To Reno and back

I drove Papa and Thelma to the Greyhound terminal in Reno. We left around 10:15 this morning.

They were repaving Highway 207, so we waited a long time on our way down the mountain. Then we headed north on Highway 50. It went up Spooner Summit (Elevation: 7146 feet) then back down to the Carson Valley (Elevation: about 5000 feet), but the slope was manageable and the speed limit was only 50 mph.

The Carson Valley is very different from the Lake Tahoe area. It's a desert, dotted with sagebrush everywhere you look. And it's about 20 degrees warmer than Lake Tahoe.

We took Highway 395 north and stayed on it through Carson City. Highway 395 literally goes through Carson City, which is great for sightseeing (government buildings have beautiful architectural designs) but not so good if you're in a hurry (the speed limit starts at 70 mph and increasingly goes down to 25 mph in the city proper). When we hit I-80, we went west a little bit and took the Keystone exit. Reno is only 55 miles away, but we got to the bus terminal a little after noon -- almost two hours.

I took the same route heading back. I toyed with the idea of taking a detour to Virginia City, but I hadn't had lunch, I was thirsty, and it was way too hot for comfort (98 degrees). I stopped by a Carrows Restaurant in South Lake Tahoe for a very late lunch, and was served by a David Hasselhoff look-alike (but much better looking) named Michael, who had a sweet accent. I was too tired to make conversation though, so I didn't ask where he's from.

I'm back in the condo. I'm going for a quiet evening. But I have another three whole days here, so I might go for an adventure or two on my own before I head east.