Feeeling peckish? Donner Pass

This day was a travel day. We packed up and were moving relatively early and traveled up the western shore of Lake Tahoe. There were some absolutely beautiful views across the lake from atop high cliffs. Dan (the trusty driver) saw none of it as he was white knuckling 10mph switchbacks, no road shoulders, and drop-offs with no guardrails that were so steep, you couldn’t see the bottom, all with the camper in tow.

Eventually, we came out at Truckee (where fuel was a meager $7.40 per gallon). We stopped at the Donner Memorial State Park. There was a great exhibit on how the Donner Party became so famous, and what events unfolded, and mistakes made, that lead to the tragedy of ~40 people dying trying to get through the pass. It also dove into the personalities of those involved. We watched a 20 minute movie that gave an introduction, but on the way out, Dan met one of the rangers that was scheduled to give a talk, but no one had come out. Luckily, he agreed to give Melissa and I a private session. He was able to clear up a lot of the timeline that were not clearly explained.

When we were in the museum, we were able to get the solar panel out and topped off the battery. An important test because we were going to be off grid this evening.

The rest of the day was spent driving to our destination. We had fun in the car playing 20 questions, and alphabetically going through every fruit, vegetable, US State, and Country. We also had time and good enough cell coverage to make a few “check-in” calls while we were moving.

We found our site, and set up the camper. Had a chance to talk to some of our neighbors (which is one of the fun parts about camping). The young woman next to us was wheelchair bound and was on a three month camping trip while working remotely. It was very interesting to hear her perspectives and challenges.

At dusk, we walked down to a near by lake and watched the ducks and geese float across the lake while the sky reflected the last of the orange glow. Since there was no cell coverage, we both left our phones, and didn’t think to bring the other camera, so we have nothing but mental pictures.Read more