Day 12: August 26, 2009 California 1

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I started the morning with a short backtrack to check out some old LH alignment in Zephyr Cove. Access to and from the little lakeside community is through a pair of one-way streets. Today, some repair work had the outbound street closed so the other had to serve as both entry and exit. I knew the section in the first picture was a dead-end but figured there was some sort of turnaround at the other end. There was but not for me. The drop-off from the road to the gravel area was huge so I ended up backing down the quarter mile long one-lane.	August 26,1999 Gallup's Log Cabin Inn was and had been closed when we stopped by. It burned and was demolished in 2004. That's buddy John in the car. We had connected in Albuquerque.
A dozen miles or so south of Lake Tahoe, I left US-50 to follow the old Lincoln Highway over Echo Summit. The second picture is looking back at US-50 and the turn-off.

US-50 between Lake Tahoe and Placerville is a fantastic drive. It's mostly one lane each way but with frequent passing lanes on up hill sections. Nice twisties with excellent pavement and incredible scenery.

The stone marker commemorates a station of the Pioneer Stage Company. The three stones beyond are three of the four corner cap stones from the 1900 stone arch Riverton Bridge.

The Pacific House Restaurant and the Pony Express marker beside it.

In Placerville, there is a Lincoln Highway marker built into the front wall of this restaurant just to the left of where the two buildings join. One story says that's where it's always been and the building was constructed around it. That's not the only story.

This 1914 bridge and some of the road beyond it are also in Placerville.

I've included this picture to show the classic cutout US-50 route markers.

The first picture is of Old Bass Lake Road on the way to the longest stretch of 1914 LH pavement in California. There is a bit of a drop-off where the old pavement begins and an "END" off to the left of it. I parked and walked the old road out past the first driveway. Then, seeing that people lived on the road and that the drop-off wasn't all that severe, I went for a drive. I got in just over a mile on the nearly century old pavement before encountering the locked gate and I was able to turn around not too far from it. A real peek into the past.

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