Around the World in 365 Days: Road Tripping Part I – continued

October 25-28^th

Day 8: Friday, October 25^th. One week on the road! We worked out and John packed what he could before heading to his poker tournament downstairs, while I played music and then finished packing for the 11AM checkout from the very nice Nugget. We would be meeting John’s best friend Kelly in the afternoon in Reno – 10 minutes up I80. The Galaxy Movie Theater was almost across from the Nugget so we caught “Zombieland: Double Tap” – it was silly and fun. The best part was a bit in the closing credits with Bill Murray. By the time we picked up our laundry and got to the Reno hotel – The Legacy Vacation Club. Not nearly as nice as the Nugget, but it was only 3 blocks from downtown and all the city happenings. Kelly had checked in just a few minutes ahead of us, and was 3 doors down. First order of business was lunch. Kelly comes down from Boise every few months and is familiar with the city and had been wanting to try the “Thai Corner Café” on Second and Sierra – it was some of the best Thai food I have had in the US. I had a ginger dish with plenty of vegetables, tofu (properly done so firm and not mushy), and a very good level of spice (I prefer higher Scoville levels). John had a dish with a very peanutty peanut sauce, and Kelly had the Green curry with beef. We wandered the downtown casinos – “Cal-Neva” being their favorite. It’s pretty divey – and unfortunately does not have my favorite machine of all (Invasion from Planet Moolah) – very few places have it, and one of the only ones that did the buttons weren’t working properly. Later in the evening while John played Poker and then Blackjack, I was on a machine called “Turkey Shoot” and played up and down to a point where I ended up $80 up.

Day 9: Saturday October 26^th. The three of us started the day with a hike in Keystone Canyon – a beautiful area within a 10-minute drive of downtown. We enjoyed the morning – cold in the shade and warming up fast in the sun.

A little over halfway through the hike I blew out hiking boot #1. The boots had served me well for over 20 years after being purchased for either a 1992 hiking trip to the English Lake District or in 1999 for trekking in Nepal. They had been pulled out on average about once a year for a hike or two and then back in the closet (which is why they lasted 20+ years).

Unfortunately, after several miles in each of 3 National Parks, they decided it was time to give it up when the second boot blew out it’s sole about 1/3 of a mile remaining to the trail head. Luckily, some friends had given me an REI gift card as a Bon Voyage gift, so it was about to come in handy. Kelly drove us to Lake Tahoe which is about an hour away, and with the beautiful weather none of us wanted to be stuck inside for any reason. A gorgeous day with clear blue sky, highs in Reno were in the 70’s and it was in the low 60’s near the Lake, so a lot of people had similar thoughts of spending the day outdoors, and Lake Tahoe offers a beautiful place to spend such a lovely day. We drove up to the Emerald Bay overlook and there was a line to get into the parking lot. We got in line, I jumped out, got my photos, and got back to the car with two cars still ahead of us so as soon as we could we were back on the road.

After another great lunch – this time at the Brewery at Lake Tahoe on the south side. They have really good pizza. We split a barbeque chicken pizza (bacon on half for the guys), sampled some of the local brews, and then went to look for a short hike. Kelly had found one in a neighborhood not far from the restaurant. We could not find the trail, but as we were driving we found this:

John got a really cute video – which I uploaded – but now is nowhere to be found on the site. If you friend him on Facebook you have likely seen it.

Downtown Reno promoted the Zombie crawl that evening which added some entertainment to the night. Gambling-wise, I started the night well, but John did not, so we changed casinos, and went out to one called the “Diamond Casino” – they had $2 blackjack. Unfortunately for me, my win streak ended.

Day 10: Sunday October 27^th. Our hotel had a 10AM checkout (which should not be allowed). We had a brief workout in their small gym, checked out and went to breakfast at Pam’s Ham & Eggs. My oatmeal was cold, John’s French toast was “nothing special”. Then we said goodbye to Kelly as we headed south. We drove along the Sierra Nevadas and went over at the Kit Carson pass. On the east side of the mountains we hadn’t seen any smoke, but as we descended into the San Joaquin Valley we started seeing it. Throughout the drive was very heavy wind, with gusts that bent some of the tall pines and covered the road with pine needles. The only fires we saw was an oleander bush on the CA-99 median, and was localized to that one bush. We got into Fresno by dark, staying at the Home Towne Studios – conveniently had a nice laundry room 3 doors down from ours so we could get in a load before the final re-organization to see what clothes and items really needed to be shlepped along to China.  

Day 11: Monday, October 28^th. Going to the trees! We grabbed a quick breakfast at a nearby bagel place then headed to Sequoia National Park. The two-hour drive to the start of the park was only the beginning – very tight switchbacks and gaining over 5000 feet in elevation. But -oh-my. They are magnificent and I tried to get some photos to give you perspective of the size of the giant redwoods.

We hiked up “Bear Hill” – no bears today, which is preferred without the protection of a car. It let me break in my new hiking boots, which are lighter and more comfortable the ones that blew out, so it was a beneficial change. We checked out “General Sherman” – the largest tree in the world (by mass) and drove along a recommended side route where the narrow two-lane road is flanked by the giants. The upper elevations were clear with deep blue skies. As we descended it became hazier again, but with less wind than yesterday so hopefully the fires are getting under better control. We continued along CA99 to Bakersfield where it was another Super 8 for the night. It’s clean, it’s convenient to the highway, and across from a Sizzler Steakhouse. When was the last time you went to one of those? We ate there. It was OK. We also went out to the Golden West Casino – it was the only casino I have ever seen that was ONLY table games. NO slots – not even video poker. John played for a bit and I had a beer at the bar and set up the health app on my iPhone. With the casino a bust, I am getting my blog typed up and ready for loading tomorrow (having internet issues at the motel).

I continued having internet issues so am uploading this installment from China!