Verdi, NV - Dec. 9, 2004 - Feb. 12, 2005
As the temperatures drop most fulltime RVers follow the sun south. But being the tough, independent minded people we are, we headed for the high country of the Sierra Nevada mountains. In truth, we are lowland softies that bought season ski passes to Northstar before we decided to go on the road. So our first long-term destination was Verdi, Nevada, at 5,000 feet elevation, and just 25 minutes from Northstar.
In route from Lake County to Verdi we stopped off in Sacramento to have a propane line installed for our catalytic heater and to purchase various items we knew we would need for the cold country. Unfortunately, the needed items were not available in the in the low country.
Most importantly, we wanted to help our friend Claire celebrate her XX birthday (she wouldn't let us tell). We also dropped by to visit with Jan, Frank and Chad. [For those of you who may not know, Chad is no longer traveling with us. If you read our journal page for our trip to Half Moon Bay you will know why. No matter how much we wanted to keep him, it was not fair to torture him any longer. He is now with our friends Jan and Frank. They both love cats and Chad enjoys not having the earth move beneath his feet!]
There had been several early storms that blessed the Sierra with a good amount of snow. Happily, on our travel day the roads were clear and dry. We checked into Gold Ranch RV Resort in the early afternoon and got set up. The snow received during the earlier storms had melted off, so it was much easier than anticipated.
The folks here are very friendly and accommodating. We were pleased to learn our rent included a phone hook-up so we could actually use the landline phone that came with the RV. Also, we can use the Resort for our mail delivery.
Bill noticed the water set-up our neighbor was using to keep the water flowing during freezing conditions, and took the opportunity to discuss the system with them. Very timely, since the next morning we awoke to frozen water lines. So we were off to Safari RV Supplies in Reno to purchase the needed items, and spent the afternoon installing the appropriate water hose, heat tape and insulation (see pictures). The temperature has dropped to the single digits, and the lines are currently covered in snow, but we have had no problems with our water supply - besides that it is dang cold.
We spent the next couple of days getting familiar with Reno, cruising the casinos and walking our "neighborhood". It is beautiful here. Although we are very close to I-80, we don't hear the traffic. There are numerous country roads that wind through farm and ranch lands, and new upscale homes and old barns and houses that were here when the railroad was being built. There is a beautiful llama ranch overlooking the Truckee River. In addition to the many llamas, the ranch has a black swan, geese, a burro and some very short, randy goats.
We reacquired our ski legs with a couple of days of great skiing before heading back to Sacramento to attend Scott Burn's retirement celebration on December 16th. It was wonderful seeing many of our friends and to celebrate Scott's varied career in IT, law, and general mayhem. We had a great time toasting Scott, laughing with friends, and demonstrating once again that we have no rhythm on the dance floor.
Back in the high country we enjoyed another week of skiing before our ski passes were "blacked out" during Christmas week. The snow was getting pretty darn thin with exposed rocks and bushes, so we were all wishing for snow. As the adage goes, "Be careful what you wish for." According to the Nevada and California media, what we got was the storm of the century. The heaviest snowfall since 1916. Good timing, no? It started snowing the day after Christmas and continued for the rest of the week, and right into 2005.
On New Years Eve we took advantage of a brief lull and ran to Home Depot to purchase one of the last four shovels they had in stock. It took us 10 minutes to get to the store, and due to the traffic and weather conditions, two hours to get back. We got off the freeway as soon as we could and took a back road to the RV Resort and discovered the problem. I-80 was closed again, and the highway patrol was turning traffic around at Verdi. Bill has put the much needed shovel to good use and is getting a great upper body workout, accompanied by lower back pain.
We were able to ski three days the first week of year, but didn't see much in the way of sun. Today is January 11, and the meteorologists are projecting another foot or so of snow today and this evening, then about 10 days clear weather. Oooh baby, we are ready!
We will be leaving Gold Ranch RV Resort today (Feb. 12). Once again there are mixed and conflicting feelings about moving on - sorry to leave the skiing scene and friendly folks here at Gold Ranch, but eager to start a new chapter of our "cool journey". We want to extend our gratitude to Sherri and Gloria at the GR office for accepting the myriad of packages we had delivered via UPS, FedEx, DHL, etc. - including a new mattress.
We enjoyed our nine-week stay here - most of the time. There were days of very cold weather when we were snowed in and contracted advanced cases of "cabin fever". And mornings when it was down to 6 degrees resulting in frozen pipes and no water until afternoon. But other than that it was great. We enjoyed 22 days of fabulous skiing, and wonderful long walks once the roads were clear. We also discovered that our home on wheels could accommodate guests - well one guest under 5'8" - when Claire came up to ski for several days.
Although we didn't do a lot of exploring due to the weather conditions, we did manage to visit the Nevada Museum of Art and the University of Nevada's Planetarium. The museum was exhibiting Steve Wynn's (developer of the Bellagio, Mirage and Treasure Island Hotels in Las Vegas) private art collection. It baffles my mind that one person can own art by Monet, Gauguin, Renoir, Picasso, van Gogh, Rembrandt, Matisse and Jan Brueghel the Elder. There was even a portrait of Steve Wynn by Andy Warhol. The exhibit will leave the Nevada Museum of Art March 30, 2005 and be permanently installed at the Bellagio's gallery. It is an exhibit well worth seeing. The visit to the planetarium was barely worth the $3 admission fee. We viewed a "show" that looked like it was from the 1960's. The seats were uncomfortable, so we were glad it was over quickly!
We also had the dubious opportunity to visit Reno's municipal landfill. It is near Mustang (just east of Lockwood, Nevada), home of the infamous Mustang Ranch. The ranch appears to still be in operation, but we understand that the "ladies" have long-since moved on.
We currently plan to return to Sacramento to take care of business and RV repairs (did I mention the hole I punched in the entry door?), visit friends and family, and, if the great scheduling gods at Kaiser's orthopedics department concur, get Susan's left knee repaired. After that we will slowly meander our way to Denver.
