First stop in Reno was to pick up a pair of folding bikes I'd tracked down via the internet.

Two of these fit perfectly in our storage bay.

They unfold and are ready to ride in under a minute.

We kamped at the Reno KOA, which was literally in the Hilton casino hotel parking lot.

The Hilton featured a rather unique driving range/lake.

Aerial view of the Hilton and driving range/lake.

We arrived during a real cold spell. Got down to 9 degrees one night.

Bitter cold and a little snow didn't stop me from trying out the new bikes though.

I bundled up and took a pretty nice ride along the river path. At least it wasn't crowded.

I was pleasantly surprised how well I would make it through snow with the knobby tires and low mountain-bike gearing.

One of about a million unwelcome geese who had recently arrived from Canada to annoy the locals.

Like they say, there's a golden KOA sign at the end of every rainbow.

Our moho with dish up in front of the Christmas-colored Hilton at night.

"Bright lights, biggest little city"

The Nevada state capitol in Carson City, looking like a winter wonderland.

Lovely frosted scenes everywhere.

Bows and holly, deployed.

Our first glimpse of Lake Tahoe was from Logan Shoals Vista Point.

This car looked kinda suspicious.

Sure enough, we stumbled upon a secluded little wedding ceremony. You can't quite see in this photo, but the bride was wearing a miniskirt.

Now that's an appropriately dressed couple.

Hard to beat that view.

South Lake Tahoe.

The front of Heavenly Valley ski area looms right above town.

The Tahoe Queen, about to depart for a lightly-attended cruise.

The beaches were covered with snow.

Working our way around toward Emerald Bay.

The bay coming into view through the big pines.

Carey trying to not fall on the icy overlook.

Icy art shot.

Emerald Bay.

We beat the Tahoe Queen over here by a few minutes.

Her paddlewheel is churning mightily.

Aerial view of the lake, with Emerald Bay in the foreground.

Rowboat awaits a rower in Tahoe City.

We came across a crazy new hybrid sport in a meadow near Mt. Rose: a cross between skiing and kiteboarding.

The kite pulled him along, both up and down the hill.

Made some big jumps to turn around!

Mt. Rose ski area is a favorite of Reno locals, being close by and having some pretty challenging terrain.

We could see the Hilton looming large on the outskirts of Reno far below.

The Emigrant Trail Museum highlights the ordeal of the Donner Party and their counterparts.

Looks like a fun way to travel a few thousand miles.

I'm guessing it wasn't called Donner Lake on their map.

Debbie finds one of several big rocks that formed part of shelters used by others in the party. This was more difficult to find than you'd imagine, what with the snow covering the paths.

The top of this monument base is 25 feet up, corresponding to the snow depth here during that fateful winter.