After cleaning and straightening up the motorhome we left the Meadowcliffs RV Park. It was 10:30 AM, the temperature was 77 degrees, and we only had 56 miles of travel to reach Lake Tahoe. The only obstacle in our path was the dreaded “Kingsbury Grade,” or NV 207, topped by the Daggett Pass Summit at an altitude of 7,334 ft.
We began the ascent at a little less than 4,900 ft. and followed the serpentine highway, switchback after switchback, for an 8-mile long climb that took us 2,500 ft. higher than we were at the beginning of the climb. Our diesel slowed down a bit but it never faltered. The engine temperature only experienced one very brief excursion above 199 degrees. It hit 204 degrees within a 10 or 15 second period until I downshifted and increased the RPM.
The scenery was awesome, or so Carol Ann told me. My eyes were watching only the road, temperature gauge, and tachometer. I pulled over once to allow a few cars to pass, however, after experiencing the difficulty of regaining forward momentum I said no more “Mr. Nice Guy.” We managed to maintain 35 to 40 mph, most of the time in 3rd gear and covered the 8 miles in only 13 minutes for an average speed of 34.9 mph. Not bad.
Once we reached the summit it was only a few minutes downhill until we saw the very blue Lake Tahoe laid out before us. We drove through a very upscale North Lake Tahoe and 5 miles later reached our destination, Tahoe Valley Campground in South Lake Tahoe about 12:10 PM. We checked in, parked the motorhome and after we had settled in, had lunch.
It is now 6:15 PM; the temperature is 75 degrees with a relative humidity of only 24%. We have opened the windows and allowed our air conditioners to take a well deserved rest. Bruce and Karen arrived a short while ago and are now set up next to us so we are going out with our chairs to sit under the pines and drink wine.
Well, it’s now 8:30 PM and I am just now posting this. Carol Ann and Karen have gone to pick up a pizza. I’ll start taking photos of Lake Tahoe and area tomorrow.
Now it’s 10:30 PM. We’ve had our pizza and beer and enjoyed sitting and talking. I will post this and go to bed.
We began the ascent at a little less than 4,900 ft. and followed the serpentine highway, switchback after switchback, for an 8-mile long climb that took us 2,500 ft. higher than we were at the beginning of the climb. Our diesel slowed down a bit but it never faltered. The engine temperature only experienced one very brief excursion above 199 degrees. It hit 204 degrees within a 10 or 15 second period until I downshifted and increased the RPM.
The scenery was awesome, or so Carol Ann told me. My eyes were watching only the road, temperature gauge, and tachometer. I pulled over once to allow a few cars to pass, however, after experiencing the difficulty of regaining forward momentum I said no more “Mr. Nice Guy.” We managed to maintain 35 to 40 mph, most of the time in 3rd gear and covered the 8 miles in only 13 minutes for an average speed of 34.9 mph. Not bad.
Once we reached the summit it was only a few minutes downhill until we saw the very blue Lake Tahoe laid out before us. We drove through a very upscale North Lake Tahoe and 5 miles later reached our destination, Tahoe Valley Campground in South Lake Tahoe about 12:10 PM. We checked in, parked the motorhome and after we had settled in, had lunch.
It is now 6:15 PM; the temperature is 75 degrees with a relative humidity of only 24%. We have opened the windows and allowed our air conditioners to take a well deserved rest. Bruce and Karen arrived a short while ago and are now set up next to us so we are going out with our chairs to sit under the pines and drink wine.
Well, it’s now 8:30 PM and I am just now posting this. Carol Ann and Karen have gone to pick up a pizza. I’ll start taking photos of Lake Tahoe and area tomorrow.
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