MrGrumpy's long day in Nevada

MrGrumpy woke just before sunrise, it reminded him of being in Vegas.
His plan was to go and find some breakfast, he headed out of the hotel about 7:30am.
A quick walk around the local area did not result in many options, MrMacDonalds would be a very last resort. A check on google showed somewhere about 3 blocks away, unfortunately when MrGrumpy manager to orient himself and go in the right direction, it did not exist.
There was a MrStarbucks, MrSubway and a MrSushi, but they were all closed (or at least looked that way).
MrGrumpy's backup plan would be to go back to the hotel, he really wanted just to find a simple diner. He failed and finally ended up in the Sienna Hotel / Resort (which is one that Little MissNaughty had asked him to check out while he was in Reno). Now decision time, what did he want...

The Special was eggs, bacon or sausage with biscuits & gravy for $7 and coffee $2 and that just about fitted what he wanted to pay. He went with the special, not actually really knowing what "biscuits and gravy" were. Well he was quite surprised when it arrived, eggs, bacon and a sloppy gloop.



Luckily for MrGrumpy it tastes better than it looks.


After breakfast he returned to the hotel and got his stuff together and then checked out.

So his vague plan for today was to see Lake Tahoe and other stuff in the area, but he wanted to be close to Reno by the time the Eclipse happens (about 6pm).
He searched MrSatNav for local attractions, he found victory and tahoe railroad, not too far away, so off he headed.

It was not long before he was driving up the twisty mountain roads, there were several "Vista points" to stop and admire the views. While he at one of these points, there were hundreds of Harleys going past, not just 10 or 20 at a time but 50-60 in several waves. He did not think too much off it and carried on his way.

He ended up following some of the Harleys towards Victoria City, somewhere a MrLocal has told him was worth a visit (when he was at one of the vista points). He parked and started walking up the hill into town, there were still lots of Harleys and they all seemed to be stopping here.

MrGrumpy spoke to one of the Harley riders and asked what the occasion was, it was a charity run in aid of Breast Cancer organised by one of the bars in Reno and they were expecting 1000+ bikes during the day. From what MrGrumpy could see they would be pretty close to that number.

Virginia City looks like a movie set, but without the film crew. MrGrumpy spent a little while here walking about and taking photos, before heading on towards Lake Tahoe.

As he continued along the ever climbing and winding roads, he came across another car park / vista area, this was at the base of trails leading to the summit of MountRose, he stopped and decided that he would go up the trail.

As usual MrGrumpy was not prepared for hiking, no water, no food, just a camera, iPhone and tshirt, shorts and trainers. The side of the mountain where the trail started was clear of snow, as he walked up the trail the was still some areas of snow but most were easy to get over, a few times he did find his foot sinking into the snow up above his ankle. The trail provided some breathtaking views over Lake Tahoe.
The trail stated to become difficult to follow (and steeper) and as MrGrumpy is not very fit and really not used to walking up hills at 9000-10000ft,  he was finding it quite hard. He carried on until the he lost the trail due to the snow. Now all he had to do was find his way back down.

To his amazement he did have full 3G coverage up there, which did enable him to FaceBook and send messages back to Little MissNaughty. (when he looked around, he could see several mobile masts on a nearby mountain top).

MrGrumpy resumed his journey to Lake Tahoe, he was heading to the northern area as that was the closest, he found the views on the way were again stunning.
He stopped for a badly needed drink (soda) and some skittles in one of the numerous 7-Eleven stores on the way to Tahoe City where he stopped for a while.

What was left for today was to get some food and return to a Vista point to try and see the Eclipse. He wanted to try and get back to one of the vista points outside of Reno, so headed back to Virginia City to get some food first.

For once Lens Flare is handy!

As with the hiking, MrGrumpy was not prepared for the Eclipse, no solar filter for his camera, he did have a tripod and sunglasses but that was not going to help. As he drove back towards the vista point he found quite a few people had the same idea, the parking spots were all full. He drove on and parked where the road turned into a track heading to someones house. He was resigning himself to the fact he would just be able to experience the event and not get photos, when two 4x4 turned in across the road from him. These people were more prepared than MrGrumpy they had a home make pin-hole viewing tube, MrGrumpy went across and asked if they would not mind him taking a look, they were very friendly and MrGrumpy observed the event with them.

As soon as the Eclipse was passed full, MrGrumpy thanked them and started the journey back to San Jose. He had already filled up with fuel this morning, but the 100+ miles up and down the mountains had used about a 1/4 of the tank, so time to fill up again. It took another 3.8 gallons and MrGrumpy also given the 4.5 hour drive ahead decide a 5-hour energy boost may be a good idea (and it was as he did not feel sleepy on the way back).

It was gone 11pm when MrGrumpy finally got back to San Jose, 265 miles non stop, the end to an full weekend.

All he had to do now was get to sleep ready for the week ahead.