<< 2009 Journeys: Across the U.S. | Day 2: Nevada Beach to the Hickison Petroglyphs >>
California to Nevada Beach
The map of our journey across the United States:
We spent the morning packing some final items into the RV, and we were on the road at 10:38 a.m.
Genevieve and Sebastian are all buckled in:
This will be our home away from home for the next two months:
I raided the refrigerator before we started:
Ben purchased a 3-month subscription to Sirius radio so that we could listen to music and NPR stories while we are traveling. During the first half hour, we tried out various channels, trying to find something between Mother Goose rhymes and Eminem. Just when we thought we had a good channel, the singer would slip in what we call “potty” words; then Ben and I would simultaneously shoot our hands out for the channel changing buttons. And if we happened to miss a word, we would hear Genevieve’s voice from the back: “I think we need to change the channel!”
Nearing the end of our curvy drive over the Santa Cruz mountains, we passed the Lexington reservoir:
We were pleased to see that it was fairly full of water. Earlier this year it had been drained for dam repairs, and we didn’t see a lot of rain this year; the reservoir tends to get frighteningly low during drought seasons.
Past San Jose, we headed north on Highway 680, which has many lumps and bumps from the pounding it gets from large trucks. Ben exclaimed that it has got to be “the bumpiest freeway in America”. I laughed and said, “We’re going to find out!”
Over the Benicia/Martinez bridge, we could see the U.S. Navy “ship graveyard” in Suisun Bay:
We stopped at the small town of Cordelia, at the junction of Highways 680 and 80. We were searching for a spot to park to have a lunch of leftover pizza. Ben spied a relatively new looking housing development and said, “I bet there’s a playground somewhere in there.” I agreed, “Let’s go see!” Sure enough, we found a big and safe playground structure a few blocks from the entrance:
The rolling hills on both the east and west sides of the wide San Joaquin Valley were covered with shimmering “golden” grass.
When I first arrived in California, from the lush, green, tree-covered land in eastern Virginia, I was aghast at what I called the “bald, brown hills” of California. Over the years, however, I have grown quite attached to the openness of the rolling landscape, even when the grass becomes dry (ahem, “golden”) after the rainy season ends.
As we climbed higher in altitude, the highway cut a path through tall pine trees. Up ahead, we could see a cell tower disguised as a tree:
Our drive through the El Dorado National Forest brought us along side of a gushing shallow river with many rocks.
We pulled over to check something in the back of the RV, and we discovered this visual treat next to us:
A close-up showing all of the artistic details:
I love the rocky mounds above the tree line:
We were surprised to see dark rain clouds looming ahead.
Rain in the summer is so unexpected for us. Along the central California coast, we do not see rain from mid-April to at least late-November. Summer means constant days of sunshine, except when the fog rolls in to hug the shoreline.
The beauty of the rock cliff faces always make me catch my breath:
We rounded a corner to find a wagon train coming in the opposite direction—what a special surprise!
We later discovered that this wagon train was the 60th annual reenactment of the “Great Western Migration,” an event that allows horse and wagon enthusiasts to recreate a wagon train that travels from Lake Tahoe to Placerville, California, in an effort to commemorate the struggles of the early emigrants to California.
We all were very excited when we glimpsed the shimmering brightness of Lake Tahoe in the distance:
Behind us were some snow-covered mountains:
Some more views as we descended the mountain to Lake Tahoe:
As we drove along the southern shore of Lake Tahoe, the skies sprinkled us with a light shower.
The entrance to the state of Nevada had a very subdued welcome sign:
We set up camp tonight in the peaceful tranquility of Nevada Beach Campground, on the eastern shore of Lake Tahoe. We could see a peek of the lake through the tall pine trees all around us. The birds twittered happily among the trees, which were giving off a wonderful scent.
The tree in our campsite had rivulets of dried sap, like candle wax, covering its lumpy bark.
The ground in our campsite was dotted with numerous anthills—the ants were large and black, not the biting red type. However, the children were not in the mood to inspect or study the ants, saying that there were just “too many,” and they were soon back in the RV. Here are just a few of the many anthills:
The altitude here is approximately 6200 feet, which is quite a change from our sea level home. Genevieve experienced some stomach pain from her adjustment to the change in internal/external air pressure, but this was easily remedied with a bit of simethicone. The transition was seamless for the rest of us.
We set off on a bicycle ride to explore the area.
Soon after we started pedaling, thunder rumbled and continued erupting throughout our ride. Only a scattering of raindrops fell, however, which was not enough to deter our exploration.
Genevieve and Sebastian abandoned their bikes to get a close-up view of the lake.
The mountain in the distance still had snow:
The air was chilly, so we didn’t linger.
The sand along the lakeshore was very course, like miniscule rocks that poured easily through our fingers—not good for building sandcastles, but great for providing soft handstand landing pads:
After dinner, Ben and I took a walk, and the children rode their bikes.
The sun had burst through the clouds and was flashing its brilliance onto the lake:
The sunlight created a beautiful rainbow that ran parallel to the gondola path for the Heavenly Valley ski resort:
We all went to bed early tonight. The dark clouds with their accompanying roar had drifted south over the mountains, leaving us with peaceful silence.
<< 2009 Journeys: Across the U.S. | Day 2: Nevada Beach to the Hickison Petroglyphs >>
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