Part III: Nevada & California

My Amtrak ride was close to 18 hours total. I arrived about 930AM after a fun filled day of exploring in Colorado. I caught an Uber to get another car rental and I was off to Truckee, California. For some reason I didn’t realize that the next Amtrak stop would have been Truckee if I stayed on the train! Either way, I made it into California by lunch. I missed the exit initially and ended up wandering around Donner Lake, just south of Truckee. It was a sleepy spot with beautiful views.

I pulled off at their snow covered beach area for a few moments. (below)

I found out about Truckee during a shoot I did earlier this summer. Friends of the folks I was photographing and I were chatting about my trip. I mentioned I wanted to see Lake Tahoe, and they recommended a stop at Truckee. I’m so glad I followed their advice. Truckee is similar to Blowing Rock, NC… lots of independent shops and restaurants. I had lunch at Old Town Tap, per the recommendation of a gal in the Truckee Variety Co. (a children’s store where I bought Kate a new pair of gloves). She recommended a salad there, but I went for one of their wood-fired pizzas. It was delicious! I sat at the front window of the restaurant.

After lunch, I walked around for a few minutes, grabbed a hot chocolate at Drink Coffee Do Stuff and headed towards Lake Tahoe. I asked the girl working at the coffee shop if she had any must-see spots around the lake and she recommended Emerald Bay. I had already heard of it, and had planned to head there anyway…. off I went!

I hopped in the car and headed back for Reno about 5PM. I did end up making it back to Truckee and Lake Tahoe later that week to get our kids we had taken there out of the hotel and to do some exploring… my first time driving a 15 passenger van was around the twisty, snowy roads of Lake Tahoe… no biggie!

It was magical to hear them all gasp as we made it down to the water for the first time where they could see the giant mountain views!

Our hotel was actually in Sparks, the neighbor to Reno. I did go into Reno one evening…. took 2 photographs and we promptly left. It was scary! Overall, the trip was absolutely amazing and I cannot wait to get back out there and explore more!