I Got a New Car!

Part 1 of a Series

Not recently–nine years ago. But I was reviewing and renaming some old digital photos recently, and came across the ones DW and I took on that trip.

You see, we picked it up at the factory. Those of you who follow me on Twitter may know that I drive a BMW Z4 Roadster. The purchase experience was unlike any I’ve had before, and likely unlike most of yours, too. We bought it from a dealership in Oregon, negotiating over the phone (by voice mail in many instances) and signing documents by fax.

We specified factory delivery in our first conversation. BMW has a program where buyers who pick up their cars at the Spartanburg, SC factory and «BMW Zentrum» are entitled to attend a half-day driving class and practicum on the road course there. As it turned out, we never even met the person we bought the car from!

After mailing a check for the down payment, we booked our flight to Raleigh. Yes, there’s an international airport in Greenville, just down the road from Spartanburg, but we were planning to go around the 4th of July, and spend some time at a B&B in Manteo, NC, on Roanoke Island, not far from Kitty Hawk and the Outer Banks. We enjoy staying at a B&B, and DW is a pro at researching them online. Looking at a map now, I think perhaps the Newport News-Norfolk-Virginia Beach area is a bit closer, but the route from Raleigh is more direct and mainland-based.

We arrived late on the night of the 2nd, just as the proprietors of the B&B were finishing their day’s work. We got checked in, brushed our teeth, and fell asleep. The next morning after a breakfast that included a fruit compote with black currants (yum), we took a few photos before deciding what to do.

(As usual, click on the image to see it larger. Blogger will then let you scroll through all of them.)

The B&B we had chosen is the White Doe Inn. This day, we didn’t get a close shot of the sign, but in this first photo it, and a flag with their chosen arms, are visible.















For this one, DW went across the street, and got a bit more of the entire Inn (as well as my Aloha shirt).

We drove the rental car around Manteo a bit, finding nice, clean yards and homes. We decided to take a few photos of those. I’ll show you one here.

 

We got back on the main highway (US 64) eastbound, and headed out to the real Outer Banks, the long sandbar that Kitty Hawk and Kill Devil Hills are on, among others. When US 64 ended, we looked both directions: to the left it looked more civilized, so we went right, south on SH 12. Near the south end of that sandbar is the Bodie Island Lighthouse. Not as famous as the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse, perhaps, but closer to the highway, and more significantly, closer to where we started.


We crossed Oregon Inlet and drove all the way down Pea Island and Hatteras Islands–the next two sandbars–to the ferry landing that continues SH 12 across Hatteras Inlet. If I recollect correctly, the ferry was even there getting ready to load. But we knew it would take too much time to go, then come back, then get back to the Inn, so we headed back north.

It was only about noon when we got back to “Whalebone Junction”, as the intersection with US 64 is called, so we decided to continue north and maybe find some lunch. Of course it’s only 4 or 5 miles to the Wright Brothers National Memorial in Kill Devil Hills, so we had some lunch and then went there.

Naturally the first place to go at the site is the visitor’s center, which also serves as a museum. There are exhibits there by NASA as well as Wright Brothers historian groups. One of the things that caught my eye was this treadle-operated sewing machine like the one used to sew the wing fabric for the Wrights’ contraptions. It looked just like the one my grandmother had in her house!



As I said, there are Wright-related displays, too. They included reproductions of a glider they built as well as the powered flyer that gained them their fame.



After a few more less-interesting photos inside, we went outside to the field where the famous flight took place. A pillar has been erected there, and there is a nice little path that winds around and up to the top of the hill. We had not started hiking, yet, so we were not enthusiastic about that walk; we opted to stay near the building and take a long shot.

One of the other things put up at the site to memorialize the Wrights is this bas-relief:

What better way to celebrate (nearly) Independence Day than enjoying the tale of American Innovation that is the Wright Brothers’?

Tomorrow is the 4th of July, so I wonder what kinds of activities will be available for us? Be sure to watch for the next post!

Ski Trip to Vail, CO

As members of the Reno Ski and Recreation Club, DW and I participated in a club trip to Vail, Colorado for a week of skiing and recreation (duh), from the 3rd to the 7th of March 2014.

Actually, I shouldn’t say “duh”, because I’m not sure if I’ve published on this blog yet that I relented to learn to ski this season, so I can ski with DW and the rest of the recreational skiers.

Anyway, we arrived by air at Denver early afternoon on Sunday the 2nd, and along with about a dozen others took the club-arranged transportation to our hotel, the Vail Cascade Resort. It’s a not-overly-fancy-but-nice-enough property, with beautiful old (or old-looking) furniture in the lobby and main desk, and a nice little sunken bar behind a huge double-sided (gas) fireplace. But the real attraction, and the reason the trip coordinator chose the place, is the Ski Concierge right next to Chair Lift #20 (Cascade). It was so nice not having to shlep equipment either down the hall or out along the building to get to a lift, or a bus to the lifts.

Oddly enough, I have no photos of the hotel, but you can follow the link above where there are plenty. In fact, we didn’t even take pictures on Monday, as we had to go from the bottom of the west end of the ski area all the way to the top near the east end, to be at Two Elk Lodge™ for lunch. (You can see a trail map at Vail’s site linked above, if you desire.) Since I’m just a beginner, we had to take some catwalks (which I figured out refer to the snow cat grooming machines), but we got there a half-hour ahead of the others. In fact, a couple of them remarked how surprised they were to see me there!

On Tuesday, we decided to ski around the Game Creek Bowl area, which is on the west peak. Vail (and Beaver Creek) are somewhat unusual in that they have relatively easy runs near the top of the mountain; most resorts don’t use the ridges, and instead bring runs down the steep face, making them more difficult. Game Creek Bowl has a number of runs marked blue (medium difficulty), but a couple of fairly long green (easier) runs around the outside of the bowl. One of them, the only way out of the bowl, is called Eagle’s Nest Ridge. It’s very easy, being nearly flat in one long stretch leading down to the Eagle’s Nest Lodge. I stopped and had DW take a couple of pictures, one off each side of the ridge.

(As always, click to view larger.)

That evening, we went with a couple of friends from the club to explore Lionshead Village, a smaller village on the west between our hotel and the main Vail Village. We found a liquor store, a crowded little BBQ restaurant that serves what’s on the menu until they run out, and Albert Einstein, just chillin’:

Monica adores Al.

On Wednesday, most of the trip-goers went over to Beaver Creek (about ½ hour away) for the day. As one of our bus-mates said, Beaver Creek–a Vail resort–has to be just a bit better, because it isn’t Vail. Also, it’s the farthest resort away from Denver. Well, it was great! DW and I headed up to the easier runs near the top of the main lift. The views were spectacular.

DW about to get her camera out

I actually got a little over-confident right away, and fell part way down. There is a technique for getting up that I could never quite do in Tahoe, but I made it work this time! DW got photos of the process. Here are the beginning and the end.




We skied the easy runs for the better part of the day. We took a break around 2:30 after having skied down to the ski school area, where the children ride a gondola to after mastering the basics at the bottom. Here’s a panoramic photo from the deck:

Late that afternoon, we met our fellow clubbers at the Beaver Creek Chophouse and C Bar, outside. It was such a nice day, we all stayed outside.

This pic got tweeted.

Some of the group stayed to eat there, but some of us were ready to hit the shower. Six of us went for pizza, to the Blue Moose Pizza in Lionshead, right next to the skating rink. Since the previous day had been Mardi Gras, the Moose had been celebrating, and was covered with beads.

When we got there, and yet when we left, there was a broom hockey game going on on the rink.

The next two days, DW and I skied the Mid-Vail™ area. There is one green run and a whole series of blue runs there. DW and I had been to Kirkwood on Presidents’ Day, and we skied a blue run a few times there, so we decided to do these. They were a lot of fun! Except for the one called “Whistle Pig”–it had a bunch of little moguls! We got most of the way through them (slowly), and I saw a cut-off back to a smoother run we had done before, so we took that. Here's what one of them looked like:

Actually, that may have been the access run along the ridge. Anyway, on Thursday night we attended a group dinner in Vail Village, and on the way out we stopped to take photos of this sculpture and lighted tree.




 On Friday we went back to the same runs to ski, but snow had been falling since about midnight and was still falling, and the smooth runs of the day before were starting to get bumpy. I was actually having fun learning to handle the snow, but it did make us tired quickly. We skied about 2½ or 3 hours, and had had enough. We made it back to the main village and rode the bus back to the hotel, where we had some hot cocoa and a nap.

We really enjoyed the trip and being able to ski every day for a week. We did some checking into individual trips, and the group really got a great deal, so we were pleased. The organizer did a fabulous job, and if he ever puts together another trip, we’ll be the first ones to sign up!

Marlette Lake

On Saturday the 12th of October, the group that went to Winnemucca Lake (plus or minus a few members) met and carpooled to Spooner Lake (Nevada) State Park, to hike the 4½ miles to Marlette Lake, a reservoir a few hundred feet above Lake Tahoe.

The first almost-a-mile of the hike is along the locally-famed North Canyon Road, known for its many cabins and its access to the wilderness area along Tahoe’s east shore. After this distance, we reached the marked trailhead for the hiking trail that was completed only a few years ago.

Half the group is waiting for the other half. Again.

After the group leader took a group picture, we started up the trail. We quickly became spread out. Joe and my own DW were out in front, with me a few hundred yards behind them, and the next fastest group–including a young woman about 25 years my junior–probably about the same distance behind me.

The hike to Marlette Lake is nearly all uphill, with a couple of sets of switchbacks. Not terribly steep, but mostly constant. About ⅔ of the way there, the trail reaches the top of a rise with a somewhat expansive view of the valley and road below.



Approaching the apex;
note the stump.

There’s that stump,
with the canyon below.

The trail continues to climb, and soon I was entering elevations where the early-season snowfall of the previous week was not yet completely evaporated:

Shortly after that, there was snow actually ON the trail!

OK, maybe there wasn’t much snow on the trail, but I did see a bit more before reaching the summit, where the trail starts back down toward North Canyon Road and the lake.

At one point, the hiking trail comes within a few yards of the road, and an access trail–fit for bikers as well as hikers, that leads to the trailhead off of NV SH 28–crosses both. Because this was only the second time I’d been on this trail, and I had no other hikers to guide me, I mistakenly took the access trail down to the road. Since I knew the road led to the lake, by the time I realized my mistake I decided it wasn’t worth the effort to go back and regain the hiking trail. Besides, only the road had views like this:

When I reached Marlette Lake, the north wind had come up, and was quite chilly after blowing across the water. I made my way to a pile of rocks where I expected to find DW and Joe, and I was not disappointed. I was surprised, however, when they told me I was only about ten minutes behind them! I did not expect to have moved so quickly.

We ate lunch there, hounded by this chipmunk:

It was very aggressive, and even climbed on DW’s lap when she wasn’t looking, trying to get a nut from the snack-size bag she had there. Startled, she moved the bag away, and this cute little fellow bit her! Not hard enough to draw blood, thank goodness. No rabies shots for her.

Finally, we had had enough of the wind and rodent harassment, so shortly after the rest of the group arrived, the three of us decided to leave, and take the road back to Spooner Lake. On the way out, I noticed this plea for people fishing there to complete an “Angler Survery”:

Your tax dollars (and donations) at work.

The walk back was pleasant enough, especially after we had crested the summit again and were somewhat protected from the chilly north wind. We discussed all sorts of things, from politics to pop music, from advertising to Zurich (Joe had recently been to Switzerland, although he spent most of his time in the area near Locarno). We made it back home just in time to cook supper! I think we had chili, to warm up from being outdoors all day.

Winnemucca Lake

On Saturday, 27 July, we joined our friend Joe and a different group he hikes with for a hike to Winnemucca Lake, in California just off Kit Carson Pass. We met at a shopping center near the south end of Reno, and carpooled to the trailhead. There is a new segment of freeway, opened just this past spring, that makes the trip to and through Carson City nearly non-stop. I don’t mean to bore people; it’s just that this was a pretty big event around here.

Anyway, for those unfamiliar with this part of the Sierra Nevada, Carson Pass is on CA SH 88 about 6 miles west of its intersection with SH 89 going north to Tahoe (Luther Pass), or about 16 miles west of the CA-NV state line south of Minden, NV. Kirkwood ski resort is only about 4 miles west of the pass. The new freeway makes the trip quicker than ever, and soon we were pulling into the parking area at the pass’s summit.

The trail starts south, sloping slightly upward into the forest. At one point, there is a tree whose trunk is twisted about 4' above the ground, which with the help of a rock placed there by the trail-builders makes it a wonderful seat for a photo opportunity. Too bad I don’t have any photos there I’m willing to post. But here is a nice photo of the trail in the trees.

You may recognize Joe's wide-brim hat.

After about ¾ mile (I guess), the trail emerges onto a grassy, rolling hillside.

Soon there is a minor trail that goes left, over a rise, past a small body of water called Frog Lake, leading to a rocky crag that overlooks the infamous Red Lake–infamous because the waters are currently a vibrant emerald green due to the algae. It may not show up well in the photo; you’ll just have to come see it in person.

Approaching Frog Lake

Panoramic view of Red Lake

Back down to the main trail, and on to the south and west we went. Soon we were on the side of a ridge looking west toward the beautiful and popular Caples Lake.

Caples Lake

A bit further on

It wasn’t much farther now! We had passed the rounded peak known as the Elephant’s Back, and the wildflowers were maybe not at their peak, but certainly putting up a good display.

Lilies of the Field

Elephant’s Back and some flowers

Past the ridge and over a small hill, and we were at our destination: Winnemucca Lake!

Uh-huh.

Yeah, it was kind of anti-climactic, especially since the sky had clouded over a little, dulling the first impression. However, while we were there I took a panoramic photo of the entire lake, and DW was moving around as I got to the end. I thought it made for an interesting effect:

See, I told you there were more pictures than last post! Three more, nearly a 50% increase.