Minden, Nevada at Carson Valley RV Park

I remember 6 months ago trying to figure out how to get from the Bay Area of California to Denver for a VERY important graduation in June. That’s when I knew we were going to travel through the Sierra Mountains. Of course I thought May would be a great time to do this. The beauty has been breathtaking and travel days challenging, but these experiences can hardly be described or recreated. I did expect Winter to be over by May, but I was wrong about that.

At the Carson Valley RV Park…and Casino, we made all sorts of memories. We celebrated our 9th wedding anniversary at the steakhouse in the Casino. We had burgers at the diner in the Casino, I enjoyed the pool and hot tub at the Casino hotel, and my wife learned blackjack at the Casino. So, needless to say, we spent a lot of time in the Casino. I lucked out and won a couple hundred dollars on some wheel of fortune game. $100 to the wife for blackjack and $100 towards our anniversary dinner.

We were only 30 minutes from Lake Tahoe so we did a little exploring and twirling there. It was beautiful and cold and windy so we bought new sweatshirts, woohoo!

The small town we were in is famous for it’s Basque restaurant called JT Basque. Wikipedia: Basque cuisine refers to the cuisine of the Basque Country and includes meats and fish grilled over hot coals, marmitako and lamb stews, cod, Tolosa bean dishes, paprikas from Lekeitio, pintxos (Basque tapas), Idiazabal sheep’s cheese, txakoli (sparkling white-wine), and Basque cider.

J. T. Basque Bar & Dining Room has been serving the local community since its establishment in the year 1955. The inn actually dates all the way to the late 19th Century when it was opened in an old Victorian building and has been a relaxing spot for travelers for more than a century now. Today, the family-run Basque restaurant, which is into its second generation of owners, is a local favorite for family meals and celebrations. Come here to enjoy delicacies like Sweetbreads, Roasted Rabbit, Pigs Feet with Tripe and Basque Chicken.
We loved our experience there. Seems that every single person in the packed restaurant knew each other…except for us, of course.