Lake Tahoe

I knew one of the few spots on this trip where I could collect beaches would be Lake Tahoe and I had planned for weeks to spend a long half day circling the lake.  But as always happens, there's rarely enough time to all everything we plan and we never plan adequately for construction, traffic, missing key turns, and spending longer in some places than expected.  As a result, I only managed to work my way along the Nevada side in the time I had, but that was perfectly okay.

I'd seen Tahoe before, and certainly was familiar with its scenic reputation, but I hadn't had a chance to really look.  Between the mountains, the color of the lake, and the rounded granite boulders at the water's edge, it's easy to see why this place attracts folks. Of course, that attractiveness, along with other summer/winter recreation and Nevada's lax gambling regulations, is why the north and south ends of the lake are so built up and congested.

I visited Kings Beach, Sand Harbor, and Nevada Beach. I also got as far south as the Starbucks in South Lake Tahoe before turning around, climbing back over the ridge on Route 50, and heading down the long hill into the desert. I had dinner at Red's 395 Grill in Carson City and found a relatively cheap hotel room in Fallon.