After a beautiful memorial service for my mom in Prescott, Arizona, we continued down to Utah to visit my aunt Christi (who Abbie affectionately refers to as “grandma Christi”. One of the best parts of our frequent road trips is we get to catch up with family along the way.
We had a good visit, and picked up a few supplies that were delivered there. We decided take my cousin John’s advice and explore a “backroad” to California through Nevada. Right away we noticed that this route was far more scenic than the drab landscapes of highway 80, which runs parallel just to the north.
We found a free equestrian campsite that is quite beautiful and well maintained. Seriously, the outhouses were immaculate, well stocked, and without a trace of odor! Shocking, especially coming from California.
This instantly became one of our new favorite spots. I love “collecting” locations to craft streamlined adventures in the future. This site even had hiking trails leading up to a stunning view. The mountains to the west still had snow on them. Weather where we camped was cool at night, but perfect during the day.
There was also a nice treat for us on this route: One of the least visited National Parks in the country – Great Basin! It doesn’t have any particularly iconic or “Instagrammable” locations, but perhaps that’s part of its appeal along a route such as this. Ha.
Here Abbie is enjoying the visitor center, which had helpful, enthusiastic staff and informative exhibits. You can feel the appreciation radiating from these park rangers, cooped up out here in the middle of nowhere.
Still, the park does have some sweeping views of the vast basin below. We were only able to drive up just over half way, as the road was still closed due to remaining snow.
As we continued west, we drove through a charming town built on a hillside. I learned this was Austin, Nevada, and it lies at 6,500 feet of elevation. It’s tiny, but picturesque. Reminds me a lot of Jerome, Arizona, which my dad always had an affinity for. We hope to return and explore it when we have more time in the future.
We decided to spend the next night at a hotel in Lake Tahoe. 3 Peaks Resort was perfect – we just wish that the pool had been open.
This was a nice location because we could easily walk to the “beach” at the lake. There was a nice playground, with plenty of people enjoying the sunset view.
We can never pass up an opportunity to take silhouette shots at sunset.
After checking out of the hotel, we decided to get breakfast at a famous pancake spot.
Abbie was so excited for pancakes that she put on a concert for all the willing (and unwilling) patrons.
From here we continued up 88 to Silver Lake, which was still blanketed in powdery, white snow. I decided to find a nice spot overlooking the lake, where I could leave some of mom’s ashes. This lake had significance in her family, though I’m not sure she was ever able to visit it in her lifetime.
Well, that about does it for this little leg of the journey.
Peace out, y’all.
Nathan + fam
