Hello Everyone! It’s been a lovely week here in the greater Lake Tahoe region. The weather has been cold, but also clear and sunny and hard to beat for the middle of January. I’ve spent most of the week catching up with old friends and taking it slow which has been really nice. I did get out for a day on the slopes in South Lake Tahoe while I was here which was awesome and a real treat. It’s about time for me to hit the road again and head out across Nevada, but it’s been a nice break here in the mountains among friends.
After I left you last week, I made my way out of Reno and up into the Sierras. I was meeting another old guide friend of mine, Molly, and her fiancé Luke at The Good Wolf brewery near where they live in Truckee. I just saw Molly and Luke back in August in San Francisco, but since then they’ve gotten engaged, bought a house and Molly is pregnant with their first child, so it’s been quite a few months for them and there was a lot to catch up on. It was also trivia night at the brewery and we formed a super-team with a bunch of her other friends and we were all but unstoppable, capturing first prize on the night. It was a cozy little brewery with a nice fireplace and it felt warm and wonderful in the snowy mountain town. Afterwards I had a quick beer at the aptly named Tourist Bar in downtown Truckee before calling it a night.
I have been to Truckee before, but it’s been a few years. It’s a pretty old railroad town named for Chief Truckee of the Paiute Indians who was historically important for promoting peace between westbound settlers and the indigenous people of the area. It’s changed a lot over the last 25 years as wealthy Californians have bought or built mountain homes to be near to the many local ski resorts in the winter and beautiful Lake Tahoe which is amazing year-round. While Truckee has maintained much of its historic architecture and feel, you can also sense the wealth of people when you’re there, even in a dive bar like the Tourist Bar. I enjoyed just strolling through town on Friday morning and then tucked into the cozy basement lair of Dark Horse Coffee Roasters to have a coffee and read for a while. I spent some time in the cute little local library and then headed down the road to Tahoe City to catch up with some friends there.
Three of my guide friends live in or near Tahoe City. One of them, JD, was actually the first person to see my van after as I spent a night with him in Ohio on my drive home to DC from where I bought it in Michigan. I also spent some time with his dad when I was in Ohio and he was kind enough to show me all over the greater Dayton/Miamisburg area while I was there and get me in so see an incredibly exclusive baseball memorabilia collection not open to the regular public. My friend Marie was in Alaska with me the last time I was working up there, although JD had actually introduced us in Tahoe back in 2023. And I’ve known Abby for a long time but hadn’t seen her in many years. We went out and had some drinks and caught up which was nice and it was a fun night out by the lake.
JD was off on Friday and cooked me up some amazing pancakes in the morning before taking me on a nice hike up the Truckee River. The path was pretty clear of snow and the river was really pretty, winding through the snowy hills and trees. I was particularly impressed by the icicles hanging off some of the buildings which were several feet long. We had a couple of beers in the afternoon and then dinner at his house. He had to work early the next morning so I went to a movie with Abby and then called it an early night.
On Saturday I drove down the east side of the lake which had some amazing views and cute old towns along the way. I wanted to do a few things in South Lake Tahoe, but the holiday weekend crowds were pretty intense, so I changed my mind and went up on the hill to my friend Rob’s house. Rob is one of my oldest friends and was my roommate the year after I graduated from college. He moved to California 20 years ago to work in the solar industry and has been here ever since. I met his now-wife when they first started dating and have watched their children grow up from toddlers to teenagers. They moved from the Bay Area to South Lake Tahoe during the pandemic which was a serious lifestyle change, but they seem to be doing well there. Their house and company are such a safe space for me and it’s always nice to spend time with them. When I got there we caught up for a bit and then Rob grilled up some beautiful steaks for dinner. After dinner we watched the Golden State Warriors game on TV as they are huge fans of the team.
We spent Sunday down in Carson City at Rob’s daughter’s swim meet. I always enjoy going along for these kinds of normal family activities in the midst of the whirlwind that is my life. Mazie did really well and it was fun to be there with the other parents/families. We headed back up the mountain in the afternoon and had some time to hang out and chat before the sun went down. Rob grilled up some chicken and veggies for dinner which was really nice and then we put a fire on in the fireplace and watched a movie.
We were up and off early on Monday so that we could have a full day on the slopes of Heavenly ski resort, which is just up the road from where they live. It was a clear day and it wasn’t too crowded for a holiday weekend. We did a few runs in California and then skied to the other side of the mountain which is in Nevada. The Nevada side was definitely quieter and it was just a really beautiful day out there. I haven’t been skiing since the last time I was here in Tahoe in 2023 and it was nice to be out on the snow again. I’m by no means a good skier, but I enjoy the intermediate slopes, the beautiful scenery and the feel of the wind in my face. Rob’s son, Nolan, who just turned 14, joined us for the day and it was nice to spend the day with the two of them. Rob’s wife, Tara, cooked up a big pot of chili for us and that was the perfect meal to come back to after a long day of skiing. I needed a few ibuprofens that night, but it was well worth it for the day we had out there.
I was going to take off on Tuesday, but then decided to stick around for one more day to clean my van, catch up on some computer work and be sure that when I got back on the road I was ready to roll. It was nice to be able to spread out and get some things done and enjoy my friends for one more day. Nolan cooked us up breakfast for dinner so we ate some pancakes and bacon at 8pm which was a fun break from the norm. All-in-all it was a great few days and I always look forward to my time with these guys.
Today I said my goodbyes and took off down the mountain over the Carson Pass. I don’t know if I’ve ever taken that route before and it was a quiet and beautiful way to come out of the Sierras. My first stop was in Gardnerville, an old farming town which once supplied produce to the gold boomtown of Bodie to the south. At one time it had a large Danish community which gave way to the Basque sheepherders who moved in in the early 20th century and opened up several inns in town. It’s a nice, quiet place with some cool old buildings and I especially appreciated the plaques around town which were put up by the U.S. Forest Service. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen the Forest Service place historic plaques on buildings around a town before, but I sure wish they’d do it more often as they were very informative. Sharkey’s Casino has some really neat old-school slot machines on display and there was a great old inn which had apparently been moved down from Virginia City after the boom years of the Comstock Load (and is now home to the town’s Basque restaurant). There is also a museum in town which is in the town’s old school which was designed by Frederic J. DeLongchamps who seems to have been the main architect in the area at one time (both Reno and Lovelock’s courthouses were designed by DeLonghamps, as were many other buildings I have yet to discover apparently). From Gardnerville, I cruised just up the road to Minden which is another small town with a smattering of late 19th century buildings. There’s also a great old flour mill which now houses the town’s distillery. I’m tucked into the little library here in Minden to finish off this post and get it published for you all to read tomorrow.
From here, I am headed just up the road to Genoa, Nevada’s oldest town and home to Nevada’s oldest bar. I imagine I will end up in Carson City tonight and will be there for a day or two before heading east again. This week I will wind my way down U.S. 50, the Lincoln Highway, on my way to Nevada’s Great Basin area. This stretch of the road which passes through Nevada was once derided as “The Loneliest Road in America”, which the communities along its path now wear as a badge of honor. I’ve driven it several times before, but always in a rush because I had places I had to be, so I’m looking forward to slowing down and seeing the old towns along the way. There is great history out there as it was once the Pony Express route and an overland stagecoach route in times gone by. I’ll probably still be out there making my way across the state at this time next week, so check back in with me and see where the road takes me. Have a wonderful week and thank you, as always, for reading.
-Mike