August 20, 2000, Sunday- at 7 sharp the phone rang. I was in another world. We finally found the phone, up front, and it was Lois calling to say hello. My mind still wasn't fully engaged. Fortunately Susan was able to carry on a conversation. Poor Lois had forgotten that she was on the east coast and we were on the west coast. So, by 9, we were ready for travel. We made it to Truckee, CA today, about 375 miles down the road and over lots of mountain passes. Our finish was on the east side of Donner Pass, in the Coachland RV park. Space 123 is nestled under the enormous pine trees at a 5500 foot elevation.
August 21, 2000, Monday- with our campground at 5500 feet, just on the east side of Donner Pass, the temps were down to 41 this morning. Brrrr! By mid morning the sun was up and it was a gorgeous day without a cloud in sight. Susan did her inside stuff and I did a quick wash of the car and coach. After lunch we headed out to Squaw Valley ski area where we picked up the paved bike path that heads down to Lake Tahoe. Since we expect a physically active week with Fran and Allen, and Nancy and David, starting tomorrow, we only did a 20 mile round trip. It was ideal….my style, with a slight incline on the outbound portion as we followed the Truckee River upstream to Lake Tahoe, and an easy cruise back to the car. The river provided a fun water experience for hundreds of people as we passed them all heading downstream in rafts, kayaks and inner tubes. With a depth of less then a foot or two, many of the folks were walking alongside their vessels with water fights and joviality.
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Squaw Valley hosted the 1960 Olympics, which was celebrating the 100th year of organized skiing in the area. As early as 1860 there were ski clubs in the mining area. Now, we think that we are such hot stuff, discovering skiing in the 1960's and 70's. What do we know!
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This evening we took the Jeep the 32 miles to Reno. It's been ten plus years since we've been there, and the town looked better than we remembered it. Still, it would rank at maybe 10% of Las Vegas with respect to size, cleanliness, and level of gambling participant. But, for our nickel plays on the poker machines, we still had a good time.
August 22, 2000, Tuesday- we checked out the locked storage area by the Truckee/Tahoe airport where we will leave the coach next week. It should work fine. It's interesting that each user is given a unique gate code, and the gate is on a timer, permitting entry after 7 AM, and the last entry is at 6:45 PM. After 7 PM, you can't exit the area.
We met Fran and Allan at the highway, lead them to the airport to return their rental car, and brought them back to the coach for lunch. Afterwards we all returned to David and Nancy vacation home in Soda Springs. That area gets so much snow, that many of the houses have snow tunnels to exit to the street. With as much as 14 feet of standing snow, it's a challenge to maintain your entryway.
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A wonderful hike around Kidd Lake provided a few hours of exercise. Picturesque! Dinner was back at D&Ns and the conversation kept us busy until after 11. Wow!
August 23, 2000, Wednesday- another 20 mile bike ride around a portion of Lake Tahoe. Many folks in boats, on water skis, bicycles, and walkers. This evening we did a scenic loop around the lake (in the car, naturally), and made it around the east side down to South Lake Tahoe during daylight. A few minutes at the Caesar's Casino consumed our $5's of nickels, but passing by a bar area we stopped by a humidor and noticed cigars prices at $65 and $70 per stogie. Is it possible that people spend that much for a smoke? Beyond my imagination! All in all, the 100 mile loop provided wonderful vistas and plenty of mountain road challenges with speeds dropping down to 10 MPH for many of the tight turns and switchbacks.
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As for "lake statistics", the lake is 22 miles long, north to south, and 12 miles wide. Depth? Deep! The average depth is 960' with a deep center of 1600'. I wouldn't want to have to pickup the anchor chain! Temperatures in the summer are 60 to 70, and in the winter it approaches 40---it doesn't freeze.
August 24, 2000, Thursday- a relaxing day…did a little window shopping in the old Truckee shopping district then hit a bucket of golf balls. It's been too long since we played or hit last, back in Breckenridge almost a month ago.
We spoke to a few locals and apparently there is lots of serious snow. In the park are 8' snow posts, delineating the roads in the park. During the winter only every other space is rented out because they need a place for the snow to accumulate as each roof is shoveled. One woman said that each year she stops recording the snow in her driveway when it reaches 30 feet of snow. Heavy duty snow!
August 25, 2000, Friday- a 25 mile bike ride with Fran and Allan from Squaw Valley to Tahoe City and on to Hometown. Lunch was at the Sunnyside Restaurant alongside Lake Tohoe, and it doesn't get any better with fine food, company, boating activity and vistas galore. This classy vista included a beautiful wooden boat with the telltale shape of a well preserved Chris Craft. Each summer a wooden boat festival is held around the lake. Back to history, this area was the private preserve of the railroad tycoons in the 1860's, where the forests provided lumber for the railroad ties. In the 1880's they started selling lakefront property. I bet many of these properties are still in the original family lineage.
This evening Fran and Allan, plus Nancy, David and Leon joined us for a full course meal with grilled flank steak and Noami & John's salmon. Good eats and good conversations!
August 26, 2000, Saturday- off to "Incline Village" to the craft show. First we passed by "Lakeside Drive" where the zillionaires live. The estates along the lake are those handed down from generation to generation, and never pass the light of going on the market. Naturally Hobbes was the hit of the show, with every vendor and patron asking the standard questions. After a picnic lunch we headed to the other side of the lake, Homewood, for another art fair, and were again inundated with the Hobbes routine. Besides that, in both fairs, we observed many fine and talented artists and the works of art that they created.
August 27, 2000, Sunday- along with Fran and Nancy, Susan and myself, we rented a speedboat for a few hours this afternoon. We have been so fortunate again for perfect weather. With no clouds in the sky, and temps in the mid 70's we picked up an 18 or 20' inboard speedboat. All my prior boat driving experiences were with outboards and this inboard sure felt and handled differently. With more weight inside the boat, and a prop inside the boat footprint, and relying on a rudder for directional control, it was a far cry from outboards with the engine power, weight and direction being behind the boat. But, we cruised down to Emerald Bay, a 45 minute jaunt passed boats and mansions, and were rewarded with an emerald green color at the bay entrance. Nancy dove, in called for Fran, who followed willingly, and finally, after much coaxing, Susan joined the swimmers. I was busy keeping the boat out of the shallows, and having a little duck keep me company.
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Our two and a half hour journey came too quickly to a close, but was enjoyed by all aboard.
August 28, 2000, Monday- getting ready to put the coach in storage, and drive the Jeep to Denver tomorrow filled up most of the day.
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