4mydogs

Thanks to everyone that contributed advice for our trip. Met my in-laws and wife's sis and bro-in-law to celebrate the in-laws' 50th wedding anniversary. We flew into Reno, nice airport, picked up rental cars (sure wish I'd had the 4Runner) and checked into Harrah's for the first two nights. The staff at Harrah's was first rate, as was the food. View of Reno from our room Southern Reno valley, dry as a bone We left the desert and Reno behind and headed to Donner Lake and swam in this cove We checked out of Reno the next day and stopped in Virginia City an old mining town now turned tourist trap, still it was interesting and scenic and getting there was fun. Old Willeys in Virginia City (certainly of interest to ME!) I later saw it driving through South Lake Tahoe, so it does get around. Hwy 431 heading for our next destination, Lake Tahoe! This is Zephyr Cove Lake Tahoe is absolutely beautiful, incredibly clear and surrounded by mountains, we fell in love with the area. We could easily live there . . . well, if we could afford it . . . there is so much to do for recreation. We kept wishing we had our boat there. A view from our room at Harvey's We could walk two blocks to the lake and swim! We're used to salt water, so clear fresh water was really nice (and cold!). Here is a view from Heavenly Ski area My old digital camera doesn't do it justice . . . Emerald Bay D.L. Bliss State Park, one of many great places to see and swim in Lake Tahoe We trekked down to Yosemite and saw El Capitan and Half Dome A local told us about Fallen Leaf Lake, so we checked it out. With a steady wind coming acrosss, it was the perfect place to chill. Some views it would have been a great place for our dogs to swim had they been with us All in all an wonderful trip. The rooms were reasonable, but of course we "contributed" extra in the casinos. People were very laid back and friendly. I didn't think a place could combine so many things that we enjoy (hiking, climbing, swimming and boating, 4-wheeling -- but not in the rented Taurus! -- and skiing in winter), and escaping South Carolina's humidity was fantastic. We're already planning another trip out there.

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1995 SR5 V-6 4WD Limited, 180k miles, 31X10.5 BFG All Terrain T/A KOs, Downey 1.5HD rear coils, 9" Doetsch MV-12s, Hella 1000 fog lights, Alpine XM/CD head unit, and rear window dog drool.

That which you manifest is before you.
-- Enzo

lee

god i love tahoe

i need to get back there. nice pics.

rollem

It's good to live about 3 hrs away. And have a buddy that works the ski resorts...

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93 4x4 extra cab 3vze 5 speed. 31's bfg a/t. Stock and clean. recently: warn premium locking hubs, low/ultra low bump stops. Purchased but haven't installed: 1.5" bj spacers

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turboale

Awesome pics!
I definitely want to get out there. Thats one place I wish I could have stopped at on my trip, though I think I'd rather see it in the winter so I could ski!

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--Austin
RHaus NYC
06 M45 Sport - Beauty
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Henryv

Great pics! I love tahoe though I havent been there in a while. Sounds like you had a really nice vacation.

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-1998 4runner limited 4wd-
Ugh sucks to be poor on this board
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ldivinag

lake tahoe is a great place, although cost of living is higher than even the bay area...

man, i almost got a gig around the incline village area (NE part of tahoe on the nevada side...)

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leo d.

stock 90 4runner

kaneman23

Those are great pics. Tahoe is probably one of the most beautiful places that I've ever been. Good job of capturing exactly what it's like there. I was there on business about 7 years ago. I want to go back again and take my wife. I forgot my camera on my trip and I kick myself for not taking it. You also live in one of my favorite places. I wouldnt mind living near Charleston or outside of MB.

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Supercharged 99' Tacoma TRD
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4mydogs

Thanks, it was a great trip. So much so that we are talking about returning there, not easy with what little vacation time I get. We usually try to go somewhere different each year (with the exception of Maine -- I try to get back there every few years), but on the flights home we found ourselves listing all the things we liked about Lake Tahoe, and we decided that it has just about everything we like to do plus it's nice and dry. Getting off the plane in Savannah was like walking into a sauna. And while we like boating in the Atlantic and in the saltwater estuaries here, that fresh, clear cold water was really nice to swim in -- and no sharks or stingrays!

As a side note, I saw a lot of full size pickups with campers on them -- they're not too common in the Southeast, but they seem like a good way to go out there. Not so big and cumbersome as an RV, but still have some clean dry space to lay your head at night, and that shell might slow down the bears!

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1995 SR5 V-6 4WD Limited, 180k miles, 31X10.5 BFG All Terrain T/A KOs, Downey 1.5HD rear coils, 9" Doetsch MV-12s, Hella 1000 fog lights, Alpine XM/CD head unit, and rear window dog drool.

That which you manifest is before you.
-- Enzo

JEDI87

Glad to see you had fun. I live in South Tahoe and drive by Harvey's everyday. There was a big fire at Fallen Leaf Lake at the beginning of this week, it blazed for about a day and 1/2 but they got it out. That view from Heavenly is awesome huh? I love going up there on the new gondola. 3 years ago some tool threw a cigarette out of the window of one and set the mountain on fire for a week. You may have seen the burn area from up there. Virginia city is pretty cool too, did you see the suicide table at the sallon? There are ton of Toyotas around here, from mild to wild and we all go wheeling alot.

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norcalsvx

nice pics i was just there at zephyr cove last weekend (brunch cruise)

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4mydogs

We did see the suicide table at the Delta, my favorite place in town. Is the legend true, or just a good story? Virginia City is full of history, interesting . . . one just has to bypass all the junk for sale.

The Zephyr Cove Grill was great -- I'd be there a lot if I were local.

Y'all are lucky to live in such a great area for wheeling, and everything else!

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1995 SR5 V-6 4WD Limited, 180k miles, 31X10.5 BFG All Terrain T/A KOs, Downey 1.5HD rear coils, 9" Doetsch MV-12s, Hella 1000 fog lights, Alpine XM/CD head unit, and rear window dog drool.

That which you manifest is before you.
-- Enzo

payyourtoll

great pics, thanks for posting them

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Rob

Robinhood150

Anybody else remember when Harvey's was bombed? Back in the early 80s somebody planted a bomb in the casino. I was a wee lad at the time and barely remember it. My family and I were vacationing there at the time and everybody was evacuated from the casino. We went to the other side of the lake and later in the day heard a huge explosion.

I remember stopping at a road side t-shirt vendor and getting a t-shirt that said, "I got bombed at harveys" on the front and a big iron on picture of the road runner on the back (remember, I was a little kid at the time). My parents have some pictures of the casino after the bomb went off. All the windows on the 2 or 3 bottom stories were blown out and there was debris everywhere.

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Steve. '93 4Runner V6 Auto 4x4
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JEDI87

Yeah they still have a huge leather mural that was damaged in the blast hanging up in the casino. Some guy got the bomb in a copier, delivered it then boom.

The suicide table is true. Did you go on the m.s. dixie?

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Old Toys
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New Toy
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4mydogs

Somehow we missed the mural.

We didn't get out on the Dixie -- ran out of time.

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1995 SR5 V-6 4WD Limited, 180k miles, 31X10.5 BFG All Terrain T/A KOs, Downey 1.5HD rear coils, 9" Doetsch MV-12s, Hella 1000 fog lights, Alpine XM/CD head unit, and rear window dog drool.

That which you manifest is before you.
-- Enzo

petros

Good pics, you certainly experienced the better things about the area. That second picture (looks like it's on the way to Virginia City?) shows how dry some of the area is, but go a few miles directly west and you're in a completely different environment with trees, creeks, meadows, etc. I've backpacked and mountain biked in the area, and it's totally nice compared to the dryness the rest of the area has! Once my life is spent up a bit, it would be my dream to retire to Lake Tahoe.

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1998 Toyota 4Runner SR5 4X4

ChickenLover

Great pics. Looks like you guys had a blast. Did you happen to see one of the gunfights in Virginia City? They have mock gunfights in the streets that scare the piss out of the Kalifornian tourists. They start out as a fight in a bar, then go out in the street where they actually shoot blanks at each other. Cool stuff. The drive up to Virginia city is quite fun, isn't it? I saw a HUGE mt. lion run across that road once.

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95 4Runner, 3VZE , 141k, 4WD, Auto. (Head gaskets replaced at 106k)

4mydogs

They moved the gunfight behind a large fence -- I guess they scared one too many!

The drive to Virginia City was just one of many fun drives -- like someone said in another thread, the road to the Emerald Bay lookout is pretty hairy in a few places. We actually saw relatively little wildlife, probably because we never got early starts and we were often in the casino by dusk. Would love to have seen a mountain lion or bear. We did see a coyote between Reno and Pyramid Lake, though, some mule dear, a marmot . . . and lots of chipmunks!

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1995 SR5 V-6 4WD Limited, 180k miles, 31X10.5 BFG All Terrain T/A KOs, Downey 1.5HD rear coils, 9" Doetsch MV-12s, Hella 1000 fog lights, Alpine XM/CD head unit, and rear window dog drool.

That which you manifest is before you.
-- Enzo

ChickenLover

Bummer. I guess it only takes one litigious kalifornian to ruin the experience for everyone. What all did you guys do and see here in Reno? I forgot about your pre-trip thread. I could have pointed you guys in the direction of some good restaurants and such.

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95 4Runner, 3VZE , 141k, 4WD, Auto. (Head gaskets replaced at 106k)

4mydogs

A wide variety of poker machines.

Actually about the only thing we did in Reno was walk to the Truckee River, and meandered up and down the park there. It's a nice park, lots of people floating in the river -- looked like fun. There were some interesting folks walking around as well . . .

We ate breakfast and dinner in Harrah's and Silver Legacy. Only had one full day in Reno, and we used it to go to Donner Memorial State Park and Donner Lake. Then it was down to Lake Tahoe for 4 days, and a whirlwind tour of the area, with so much to see and do a week didn't cut it. But Reno was nice, the airport is great, and if I didn't already say it the staff at Harrah's was outstanding.

Would like to return, and would really like to bring the Runner, but that's probably not going to happen unless I win the lottery.:cry:

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1995 SR5 V-6 4WD Limited, 180k miles, 31X10.5 BFG All Terrain T/A KOs, Downey 1.5HD rear coils, 9" Doetsch MV-12s, Hella 1000 fog lights, Alpine XM/CD head unit, and rear window dog drool.

That which you manifest is before you.
-- Enzo

jjrgr21

i got back from Reno about a month ago, friends of mine moved from maryland to there. me and my buddy drove from MD to reno in 42 hrs. did you get a chance to go to Lassen Volcanis Natl pk? its pretty bad ass too.

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