Break: Lake Tahoe

We had a three day break for Memorial Day.  A group of us decided to go see Lake Tahoe before we headed east across Nevada.

Lake Tahoe from Zephyr Cove, Nevada

Cascade Lake in the foreground and Lake Tahoe in the background, California; from the Cascade Falls trail.

Me near the end of the Cascade Falls trail

Since it was Memorial Day weekend and we didn't have a reservation for a campsite, we asked a ranger for advice and camped along the Tahoe Time Trail.

Our campsite, with Heather on the left.

Where we should have camped.  10 minutes further up the trail.  Called "Big Meadow."

Big Meadow

The drive from Reno to Ely, NV on Route 50.  Very few other cars.  Passed through  two towns in 200 miles, each with one gas station.

Not a highway to take if you want to be around other people.

Nevada Conservation Corps Orientation

Orientation week was packed with activity.  Monday and Tuesday we were trained in Wilderness First Aid and learned more about the background of Great Basin Institute, which administers the Nevada Conservation Corps.  Wednesday we spent the whole day learning about proper chainsaw operation in a classroom, and Thursday and Friday were spent at Galena Creek Park practicing in the field.

During this week we all camped at Davis Creek Park.  I was glad to have brought such warm clothing because it was quite chilly at night.

I got the meet the three other members of my team, Olivia, Eric, and Ryan, and our supervisor, Michelle.  We are the Eastern Nevada Roving Chainsaw Crew.  We'll be based out of Ely, Nevada for the rest of the summer.

Our worksite, where the prescription is for clearing dead down trees and doing some thinning.

Flowers at out worksite.

Burn pile we made.  Later another crew will come by to do the burn.

Me with the stump of the first tree I felled.  It has already been stumped, bucked, and hauled away.

Flowers at the worksite.

A species of mistletoe.  Many of the trees we removed were heavily infested.

State Taglines

On the trip from North Carolina to Nevada, I drove through XX states.  On the interstate, the welcome signs for each state often include a tagline.  Here is what I saw:

Virginia: "Open for Business"
West Virginia: "Wild and Wonderful"
Kentucky: "Unbridled Spirit" and also "Birthplace of Abraham Lincoln"
Indiana: "Crossroads of America" and also "Lincoln's Boyhood Home"
Illinois: "Land of Lincoln"
Missouri: none on their sign, but according to Wikipedia is "The Show-Me State"
Iowa: "Fields of Opportunity"
Nebraska: "Nebraska . . . the Good Life"
Wyoming: "Forever West"
Utah: "Life Elevated"
Nevada: we missed this one because we crossed over at an exit, but it's probably "The Silver State"

Notice the Lincoln theme.  Reminds me of the North Carolina : First in Flight :: Ohio : Birthplace of Aviation
That's on both their licence plates and state quarters.

Salt Lake City, UT to Reno, NV

The interstate took us along the Great Salt Lake and the salt flats.  We saw several salt harvesting factories.  Photos are on the way.

Nevada had many mountain ranges and very few populated areas.  We only passed through 2 or 3 towns.  Exits were often 15 miles apart, but then would only lead to a dirt road.  Not a good place to run out of gas, food, or water.

Distance: 540 miles

Nevada

Nevada

Nebraska to Utah

This was a dynamic drive.  Nebraska started off flat.  As we moved into Wyoming, there were more and more hills, some with exposed white rock in patches.  There were scattered rock outcroppings.  As we crossed into Utah, the views from the highway became stunning.

Distance: 707 miles

Wyoming from the road.

Wyoming from the road.

Utah wins the award for Most Fascinating Rest Stop.

Rest stop in Utah.

Rest stop in Utah.

Ground squirrels!

Ground squirrels!

Ground squirrels!

After we settled in at the Salt Lake City KOA, we went for a walk around town.

Mormon Temple.

Gothenburg, Nebraska: Kampground of America

We spent the night at the KOA in Gothenburg, NE, which was right off the interstate.  Surprising amount of wildlife.

Our campsite

I saw three rabbits during our after-dinner walk.

Beaver!  This is the first one I've seen in the wild.

Missouri to Nebraska

Missouri was home to towns with great names, like Fair Play, Peculiar, and Humanville.  Also had square yellow signs on the interstate warning drives to be on the lookout for horse-drawn buggies.  We didn't see any of these trotting down the highway, but did see them on side roads.  Other signs of interest included a billboard advertising a free steak dinner with the purchase of an oil change.

Did I say yesterday's terrain became flat?  I should amend that because today the topography was flatter than a pancake in Iowa and Nebraska.

Distance: 555 miles

Kansas City, Missouri

Bridge over Missouri River in Kansas City, Missouri

Iowa

Bridge over the Missouri River.  The left bank is Nebraska and the right is  Iowa

Outskirts of Lincoln, Nebraska

Virginia to Missouri

The other corpsmember, Caitlin, and I woke up early and hit the road at 6am.  Virginia and West Virginia had scenery dominated by forested mountains, rivers, and foothills.  As we entered Kentucky, foothills dominated and by the time we were in Indiana, the land was flat or gently rolling, and used for farming.

Distance: 870 miles

Highlights:

Virginia and West Virginia beautiful mountain views.

View from Caitlin's right before we hit the road.  Blacksburg, Virginia.

Kentucky provided us a downpour and a lightning show, and it rained off and on all the way to Springfield, Missouri.  Louisville looked like an interesting city.  There were many neat bridges over the Ohio River, one which we got to drive over.

Most of the farmland in Indiana and Illinois was barren, but some were colorful.

Illinois.

Illinois.

The Gateway Arch in St. Louis, Missouri is right next to the interstate, so we got a fantastic view.

Missouri is also home to the strangest sinks I've used.  At a rest stop on I-44, the sinks were basins built into individual alcoves in the calls.  You put your hands into the far back, and the automatic water facet turned on.  Bring your hands forward a few inches and a suddenly warm air is blasted at them.  Caitlin described it as a car wash for your hands.  The diagram on the sink showed soapy bubbles, but I never figured out how that feature was supposed to work.

Launch!

Today the odyssey officially started!  I finished loading the van and drove from Wesley Chapel, North Carolina to Blacksburg, Virginia, to pick up a carpooler and fellow Nevada Conservation Corps member.  Beautiful drive as mountains sprang up before me.

Distance: 210 miles

In the driveway, ready to leave.

Virginia Welcome Center on I-77, where I ate dinner.

Rolling hills turned into mountains, seen here from the Virginia Welcome Center.