Western Travels

Our visit out west was incredible, it was a really wonderful journey. We had never been to Nevada before and was awe struck by its beauty. I loved the western feel and the people of the area where so kind. Horse ranches were everywhere, after all Nevada is called the "Rodeo State". I hope you will enjoy the pictures as much as I enjoyed taking them.

"Climb the mountains and get their good tidings.
Nature's peace will flow into you as sunshine flows into trees.
The winds will blow their own freshness into you...
while cares will drop off like autumn leaves."

-- John Muir (1838-1914) author and naturalist

Going over the pass to South Tahoe

...here I am trying not to get too close to the edge, it was just a little too scary!

All the snow was such a surprise!

"Nobody trips over mountains. It is the small pebble that causes you to stumble. Pass all the pebbles in your path and you will find you have crossed the mountain."
-- Author Unknown

Minden, Nevada

Horse and cattle ranches everywhere....

Nevada's oldest thirst parlor. This saloon was incredible, completely authentic and all original. Not a museum...a working bar. It was so cool to sit at the bar and enjoy a drink. Many movies have been filmed here.

Minden is at the base of the Sierra Nevada range and has an elevation of 4,700 feet above sea level. Life in Minden offers small town living with all the facilities of Lake Tahoe (20-25 minutes drive) or Reno (45 minutes). Population 3000+.

We left Minden and headed to the San Fransico area to visit with friends in Walnut Creek. I decided to wear shorts and flip flops as it was sunny and the morning was warming up. It was 67 degrees when we left and started our climb through the mountains. When we reached the following picture it was at 36 degrees. The highest elevation we reached that day was 9000 ft.

Stretching from the Sacramento Valley of California to the Carson Valley in Nevada, this 58-mile byway winds its way through the western slope of the Sierra Nevada, reaches the summit at Carson Pass, and ends up on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.

One of the most visually dramatic of the trans-Sierra highways in California, you will witness views of ragged volcanic skylines, cool green meadows, mountain lakes framed by timber-covered slopes, adventure-filled rock valleys, and distant mountain peaks.

Mount Diablo is a mountain in Contra Costa County, California in the San Francisco Bay Area, located south of the town of Clayton and northeast of Danville. It is an isolated upthrust peak of 3,864 feet (1,178 m), visible from most of the San Francisco Bay Area and much of northern California.

View from Mt. Daiblo