On Monday, Roy and I packed up the car and went for a road trip. We headed northeast past Lake Tahoe to Reno, NV. Our wanderlust was inspired by the presence in Reno of the First National Tour of the international sensation Mama Mia! and it's newest Wardrobe Assistant, Wayne Spellman. Though he left us only a few weeks ago, our paths converge so seldom that it seemed a shame not to go up and say, "Hello!"
For the trip to Reno, we took the scenic route. We got off the interstate and wandered up through the mountains on appropriately windy mountain roads until this is what lay before us:
We crested the western Sierra Nevada Mountains and saw Lake Tahoe spread out below us. Snow capped mountains ringed the brilliant blue waters of North America's largest alpine lake and made for a stunning vista. We wound our way down to the lake's edge and stopped to take some more photos.
w/ Roy at "Inspiration Point Look-Out"
A stern-wheeler paddles into Emerald Bay
The waters of Lake Tahoe are an incredible combination of brilliant blue and crystal clear. The water is also freezing cold - reaching only into the 60's at its peak in the summer months. Due to it's extreme depth (estimated at 1,645' - making it the second deepest lake in North America behind Oregon's Crater Lake), Lake Tahoe does not freeze in the winter months as the water mixes from top to bottom.
Roy and I drove along the west side of the lake enjoying the beautiful scenery all the way around. We paused for some ice cream in Tahoe City on the shores on the Truckee River (the lake's only outlet). (Fun fact: Due to it's vast size, depth and limited drainage, a drop of water that falls into Lake Tahoe stays, on average, 650 years.) We pressed on round the north side of the lake and back up into the mountains toward Reno.
Driving from San Francisco to Reno, we must have passed through a half dozen distinct landscapes and climates: the cool and damp bay area, the drier hills of wine country, the vast fertile fields of the plains nearer Sacramento, the green Sierra Nevada mountains and, finally, the dessert on the in-land side of the mountains. As we descended into Reno, things got decidedly more arid and brown. The beauty of the landscape changed from that of towering pines set against the mountainside to flashing neon against the sides of hotels.
The marquee for Circus Circus
We arrived in Reno around 5PM, got settled into our room and opened the room's connecting door to find Wayne on the other side! It was wonderful to see Wayne and to hear about his adventures in Hawaii - he even returned with presents for the whole company of Spamalot! Before long, we were off in search of one of Wayne's favorite dinners: the prime rib buffet.
Just outside our hotel was this retired version of the famous "Biggest Little City..." sign.
Before long, we wandering up and down "the Strip" visiting many of Virginia Street's fine gaming establishments. We played arcade games and took in the circus acts at Circus Circus in addition to trying our hands at various games of chance. Unfortunately, I wasn't very lucky at very many of those game; fortunately, I didn't take along much money...
The "Imperial Acrobats of China" performing hither-to-unheard-of feats of catching-metal-bowls-on-their-heads-whilst-riding-unicycles!
I found it hard to tell how Roy felt about the place...
Tuesday morning, we headed back to the buffet for breakfast before Wayne had to be at load-in. It was strange to see him headed off to load-in a show while Roy and I only waved good-bye... Roy and I took the faster route home (up through the Donner Pass!) and were back in San Francisco by mid-afternoon.
TVFMHRW - Reno, featured load-in already in progress at the Pioneer Center for the Performing Arts
I had a great time road tripping with Roy and visiting with Wayne. The drive around Lake Tahoe was breath-taking, but it was hanging out with a couple of great friends that was the highlight of the trip!
JV
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