Turtlehead Peak, NV (6,324ft.)

02.01.06

$1,500........Las Vegas business trip at the last minute.
Priceless......Finding that you have several free hours to drive 15 miles west to hike a mountain, descend the wrong gully and barely make it out of the park before it closes at sundown.

Pyramid Lake, Nevada (11.06)

Pyramid Lake is a natural body of water fed by the Truckee River, which flows from Lake Tahoe. The lake covers 188 square miles and has a surface elevation of 3,817 ft. There is no outlet, with water leaving only by evaporation, or sub-surface seepage. The lake has about 10% of the area of the Great Salt Lake, but it has about 25% more volume. The salinity is approximately 1/6th that of sea water.

Lake Tahoe:

I will warn anyone who might want to visit Pyramid Lake about a speed trap. Leaving Reno, one route to the lake is 447 north from I80. After a short drive, you will enter the Pyramid Lake Indian Reservation. The drive will take you over and around a small hill. On the other side of the hill, the town of Nixon appears suddenly at the same time the speed limit drops by 20MPH to a school zone.

You don't have time to slow down if you don't know the speed limit drops after the curve. This fact is not lost on the reservation policeman who was waiting for me. I was told I was in serious trouble for going over 20MPH in a school zone on an Indian Reservation. I looked around, didn't see any kids or even a school. I asked, "where's the school"? The policeman pointed to a shack off in the distance. Not sure how Indian law works, I decided to keep quiet.

After running my information, I was told I would receive a brake, he would write the ticket for only going 19MPH over the speed limit. This dropped the ticket price in half to $375. The time on my ticket was 4:42pm, which was correct. I was upset at losing daylight as I had very limited time to visit Pyramid Lake, so I signed the ticket and went on my way. I did go back to look for any kind of school zone sign. It was there, but it was from 2pm to 4:30pm. Unable to keep quiet, I mentioned this fact to the cop who was waiting for the next unsuspecting driver. I was advised that I could plead my case before an Indian judge in three months. The $375 ticket was a lot cheaper than a trip back to Reno, so I paid the ticket by mail.

Pyramid Lake:

Giving the lake its name is Anaho Island: