Yosemite to Tahoe, & Carson City

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November 30

Yosemite to Tahoe Drive

There was major blizzard coming this way and so we opted to take Rt. 80 route through Sacramento, Donner Pass and Truckee to get from Yosemite to Tahoe. Our friend John, whose condo we were staying at recommended this as the safest bet if we were to hit bad roads. This took us out of Yosemite through its Hetch Hetchy section via Big Oak Flat Road (Rt. 120).

The 1.5 hours on Rt. 120, all the way to Big Oak Flat and Moccasin was an adventure in and of itself. The narrow, winding, mountainous, guardrail-less road provided equal opportunity for great scenery and harrowing death. I think I told Emile to look at the road, and stop looking at the scenery about 10 times. My knuckles were white by the time we got past Moccasin to safe roads, and I wasn’t even driving!

About an hour out of Yosemite Village we stopped at an impressive overlook in Grovelan on Rt. 120 called “Rim of the World Vista“.  It was a good break, and a fantastic view of Tuolumne River Canyon within the Stanislaus National Forest.

Our route took us through Sacramento.  So, when travelling through, or near, a state capital we always visit the Capitol Building.  Fortunately the Capitol Building was not far off the highway, so the detour was minimal, even considering the Sacramento traffic. We found street parking one block away and proceeded.  It was an interesting change of scenery…pine trees, snow and ice in the morning in Yosemite…to palm trees in the afternoon in Sacramento.

As usual for a state Capitol Building, the interior was gorgeous, impeccably maintained and just shy of ostentatious.  This visit was notable for a trio of young, highly enthusiastic, knowledgeable, and friendly Capitol employees happily providing us with interesting Capitol history lessons and tidbits. I wish I got their picture. It was also notable for the almost surreal, Dali-esque portrait of the quirky former governor Jerry Brown….a must see for anybody visiting this Capitol Building.

By the time we got to Donner Pass, just outside Tahoe City, the start of the blizzard was imminent. So, we stopped to pick up supplies in anticipation of being snowbound in Tahoe for a few days. We found a small, well stocked general store in Soda Springs.  Beer, wine, coffee, milk, cereal, frozen pizza, ice cream, and pasta…ready!

About 20 minutes further we got to Tahoe City on the California side of Lake Tahoe. It was about 6:30 p.m. and dark, so we didn’t actually see the lake.  But downtown Tahoe City was lit up nicely for the holiday season, and there were some people out and about.

We found John’s condo just north of downtown, unpacked the car, got oriented, and headed back downtown for dinner before the storm arrived.  We settled on Thai Kitchen for some excellent satay served by very nice people.

Back at the condo after dinner, it started to snow. After successfully threading the blizzard needle, we lit a fire and hunkered down.

December 1

Snowbound in Tahoe

By the time the storm ended the next afternoon, there was 2 feet of snow on the ground. Em and I attempted to go for a walk, and perhaps see the lake, but the wind and snow proved too dangerous and we remained hunkered down in front of the fire until the following morning.

December 2

Lake Tahoe and Carson City

The next morning, we were able to make our way under a beautiful blue sky on mostly cleared roadways and did a short car tour of the California side of Lake Tahoe.  Due to the heavy snow, parks and hiking trails were inaccessible, and the road was closed just north of Emerald Bay, so we turned around there. We stopped for some lake views and at the Tahoe City visitors center before packing up and heading to see our friends in Reno, where we’d be leaving from the next day to go home.

Driving to Reno, we realized we had a couple of hours to kill before meeting up with our friends so we took a short detour and visited the Nevada capital of Carson City. Emilie can’t pass up an opportunity to visit a capitol building.  Highway 580 from Reno to Carson City hugged Washoe Lake for a good part of the way.  The scenery was gorgeous, with the lake on one side and the mountain range which shadows the eastern side of Lake Tahoe on the other.

One hour later we were in the historic district of Carson City.

Parking was easy, and we made our way to the Capitol Building.  They were busy setting up a Christmas celebration on the grounds as we entered the building.  Like so many other Capitol building we have visited, it was over the top beautiful.

After about 30 minutes touring the Capitol, we walked around the immediate area. We really enjoyed this area around the capitol building.  It’s a quaint, funky, vibrant area with cool, artsy historic buildings, shops, and an excellent brew pub, Fox Brewery and Pub. The pub is located in the old west looking St. Charles Historic Hotel built in 1862. On our friend’s recommendation, we got a drink at the Fox. The service was super friendly.

From here, we drove the hour back to Reno. We enjoyed dinner with our friends at a casino and a night in their new home, and then hit the Reno airport the next morning for our trip back home to Michigan.