From 12 Feet Of Snow To Palm Trees In 80 Minutes

Yes, there are a few other places in the world that get as much snow as Tahoe. Not a lot of them. But they're out there. (As of this writing, the Mt. Rose snow survey shows 650 inches of snow has fallen as of March 1st. That's 54 feet.)

The snow gets so deep, you can't see to pull out onto the road. Your back and arms get brutalized by shoveling. Your snowblower can't always throw it high enough to get over the banks. And when you go a few days without fresh snow, those banks near the highway get nasty with dirt.

 

So what do you do? Whenever possible, you head to palm tree country. (Which we just did.)

Yes, there are other places in the world that have palm trees like much of California.



But there are very few places on the planet where you can drive from massive amounts of snow to palm trees in 80 minutes, the time it takes to cruise down the mountain from Donner Summit (Hwy 80) or Echo Summit (Hwy 50).

In California, not only is snow optional and easy to escape (like many mountains around the world), but the climate just down the road is warm enough for palm trees (unlike most mountains wherever you go).

We live in an amazing place.