The ride to Fallon, Nevada.

The Route.

We left home around 8:35 and followed Hwy 12 to I-80 where we headed east. We decided that instead of following I-80 over Donner Summit – through Reno and Sparks- then to Fallon, we would take Highway 50 through South Lake Tahoe all the way to Fallon. This route takes a little longer but it is a much nicer drive and a lot less stressful.

The views.

The highway follows the south fork of he American River on the west side of the Sierras.

I haven’t driven through this part of the Sierras in a while and had forgotten how beautiful it is.

Wagon Train.

Just west of Strawberry we came across a wagon train heading west over the mountains.

This happens every year. They start at Lake Tahoe and drive all the way to Placerville. It’s kind of cool but I don’t think I would like to be in a wagon train driving down a major Highway.

Echo Summit.

We continued our climb up the west slope of the Sierras past the historic lodge at Strawberry.

As you cross over the mountains at Echo Summit you go around a curve and see the Tahoe Valley and the lake below you.

 

Snow in the Mountains.

There is still some snow on the mountains and higher peaks.

South Shore of Lake Tahoe.

We stopped in South Tahoe for lunch at the Cold Water Brewery & Grill. We each had their Tri-Tip Dip Sandwich.
The sandwich was good if a bit pricy.

After lunch we continued through State Line and the casino area.

Cave Rock.

We drove through Cave Rock and noticed that they had bored a new tunnel through the rock.

You can just make out the old tunnel to the left of the new one.

Arrival.

We arrived in Fallon around 3:15 and met up with Patti’s sister Kathi and brother-in-law Bob at the Bonanza Casino and Super 8 Motel where we had rooms reserved.

After getting checked in. Patti and Kathi went into the casino to pay their Nevada taxes. I took a nap.

Dinner.

Around 6:00 we went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant called The Wok. We ordered way too much food. Its hard to find good Chinese food away from the SF Bay Area. This place was okay (not great). We had four take out boxes and a container of soup when we were done.

Why We Are Here.

We came to Fallon to visit Patti’s nephew Scott and his wife Cindy.
Scott has a large trunk left by Patti’s late sister Dianne. The trunk is filled with pictures, letters and other family stuff.

We were here so that Patti, Kathi, and Scott can go through the stuff in the trunk and decide what to do with it all.

After dinner we went to Scott’s place and they started going through the trunk. In just a short time they had uncovered several letters that cleared up a lot of questions they had about their family history.

Around 10:00 we left Scotts and went back to the motel. We will go back today and spent the day going through the trunk.