We took a few pics in Tahoe (Zephyr Cove Resort had a hilariously relevant “No Glass No Dogs” sign for their beach), and drove deeper into Nevada, marveling at the mountains, and the vast expanse of land, valley, and sky. It’s incredible to believe that a mere two days ago we were in crowded San Francisco, and now we’re driving through rural Nevada where we can count the number of buildings as we passed by.
We arrived at beautiful Walker Lake, a desert lake with sandy beaches & steep rocky shores, popular for swimming, boating & camping, and found a perfect stop at Sportsmans Beach, which has pretty picnic areas, and facilities overlooking the water, which was so clear that it mirrored the mountain’s reflection rising next to it. Because there wasn’t really anyone else there and we had space to spread out, after a lovely fresh sandwich lunch we reorganized the RV so that it wasn’t as much of a mess inside. We repacked the back, used up all the space bags (and threw one out where a hole had pierced through), and moved some items into new spots. Some of the cabinets (like Lisette’s closet) still seem messy–they’re currently on hanging shelves which are built for RVs but as soon as the closet door opens the clothes topple out! We’ll undoubtedly figure things out as we continue to be on the road.
In the late afternoon, we arrived at Tonopah, the site of the last mining boom in the west coast of the US, and the reason why Nevada is called the “Silver State.” Tonopah felt very much like we’d stepped back in time–we walked through the Old Tonopah Cemetery that buried people from 1901-1911. It was interesting to read the cause of death listed on many tombstones (mining accidents, diseases like pneumonia and “miner’s consumption” – a nice way to say alcoholism), and note how young many of the people were that died.
Right next door is the Clown Motel, a clown-themed motel that we imagine is somewhere people want to stay at more for the novelty of it, because it looked pretty rundown. There’s one main street with a gym, a few restaurants and old West stores, but what we appreciated the most was the Love’s Travel Stop, a pit stop for truckers and other travelers. Here there was not only a gas station, but a mini store (yep, they have those rolling cooking hot dogs!), an adjacent pizza place and fast food chicken shop, a dog park, and customers can also get laundry done and take showers there. After staying in the parking lot to make dinner (quinoa with vegetables!), we parked in a large empty lot for truckers for the night, next to the Banc Club, a local casino. We were the first ones there but once we had gone to bed at least a couple of vehicles (sounded like trucks) parked near us, and it made Lisette paranoid because they felt way too close given the block of land available. Lisette didn’t fall asleep easily thanks to feeling anxious as a result!