Carson City, Nevada to Bridgeport, California

   Darlene and I left our base in Reno and headed south going to Bridgeport, California via Carson City, the capitol of Nevada. The drive was a short 30 mile trek south.

   We stopped for brunch at a unique place called Eve’s Eatery. It was laid out and decorated in a manner that reminded one of detailed careful planning. The place had a main dinning area with tables, a side room with an old counter type dinning bar with more tables and a couple of booths. The back of the restaurant was the kitchen and a small area called The Pasta Market. They made and sold their scratch homemade pasta to take home.

We both got the bacon, toast, and scrambled eggs with coffee. The waitress was friendly and attentive.

   We finished our meal and looked around the downtown area and went in a couple of local shops. We had noticed gas prices on the California side of Lake Tahoe yesterday were $4.97 a gallon and since we were heading to that state for a couple of days, we filled up in Carson City at $3.56 a gallon. It was a good thing too because just across the state line in Topaz Lake, California, gas was $6.47 a gallon. This is just one of the things you learn to look for when traveling in more than one state. 

We left Carson City and drove 9 miles to Washu State Park. We wanted to see if we could get a glimpse of some Wild Mustangs and Bald Eagles the park is known for. We did see two herds of Mustangs and one lone stallion in the distance.

We did not see any eagles but I did see a couple of hawks on my 1/2 mile hike down to Washu Lake. The hike takes you through a disc golf course there called Miner Mayhem, although it was pretty overgrown. The lake was white capping from the wind that had been steadily picking up. Still it was worth the walk down to the lake and back.

   We then left the park and stopped for a cold drink before heading 84 miles southwest to Bridgeport, California. Then our cell phones sounded an alert. A wildfire had broken out and with the increasing wind velocity was now burning out of control. The Connor Fire, it was called. We could see the smoke for well over half our drive but we did make it without having to detour.

   We arrived in Bridgeport. The town is small but well maintained and clean. We checked into Willow Springs Resort. Remember in a previous blog, I said more on the California part of our trip later. Well, here it is. This was to be our base for two nights going to and from Yosemite National Park. Willow Springs Resort is misleading in its name and pictures. The place is really just an RV park and campgrounds with 6 very small, old hotel rooms. The staff was very friendly and the place was very clean but our room was tiny. The queen bed and small table with two chairs took up the entire room; no place for luggage or anything else. There was bareley room enough for the two of us. The bathroom was even smaller. The shower was so small, you could not stand in it without touching both sides. I honey think it was a camper shower!

   We decided to go and get something to eat. If I thought the four hotels to choose from was slim pickings, the restaurants in the area was worse. Our first choice was Rhino’s Grill….but no! It was closed to the public for a private party. Really, on a Friday night? That left Bridgeport Inn with spotty reviews and people waiting outside and Burger Barn with only outside seating. And with 20 mile an winds, we passed on that option as well! We also passed on a place advertising burgers, burritos, and a massage. The only other place was Virginia Creek Settlement. We got a pizza there and it was really good.

   The better choice to get near Yosemite without staying in the Park would have been driving another 25 miles down to Mammoth Lakes, California. Ah, but hindsight is always 20/20. We went back to the room and made plans for Yosemite National Park in the morning. Check back at this blog to hear about a place everyone should see.