Lake Tahoe Trip — Day Three

“Tourists don't know where they've been, travelers don't know where they're going.” — Paul Theroux

May 14, 2011 was the third day of our Tahoe trip and our 51^st wedding anniversary. As we had a big celebration with family and friends for our 50^th anniversary last year we had planned nothing special for this day except a nice dinner at Harrah’s Casino.

The day was cloudy and overcast not like the two previous days and the temperature had dropped about 10 degrees. It did not look like it was going to be a good day for tourist things and taking pictures. But, with that in mind we headed out for Carson City to see what we could find to do. One thing I wanted to do was to locate an original Lincoln Highway marker that I had read about. I figured the marker would probably be along historic Hwy 50 in the center of the city.

Laboring under this assumption we drove up and down North Carson Street (Hwy 50) looking for the marker. Having no luck finding it we decided to stop in the Nevada State Museum and ask if they knew where the marker was. After parking the car we walked towards the museum and right on the Corner of North Cason and West Robinson sat the marker — what luck!

We spent about two hours in the museum visiting the various galleries and a complete mock-up of a mine under the museum. The museum is located in the old Carson City Mint building and several years ago the acquired an adjacent bank building and with the abandonment of the road between the Mint and the bank the museum was able to grow to its present size. It is well worth your time if you ever get to Carson City.

One exhibit in the museum is a gallery of black and white photos taken over the years by one photographer. There are photos of Boulder Dam when it was under construction, Las Vegas in 1953 and other Nevada scenes. The photos have been enlarged to at least 40x40 inches and they are crystal clear and sharp as a tack. There is something about black and white that makes history come alive.

After the museum we ventured east on U.S. 50 to see if could fine some remnants of the Lincoln Highway, but no such luck. As the weather was turning colder and more gloomy we decided to head back to the hotel and get warm.

For dinner we went to Harrah’s and decided on the buffet on the 18^th floor. The buffet was great and offered everything for crab and Chinese food to filet mignon and Italian dishes. There was also a great variety of deserts including ice cream, pies and cakes. Kathy had the crab, turkey, ribs and baked potato while settled for the filet, vegetables and mashed potatoes with gravy. The meal was great, but a bit on the pricy side for a buffet at $28 per person.

After dinner we both ventured into the casino where I lost $5.00 and Kathy won $28. She always wins while I always lose. That’s why I get bored so quickly playing the machines. I am not a gambler.

Tomorrow is the big day for the bike race so we have to clear out of the hotel by no later than 10:30 or we will get stuck here for the afternoon. There are over 1,000 cyclists in his 128 mile race around Lake Tahoe and the roads are all signed with warning and directional signs for the cyclists — the roads will belong to them.

All in all, weather excepting, it was a pretty good day for touring the area. Tomorrow the weatherman is predicting snow showers so we are looking for some indoor event away from Stateline.