Sierra-Cascade Trip: Yosemite to Lassen Volcanic NP

We drove north towards Lassen back through Yosemite, bypassing the Valley, through Tioga Pass, and past Mono Lake, but left 395 before it hit Reno and went inland on 89 to Lake Tahoe. It would have been faster to go through Reno again, but the pass on 89 into the Tahoe basin was well worth the extra time, and who wants to see Reno again? We drove along the shore of Tahoe in the evening, and shouldn't have been surprised by the level of residential development, but were. Lots of fancy houses tucked in the trees all along the lake between small towns and the occasional state park.

We stopped halfway up the shore at a B&B across from Obexer's Marina celebrating its 100th year. The host at the B&B was a bit obnoxious, scolding Ann for ringing the doorbell twice and making a remark about getting Ukrainian pizza at the restaurant next door when asked about places to eat. Ann was horrified when she asked for Ukrainian pizza there at dinner and a puzzled waitress in an eastern-European accent (probably Ukrainian) explained that she didn't know what were asking for but they did have pizza. The guy maybe didn't like his foreign neighbors. We wondered if his behavior reflects the long history of Tahoe as a resort community and resentment of newcomers to their paradise. I don't know, but it wasn't called for or appreciated.

We spent a relaxing evening watching a Tour de France stage and reading in bed. I woke before dawn and headed across the road to watch the sun rise over the Nevada mountains and Lake Tahoe. The 100 year old marina across the way had many beautiful old wooden Chris Craft motor boats in the docks. You almost expected some petty gangster from Reno or the Rat Pack to drop by and pick their ride. The lake and environs is beautiful, but also shows signs of being loved to death. We were originally going to ride part of the shoreline with our bikes, but though we saw numerous riders, it was pretty busy and not as scenic as we'd hoped, so we headed out in the morning towards Lassen Volcanic National Park first thing.

The drive north of Tahoe on 89 was nice. More remote, on the dry side of the Sierras, with lower peaks and less grand - more intimate. We stopped in the cute town of Quincy for a nice late breakfast. Ann called ahead to Lassen and scored a brand new mini cabin on Manzanita Lake. More good luck found and accepted on an opportunistic vacation that was playing out well.


https://picasaweb.google.com/jbp1111/MonoLakeToTahoeJul2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCKC7zrX4pZLX7AE

https://picasaweb.google.com/jbp1111/TahoeJul2011?authkey=Gv1sRgCJPSgeffrZa4NQ