After our early morning horse ride though the hills of Jackson, it was time to wave a sad goodbye to the beautiful state of Wyoming as we continued on our adventure. It was nearing te end of our epic journey now and tomorrow we would be reaching the final state of our trip, California. But first, we had a long drive day to our overnight stop at Elko, Nevada, the halfway point between our current location and tomorrow’s destination of Lake Tahoe.
After leaving our KOA, we crossed the border from Wyoming into Idaho. We’d just be clipping a corner of this state without really having time to see anything but straight away I could tell it would be a state worth returning to at some point in the future as we passed more beautiful mountainous scenery.
We made a stop just off the highway in the city of Idaho Falls for lunch at an Applebees and then another quick stop at an Idaho tourist centre so those of us collecting souvenirs at each state could grab a magnet/pin or some other Idaho-emblazened item then continued on towards the state of Nevada.
The day was pretty uneventful as we chatted and sang along to cheesy pop and Disney songs in the van, occasionally pulling over for a rest stop. Eventually we reached our motel in the city of Elko. After causing numerous problems for the receptionist after checking in to find we’d been allocated smoking rooms or in some cases, rooms without enough beds and therefore asking to move rooms, we eventually got ourselves settled and met back up to go out for a group dinner.
We ate at a family dining restaurant which basically means you individually order your main item – steak, chops etc – but the sides such as potatoes, vegetables, bread etc are placed in huge portions on the table for the group to share. When the biggest pork chop I’ve ever seen arrived in front of me, I wished I’d got one of those to share too but managed to plough through it.
The next morning was an early start to ensure we had plenty of time at Lake Tahoe. We made a quick stop at a neighbouring casino (when in Nevada…!) to grab breakfast at its Starbucks before continuing on our way.
It was a beautiful day so when we arrived at California’s South Lake Tahoe in the early afternoon, we were dropped off straight at the beach and spent the afternoon walking along the shore, swimming in the crystal clear waters and generally relaxing on the beach.
After the previous night’s not-so-great accommodation, we were delighted to find we were staying in a lovely little B&B that night. We made a quick stop off to drop off our luggage and get showered and changed before catching a shuttle bus to Zephyr Cove, back on the Nevada side of Lake Tahoe where we had all signed up for a sunset cruise on the lake.
The cruise included unlimited drinks – champagne or soft drinks and plenty of nibbles and we all had a really fantastic evening hanging out together watching the sun go down over the lake.
After the cruise, we were dropped back in South Lake Tahoe where the town is split across the states of Nevada and California. We wandered through the casino on the Nevada side before crossing the road into California and finding a bar with live music which was still serving food. Pizza’s ordered and eaten, we took the short walk back to our motel to enjoy a night of relative luxury before the next 2 nights in a hostel!
Miss Travels 