June 20, 2023 – Strangers in a Strange Land

By the time we crossed the California-Nevada border, we had been traveling through the western states for four weeks. During that time, the landscape had changed dramatically from the desert to the foothills to the delta, and now a landscape between the snowy Sierra and the semi-arid Great Basin – where faulting and volcanic activity define the geology. Mark Twain described this area as a “desert, walled in by barren, snow-clad mountains”. The Nevada frontier.

Parked at a casino RV resort near Reno for four days, we came here for one reason and that was Lake Tahoe, the largest alpine lake and second deepest in North America. We spent our first day driving a road paralleling the lake’s 72-mile shoreline, a challenging test of patience and ability to overcome fear of heights. We endured miles of 1-lane road construction and negotiated precious narrow road space where rows of vehicles lined up along its edge and dozens of pedestrians with cameras crossed it to capture the iconic Emerald Island from the lake’s rocky cliff. Then came the narrow hairpin turns with hair raising steep precipices only inches from the truck’s tire and oncoming traffic. All that to drive into another resort town with more traffic and pedestrians and where no parking spaces were left empty. Eventually we came to a recreation area where we paid a parking fee to access the brilliant blue lake. Further along, we were afforded a few more views from rocky outcrops. With that, we were done with Lake Tahoe. (By the way, check out the photos I took of Lake Tahoe in our previous blog.)

A casino, along with several other amenities such as a gas station, convenience store, hotel, and cafes, lies adjacent to our campground. The area stays busy with traffic and people walking to and from the slot machines. Despite all that, most of what lies beyond the campground is undeveloped land that for quite a distance works its way toward the mountains – with some gentle but rocky slopes supporting a great number of plants including tall conifers. It is a lush scene of greens and golds in the foreground of shadow-patterned mountains topped by deep blue skies adorned with fluffy clouds.

Not feeling the need to get back in the truck and attempt Lake Tahoe again, I instead felt a pull to explore the area behind our campground. I walked among its granite rock and bristly shrubs, a sloping mosaic of textures and natural colors with hints of brilliant reds and yellows from the small wildflowers laid out in front of me. I traversed over the hard ground carefully as it seemed like rattlesnake country and I was warned of bigger life as well – as in black bear. But no surprise, I saw little wildlife and nothing bigger than a blue jay but was enchanted when I came upon a small pond shaded by trees surrounded by green grasses where large rocks sit and small wildflowers grow- a vision out of a fairytale book.

These moments in our travels are rare, when I can indulge in wilderness, alone and with my camera. It’s meditative as I take time to examine the small things and leave everything else behind. Lake Tahoe was not on my mind when the abundant number of large dandelion seedheads caught my attention. These are the “blow balls” of folklore – blow all the seeds of a dandelion with one breath and the person you love will love you back. For a couple hours and over a couple days, I kneeled, bent over and contorted myself to capture one macro photograph after another of the dandelion’s fluffy parachute ball. Creating various dandelion compositions was my complete focus and I was loving my time in Nevada.

Soon after arriving at our campground, we learned about an ancient lake not far away. Lake Tahoe has one outlet, the Truckee River. Forty miles northeast of Reno, the Truckee flows into another lake, the Pyramid, a geographic sink of the river’s basin and entirely within the Paiute Tribe Reservation. Living in Pyramid Lake are the Lahontan cutthroat trout and cui-ui fish (Kooyooe in Paiute language), a sucker endemic to the lake. As I absorb the wilderness with my camera, Vivian does so with a fishing rod. Once she learned of Pyramid Lake, it didn’t take long to get a fishing permit and a day use pass through the Paiute Tribe’s reservation website. A visit to the remote Pyramid Lake would comprise an entire day during our four days parked near the very busy Lake Tahoe.

We left our campground in the dark and drove a remote highway to Pyramid Lake as the sun rose over the basin. Our initial view of the lake introduced its subtle form and color and continued for 25 miles. Eleven miles wide, very little of the lake’s eastern side could be made out, mostly because of the hazy air. As we approached the lake, we noticed a strange land filled with various odd-shaped rock formations. These are tufa, deposits from the calcium-carbonate rich waters of ancient Pyramid Lake.

A desolate world that falls off the horizon, this is Paiute country where secrets are held tightly, and stories are shared sparingly with very little revealed. Awhile back, I learned from my Navajo photographer guide in New Mexico that indigenous people do not share their stories with the white people for fear those will be stolen as well. I sensed this circumspection at Pyramid Lake – the white pelicans hovering but never too close, the water inviting but so deep and mysterious to keep us at bay, the sacred rocks too far away to be explored let alone be seen. We were temporary visitors given permission for a brief time.

As Vivian threw her line, I wandered the tufa rock shoreline with my camera. Except for a primitive campsite of 2 or 3 campers, one fisherman and a Paiute ranger who asked to see our permit, we saw no one. The day spread out over Pyramid Lake as did the sky and its reflection. We were in isolation as the wind blew and the white pelicans soared over the water. An entire day was spent in a strange land opposite to our familiar Everglades.

Mark Twain described Lake Tahoe as “The fairest picture the whole earth affords”. Without a doubt, it is a sight to behold. I’m glad we saw it, but happier we wandered off on our own – strangers in a strange land.

RV TIP Most of the time, we camp where we can connect to city water. You never know what you’re going to get out there and one of the variables is pressure. You definitely don’t want too high pressure coming into your RV’s water hoses (they are not made like your house’s plumbing!). So, attaching a regulator that you can set the pressure (typically around 50 psi) will give you the piece of mind you need. We currently use the Renator RV Water Pressure Regulator for RV Camper. A great investment for any RV!