Day 54-July 22

Happy Birthday, Seth!
Here we go again.  This time we are taking the scenic drive around Lake Tahoe before heading across Hwy. 50 to Great Basin National Park.
Lake Tahoe is magnificent, both in size and beauty.  This is a very touristy place, but I can see why.  There are cabins everywhere for the normal folks and homes along the water's edge for the wealthy.  Along the drive are picturesque villages with their Alpine style buildings holding every type of specialty shop imaginable.  We found an interesting area of huge boulders that provided us with a wonderful overlook of the lake. This is a very busy tourist area in the summer as well as the winter.
We took the opportunity to stock up on a few groceries before leaving Carson City.  Heading east on Hwy. 50, which is known as the Loneliest Highway, there are very few services available.  The terrain changes abruptly from the majestic mountains, to miles and miles of sagebrush and grease wood..  Every now and then there are some mountain passes to cross that help to break up the monotony.  After a long day on the road we stopped at a KOA just south of Ely for the night.

Squaw Valley home to the 1960 Winter Olympics.

Lake Tahoe

Waterfall plunging into Lake Tahoe.  Boaters get the best view.

Boats below the falls.  We crossed a peninsula here with drop offs on both sides of the road.

Harrah's on the state line in South Lake Tahoe.

Hwy 50's change of scenery.

Each place has its own style of beauty.