Trails and Tribulations 2013: Wildflowers in the desert

It was so nice sitting up at Highland Lakes that I had a slow start to the day. Cooked scrambled eggs, had coffee, then reluctantly packed up my gear and headed back down the dirt road.

Yum! Scrambled eggs for breaky

It was a beautiful drive down from Ebbett's Pass - through a grove of golden birch trees, then crossing West Fork stream where a number of fishermen were trying their luck for trout.

West Fork creek

It wasn’t long before I was missing the peace and quiet of the lakes – arriving in Lake Tahoe, I was met with traffic, tourists and hustle and bustle as people jostled for parking spaces and darted across the highway to ski-village type shops or to take a photo from a scenic outlook. Two things intensified the situation – firstly, the town was celebrating Oktoberfest which had brought additional crowds, and secondly, with the national forest entries closed, people were now parking on the side of the highway and walking in to the scenic lookouts, beaches and picnic spots. It was definitely a high energy place!

Emerald Bay

I pulled into a Starbucks to use the internet and search for potential campgrounds for the night, and made a quick Skype call to Billy. It was nice to have a slower day with less driving.

Lakeside

There were a couple of camping options along Sage Hen road in the forest off highway 89, and near Stampede Reservior, but I felt like a quiet night and so did a quick search for hostels in Reno, the nearest larger town.

I’m so glad I did! I found a quirky looking place, Wildflower Village, gave them a call, and was on my way.

I loved it! As I walked in the door, I was greeted by a group of women, catching up over a few glasses of wine. They didn’t seem to mind that I’d just burst in, and I easily fit into their conversation.

Pattie showed me to my room, a wonderfully decorated space with queen bed and small kitchenette. A great place to relax. There are a couple of different styles of accommodation here – hostel, motel, studio apartments. It also appears to accommodate longer term stays, and supports artists and their work. There is also a chapel, pub, coffee shop and galleries – a whole community!

My room at Wildflower Village

I went back to “the Pub” to use the internet and met Karol, a local pilot. She told me about a hike she was doing with a friend later in the week to find an “Airmail Arrow”. When I asked what this was, she explained they were giant concrete arrows used as navigational aids, built in to literally point the way of the transcontinental airmail route from New York to San Francisco.

These arrows were built every 10miles between New York and San Francisco between 1924 and 1929 before there were reliable aviation charts or GPS systems on planes. Each arrow was painted bright yellow and had a 51ft steel tower in the middle, lit by a beacon powered by a generator shed at the tail end of the beacon.

You can read more about it here:

By Ken Jennings, The Daily Traveller, 17 June 2013

It’s uncertain how many still exist, and in most cases the beacon has been removed for scrap metal. You can see the one near Reno on Google Earth at 39°30'36"N, 119°55'20"W. Here’s a screenshot - how cool is this!

Airmail marker beacon, Reno, NV

After being distracted on this fascinating story, I returned to the task at hand and spent some time researching accommodation in San Francisco and driving routes for tomorrow’s trip to Napa Valley.

Pattie gave some great suggestions, and said her favourite places were Gundlach Bundschu and Buena Visa Winery in Sonoma the valley over from Napa. She really sold it when she mentioned the Sonoma Cheese factory! Planning done, it was time for bed.

If you’re even looking for a place to stay, the drop in and see Pattie. If I haven’t convinced you, Wildflower Village also recently featured in the NYTimes as the place to stay in Reno.

Wildflowers community

Pattie's suggestions for Sonoma worked out well! I bought a couple of bottles of Chardonnay to share with Laura in London (one from each winery) and an extra bottle of Cabernet Sauvignon from Gundlach Bundschu just in case we run out.