Lake Tahoe & Genoa Saloon

In a previous posting I showed a unique trailer behind a motorhome in the Whiskey Flat RV park.  I had a number of guesses what it was and nobody hit on the correct answer.  It turned out to be a traveling homemade ice cream dessert wagon.

One reason we stopped in the Carson City area was so we could take a trip around Lake Tahoe.  We've been to the southern part of the lake but hadn't seen the north shore.  We made the long climb up US 50 toward the lake and took the northern route via RT 28 and then down to Rt 89 to complete the loop

The lake is down much like many lakes in the area due to the drought, but there isn't a danger of the lake drying up since it is 1654ft deep.  The bottom of the lake is lower than Carson City, NV which is 4802ft.  It was very windy and there were 3-4 ft waves on the unsheltered portion of the lake.

Docks about 6ft out of the water

Vikingshom Castle

 The castle is located in Emerald Bay below Inspiration Point on the only island in Lake Tahoe. 

Rt 89 along side of the lake

More Rt 89 scenes

Windy day and large waves hitting the shore line.

White caps.

I get seasick just looking at this photo.  Taken at Incline Village area.

Surrounding mountains still snow covered.

Come down Rt 207 from Lake Tahoe to Minden, NV

It was a long drive and we generated a healthy thirst and naturally gravitated to the Oldest Tavern in Nevada which is in Genoa.   The mirror is the original one from the 1850s and came around the horn on a ship to San Francisco and then by wagon to Genoa.  Did you notice the two bar flies in the photo?

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The bar up to just past where Gerry is sitting is the original one and was cut out of one piece of wood.  The extension was added later.  The bar is still operational and serves the Genoa area and also us tourists.

The sole source of heat for the tavern is this wood stove and early patrons would bring in firewood to help pay for their bar bills.

 The early patrons must have been very short people if the location of the door knob is any indication of their height.  It was almost uncomfortable for me to open the door since the door knob was so low.

Come on in, but leave your horse outside.

Early oil lamps converted to electricity are still in use today.   The fixtures in the tavern all were very old and worn which made it interesting to see how the early bar was laid out.

It was a very long day and we decided to eat a late dinner and wound up in a local Olive Garden.  We received an Olive Garden gift card from grandson Sean and Taylor for Xmas and thought of them as we enjoyed the meal.  Thanks guys.

When we got back to the motorhome and watched the late news they were calling for snow in the Sierra Nevada Mountains that we had to cross in order to travel to Napa, CA.  What???   Snow???   Yes, snow storm warnings and then rainy and cold weather for the next 3 days.  Time to get out of Dodge as they say.

We drove almost 150 miles exploring Lake Tahoe, Squaw Valley and old towns in the area.  That is almost as much as we will drive on Wednesday, except this was in the car and not the motorhome.

That was our day, how was yours?