After the big SIA show it was time to say goodbye to the Snowrev crew and go our separate ways. Tears were shed for sure. My path was taking me to Lake Tahoe to shoot a contest. The drive from Las Vegas to Lake Tahoe takes you through some interesting terrain and interesting people. There are all sorts of ghost towns abandon over 100 years ago. There are a few living ghost towns too, like Goldfield Nevada. I counted two brothels, lots of open country and very slight views into area 51
An abandon town somewhere
Passing at sunset
The red neon lights beckons to lonely travelers crossing the vast Nevada desert
Paying for sex has always been a fascinating subject to me, although not one I participate in. In Nevada brothels are legal so I stopped to snap a few photos. This particular one was about halfway between Vegas and Reno near a town called Mina. It really was in a desolate place with the closest grocery being maybe 60 miles away in Hawthorne. I have always wanted to go in such a establishment for a drink but I could not work up the guts so I settled for a photo instead
When you see a boat in the desert, a sign that says fine food and you are hungry, you pretty much have to stop. This roadside oddity was located about a mile from the brothel in the photo above. It was so mellow that when I ordered my food, the two owners and their friend came over, sat down with me and watched the news. There were older, maybe over 70. They said they had been building this place for ten years and it just opened in December 2008. All the news is not good though. This couple had been growing ½ million freshwater lobsters, brought in from Australia. They raised them in some hot springs ponds nearby. The dream was to serve fresh lobsters to hungry travelers in the middle of the desert. Hence the name the Desert Lobster and the nautical theme with the boat and all. The Nevada fish and game department thought the lobsters might escape and take over in the local streams. This seemed impossible since there are no nearby streams. So the fish and game people killed all the lobsters and killed these people’s dreams. They opened the restaurant anyway. You do meet some interesting folks on the road, for sure
Reno, The biggest little city in the world. Like Vegas but cheaper, dirtier, less glamorous; perfect. I love the smell of cigarettes and stale beer in the evening
Reno is near Lake Tahoe and Boreal Resort is near Tahoe. Jake Black has some of the most stylish airs to fakie as he shows you here in the
Grand Prix qualifiers Qualifying partial results
Men 1 Louie Vito 2 Steve Fisher 3 Michael Gold Schmidt 4 Dylan Bidez 5 Matt Ladley
Women 1 Kelly Clark 2 Hannah Teter 3 Gretchen Bleiler Stay tuned for complete results