50 States, 17 Days To Go

Rocklin to Tahoe City,  147 Miles

"You win a few, you lose a few.  Some get rained out.  But you got to dress for all of them."

~Satchel Paige

The advantage of local folks is they know where the fun is. Gordy McCarty, my partner in Parsons Bros. Rockeries CA (still in operation), took us for a ride today. Oh, yeah. He borrowed a Harley from a friend (nice friend!) and we took the back roads to Lake Tahoe. We would up and down hills (mostly up), through green forests, orchards and vineyards. The vineyards were a complete surprise. We encountered plenty of scenic overlooks as well. It was hard to decide whether the riding or the views were better. 
But the roads, oh my. They wound and twisted, hanging on to the sides of hills and paralleling rivers. Most of the turns were second and third gear, with a few demanding a downshift to first, and some sections allowing acceleration to fourth gear. 
We ascended and the air got thin and cooler, the trees shorter and more sparse, and the landscape rockier. Soon patches of snow appeared, surviving by hiding from the sun. Finally we crested the pass and descended with awesome views of Lake Tahoe, surrounded by craggy mountains. 
South Tahoe surprised me, as it wasn't snooty, in fact I saw plenty of chain stores including restaurants, clothing and grocery stores. We rode through the Tahoe Keys, which were channels cut into the land and bordered by houses, but even those houses didn't scream, "I have money!" However, everyone kept boats in their back yard, nice. Good luck with water skiing. Even in the middle of summer the water is freaking cold. 
Riding long the west shore of the lake provided more fabulous views, with mountains and the lake accentuated with waterfalls pouring out spring snowmelt. The roads wound along the sides of hills again, and QG mentioned that perhaps the State of California could invest in a few guardrails. 
Today we met Chuck and Robert, two men riding from California to Virginia, and today was their first day out. They are in for a treat. 
And now, treated herself, Quilter Girl!
This is truly a gorgeous state.  The scariest road we were on was also the most beautiful as it ran along a ridge with Lake Tahoe on one side and another alpine lake on the other.  It was a very narrow ridge with no guard rails.  It was a wonderful view if you can stand to look down!  Our next view was of Emerald Bay.  We got off the bike for this one as it is very impressive.  The water was very still, no wind this afternoon which Gordie says is very unusual and there was a huge waterfall to our right.  With all the snow covered mountains in the background, it was picture perfect -- and the camera battery died an hour before.

We had lunch at a cafe in South Lake Tahoe that specialized in organic and healthy foods.  Their food was very appealing and tasted wonderful.  Now we can all have ice cream with no guilty feelings!  
QG

Sorry about no photos. I've been working with BlogDocs and getting nowhere, so I bought another Blogger app, BlogGo and it won't post at all. I can't wait to get home to my twelve year old laptop or eight year old PC, neither of which gave me a bit of blogging issues. Never buying an Apple anything again. 

  

3 comments:

Mel said...

I don't mean to pick on you, but if you don't stem your rotten hard-core rants against Apple, you're bound to plant seeds of doubt. That, my friend, would be not be a peeling!

Mel said...

How did that extra "be" get in there? Must have been pollinating your Apple products!

Unknown said...

Okay, okay! Don't get a be in your bonnet!
KP