a dog. Phone is never ready for a pic when you really want to take one.

Did catch this one down to Sand Harbor in Nevada. Guy got spooked when I got out of the car to take the pic

 

[Sigarms]

With the wind advisory, the surfers came out as they were getting some good waves...

Sand Harbor

Another of Sand Harbor

Zephyr cove

 

[Sigarms]

Mount Rose, Nevada

I believe you can see Mount Rose from Kings Beach off the lake

Kings Beach

 

[RobertN]

The road up Donner pass road. Can't imagine trying to make the climb through that pass going up a mountain without a road trying to get help...


If you look at the second pic, you'll see a structure going around the one mountain. That is actually a rail road box to protect the trains going around the mountain.

Reading up on the history on how the Chinese built those protective devices for the trains over mountains was a new find for me.

Both my wife and I got a chuckle... This was the second day there, and originally we were in Tahoe city at the visitor center and I wasn't planning on going to Truckee due to the drive time. The "host" at the visitor center convinced me I could make the drive and check out Donner state park and museum no problem. I asked about Donner pass road, and she told us there was no reason to go up there because there wasn't anything up there.

Yes, there are no buildings to see up there, but dang, the beauty and history of the area was the highlight of the trip for us (at least for me, but my wife agreed, it was her favorite part of the trip as well LOL).

It's hard to believe this road and the bridge used to be the main highway artery over the summit. Until Interstate-80 was finished in the mid 1960's, US 40 was it. I have a book about the Donner area from the 1960's; it has pictures by that bridge with 20'+ snowbanks from record winter in the 1950's. US-40 was shut down for weeks as they tried to plow the roads.

You might find this interesting