Circumnavigating Lake Tahoe

 

It was a fun evening staying in South Shore in a IHG hotel. The only downer was the desk clerk who was on duty when I showed up... She was having nothing to do with an early check in and wouldn’t even let me use the lobby washroom. She was a real sweetheart. Fortunately, she left, and the rest of the staff was very nice and accommodating.

The room was what you can expect from a IHG hotel. It was spotless clean. Everything worked, and the air conditioning made the place as cold as winter.

As Cold As Winter

Today I have to meet my traveling compadre in Carson City Nevada, and since that is only a few miles away on highway 50 the Lincoln Highway I am going to go the long way, around the lake

 

I can remember the first time I ever rode around the Lake it was way back when I was a local. A pal had a couple of bikes in various states of dis repair, and the only thing we really needed was a couple of hemits, as they were required in Nevada then, but not in the Golden State.

A Little Bike For A Big Ride

 With hemit tied down on the bikes, me on an old Triumph Cub, and my pal on an old Moto Guzzi we filled up our tanks and headed to Stateline.

 As I remember we pulled into a turnout at the border to put the hemits on our heads, and there was a Nevada Policeman with a newfangled radar gun. He showed us how it worked, and pretty soon we were pointing it at passing cars and seeing their speed. It was great fun, and no one had to be pulled over, as most of the cars probably couldn’t do the speed limit anyway.

 

Stateline South Shore

Highway 89 is curvy and fun as it winds its way north out of South Shore, it’s not a road to go fast on, as its tight switchbacks for several miles.  The last two tight turns take you around the east end of Cascade lake that is quite a lake to look down at. At Emerald Bay there is a spiffy new overlook.

 Lots of boats were bobbing in Emerald bay, along with paddle boarders, and kayaks. Most of the campgrounds along the West shore were busy and not only RV’s but lots of tent campers.

 I was watching for the Godfathers house, but I couldn't remember where it was. There was probably one of the new mansions on the site where it was, anyway.

 

The Godfathers West Shore Hang Out

It's not a proper run around the lake without a stop at the famous Fanny Bridge the headwater of the Truckee river, one of only three I think of rivers that do not flow into the ocean. The Truckee flows into interior Nevada and creates Pyramid lake.

Fanny Bridge

At the famous bridge I noticed across the street a coffee shop and the word Espresso, so I ventured on over.

It was $5.50 for a americano, and the coffee was crap. The place was cute and the staff very nice, I was treated like a local emeritus.

Even The Bell Is Cute In This Coffee Shop

A little road construction out of Tahoe City, and then into Kings Beach, for a walk around, and to enjoy the view of the lake.

At Stateline north shore all the old clubs are boarded up and the once famous Cal Neva is slated to be torn down and houses to be built on the site overlooking the lake.

 The big surprise of the trip was at the end just before the climb up Spooner Summit. The Ponderosa tourist attraction is still open and the parking lot full. I was almost going to stop but figured I would stop at the next Ponderosa.