Crossing Nevada in a day

After Idaho Falls the night before (nice, pretty and interesting as it is used to generate approx 40% of the power needs for the city) we travelled via Pocatello (where we tried to find the Princess Theatre, which is now a car park) to Twin Falls.

The flat plains of Idaho are, in places improved to grow the famous potatoes and grain but mostly they are covered in sagebush - about a metre high. No trees. It goes on - for miles and miles. An occasional ranch home and off in the distance some of the 50 or so nuclear power stations on this plain.

What a shock when we drove into Twin Falls and below the bridge was an amazing canyon, with the river winding beneath. Far below we could see a lovely, grassy picnic area on a bend in the river. The Shoeshone Falls, some 15 min out of town were well worth the drive. Currently much of the water is diverted for irrigation purposes, but when fully flowing they fall further than Niagara and even with only partial flow were spectacular. Once again, a hydro power station at the base.

On through the plains of Idaho, then the plains of Nevada. Hundreds of miles of..... nothing. Well, if you don't count the occasional prison or nuclear power plant. A stop for the worst coffee so far (2 sips) at what I realised was not an appropriate place for Laura - 'Bella's gentlemen's club' did nothing to enhance the experience. Finally we found some trees in a roadside stop, which broke up the monotony of this trip. Thank goodness for the left over Mexican from the night before (they offer take out boxes when you do not finish a meal), though it is not so good eaten cold. Oh well, it was food.

I did think strongly of those emigrants who crossed these plains in their wagons, seeking a new life and the lure of gold in the west.... Thank God for Charlotte's speed, comfort and air con as the temps are now in the 90s.

Thankfully this was the only day on our trip like this, and finally the mountains started to appear before us - covered in pine and fir with a little snow in places! Back to the familiar!

Eventually we crossed the border from Nevada into California, right in the middle of South Lake Tahoe, where we stayed last night. We have been spoilt in terms of lakes and beauty, so this somewhat commercialised winter ski area has minimal impact, though a nice Gyros overlooking the lake with some bluegrass music was a pleasant enough way to spend the evening. And thankfully the 3 rooms of basketball players upstairs did eventually settle down a little after midnight. Obviously they must bounce the ball at least 100 times before this can be done.....