Day 137. Saturday, 28th September. From Cottonwood Creek Campsite just North of Truckee to Chris Flats Campsite, just South of Coleville. California.

It was rather a shock last night to be advised by the camp host that the weather forecast for the weekend was for rain followed by snow. Not knowing what we would wake up to, we found the temperature had plummeted, but it was still a fine day.

We headed into Truckee. A bustling, touristy little town with restaurants, plenty of retail opportunities, coffee shops etc.  Being Saturday it was very busy with families having brunch and shopping. It seemed odd to see everyone in anoraks and wooly hats, dressed up against the cold. Such a rapid drop in temperature. We went in search of a coffee shop with wifi.

Settling down with coffee, hot chocolate and sticky cinnamon buns, we made good use of the cafe’s wifi. We have booked our flights from Loreto in Mexico back to Auckland, via Los Angeles. Unfortunately connections aren’t brilliant, so we need to overnight in Los Angeles in both directions. An earlier return to New Zealand. We will be back again in Mexico on 29th December, but we will be home for Christmas! It also means we will on the road again by the New Year, which will give us more time to get down to the southern tip of Chile before it gets too cold. If possible, and it is not to late in the season, we would like to try and get a last minute, discounted trip to Antartica 🙂

We also hope this timing will mean we meet up with Sarah, Tim, Charlie and Jaxon and can travel with them in Central America.

After Truckee we set off for Lake Tahoe. I visited Tahoe about 3 years ago in the winter with James, Sarah and Jasper. When they were living in San Anselmo they would come up to Tahoe as often as possible to ski. When we came, Jasper was only just starting to learn. Only about his second lesson and he wasn’t enjoying it very much! That’s all changed now. He’s off down the mountain like a little rocket. 

We drove down the western side of the lake. Heavy traffic, but some lovely views over the lake. The water was very choppy, as the wind was strong this afternoon. We were stopped in one place and warned to be aware of strong cross winds.

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Getting through South Lake Tahoe was slow. Heavy traffic and endless traffic lights. Once through the built up area we made good progress. Briefly we crossed into Nevada before picking up Highway 395 which will take us all the way south to Yosemite. It turned into an attractive drive passing by Topaz Lake and through the Sierras, with a river tripping along beside us.

We stopped to camp soon after 4pm at Chris Flats. A National Forest site, so only basic facilities and not far off the road. Hopefully, it will not be busy during the night. The wind is still whistling around, which is greatly adding to the chill factor. Will be interesting to see if we do wake up to snow tomorrow. 

Visits: 39