USA Vacation 3: Tahoe-Bound On the Road Through Nevada

Fun times in Las Vegas can't go on forever if you're anything like me. At some point, you have to drag yourself away from the shopping, cocktails and casinos and exit the city (vowing silently you'll return to that outlet mall and this deluxe hotel).

The husband and I stuffed all the shopping bags into the rental car, entered "Tahoe" into the GPS and headed out of Sin City. We were headed towards San Francisco, passing through parts of Nevada and seeing Lake Tahoe on the way. So, we drove off under the blistering desert sun, yowling along to whatever was playing on the radio.

                              

For tall people who are more used to short rides in Copenhagen, driving for too many hours isn't too ideal, so pit stops will happen every so often.

Yup, you read it right! Not only did this place on the Interstate boast of a gas station and diner, it was Area 51-themed and all, being quite near the militiary air base known for all the alien conspiracy theories . Oh, and an Alien Brothel and Bar open for business, too! Something for everyone, I guess. :)

After the initial pit stop, we drove through miles of desert, admiring the changing landscape and marvelling at how big everything was. So we drove.

And drove. 

And drove.

At some point, when you've driven for hours, can't get a decent music station on the radio and haven't seen another car for miles, you realize that you're really deep in the country and hope to the heavens that the car doesn't break down!

And slowly, the landscape changed from less desert-y to more pine tree-ish.

You realize how much you rely on your smartphone and Google when all you have is the GPS of a car and are sort of winging it on the road trip, hoping you'll see signs to Lake Tahoe soon. At some point, near sunset, we drove through a forest which turned out to be Inyo National Forest, and ended up by Mono Mills lake, which is a large, saline lake in Mono County.

After nearly 7 hours on the road, I yelled "stop" when I spotted the first sign that said motel, because by that time, we were both exhausted and starving and just wanted to stop for the night. We found out that we were in Lee Vining, which is on the southwest shore of Mono Lake and the closest town to the east entrance to Yosemite National Park.

Guess who ditched the car and bolted across the street when she saw a sign for Bodie Mike's Bar-B-Q? Yeah, you guessed it. A girl needs her regular meals, of course. I did enjoy that Pulled Pork sandwich, every delicious bite of it! Fed and satisfied, we checked into the only room left at the Yosemite Gateway Motel, which was clean, air conditioned and had excellent wifi so we could let the world know we were still alive.

And this isn't a bad view to wake up to in the morning! The sun rising over Mono Lake was beautiful....and crossing over for breakfast at the only diner in the town was beautiful,too.

Here's a view of the front of the motel rooms facing the lake and the sunrise. 

And here are some still photographs the husband took on his pre-breakfast walk. 

Despite being slightly behind schedule, I was glad we stopped at Lee Vining when we did because we would have missed the beautiful views en route to Tahoe. Just ignore the dirty spots from the windshield.

Streams, tree and mountains made up the beautiful landscape.

Which made being stuck in a traffic jam (seriously, out in the country?!) bearable, having something interesting to photograph.

And then, we finally made it to Lake Tahoe. Oh. My. God. "Gorgeous" just can't begin to describe it. I totally fell in love with this place! The lake is huge, for one, and it was simply amazing to see the clear waters stretch for miles with the snow-capped mountains in the distance and having such fresh air to breathe.

We drove around Lake Tahoe, admiring the beautiful views of the lake and the quaint houses among the trees. Lunch called for a stop at Sunnyside Restaurant and Lodge on the west shore of the lake, which boasted of a big wooden deck where a bite to eat and lakeside view go hand in hand.

A shrimp and crab salad was an excellent light lunch....

...and our friendly waited surprised us with this dessert when he heard we were on our honeymoon!

After lunch in the sun, we had to continue on to San Francisco where friends were waiting for us, We decided to continue driving around the lake, after a recommendation from some co-lunch guests, towards Emerald Bay, a natural bay surrounded by Emerald Bay State Park. And just when I thought Lake Tahoe couldn't get any more fantastic! So worth the extra drive! 

Just check out how gorgeous it is:

A longer stay by Lake Tahoe is definitely recommended! I hope to go back some day and stay at one of the hotels by the lake and just enjoy the magnificent natural beauty of the area. if you have a chance to pass by, do try to check it out!

Check out the next installment of our USA trip in a few days, right after this month's "Happiness Is..." post, because San Francisco is up next!