Day two started bright and early(ish) in a small square to the south of downtown Sacramento. We pulled in and parked, then watched car after car arrive. Of course, the guys we'd seen the previous night were all there, but then other machinery started pulling in and some of it was breath taking. Two Jaguar Xk-120's, an XK-140, two big Healeys, an E-type, then a BMW 3.0 CSL. Seriously, how many of those have you seen on the road in recent years, and this guy was going to give it a thrashing through the mountains. That's so neat! All in all, there were about 65 cars entered, and another dozen or so driven up just to watch. Again, some interesting stuff, including a guy with a 1960's Renault Floride Gordini. I don't think I've ever seen one of those before.
After another quick drivers meeting (we were basically told not to crash, and be cool) we set off of the day one route "Snowpocalypse". Leaving Sacramento as quickly as possible, we set out along more scenic country roads and rolling hillsides. Everything was still beautifully green after our unusually wet winter. Again, cars were reasonably well spaced out, but inevitably small groups form and run together. This is definitely a social tour rather than a frantic competitive event. A quick stop at " . . . the last gas station for 70 miles" along with almost every other car on the event, had the locals bemused. I was a little concerned with the range on a standard Mini fuel tank. Particularly as the tank is foam filled, which further reduces it's volume, and has no gauge to read inside the car. We have a calibrated sight glass (well, plastic) in the trunk, so know how much fuel we had when stationary, so had to rely on an average mpg figure to calculate available range. Still, we never ran into issues and were getting a fairly consistent 36 - 38 mpg (real gallons, not US gallons) despite driving everywhere practically flat-out.
Shortly after the fuel stop we ran behind one of the Healeys as we climbed up CA-88 towards the Carson Pass. Admittedly, our little 850 was no match for the big Healey going uphill, and we were frequently running third gear at 40 to 50 mph just to keep moving. As soon as the road got level and twisty, or any downhill whatsoever, we could catch up again. It was good entertainment, if a little loud, and before too long we were crossing the 8652ft pass, crossing the state line into Nevada, and heading towards the lunch stop.
The organizers did a great job with their planning and had made arrangements with diners and restaurants in the small town at the designated lunch stop along the route. Pulling in next to the XK-120, or a late 60's 911, was very pleasant visual treat, for us, and the other visitors who were keen to stop and talk to people about the cars and what we were doing. There was so much interest and appreciation from hikers, cyclists, bikers, and fellow participants.
The next leg continued along now NV-88 before turning off again through several other small towns heading towards Carson City. The city itself was busy, traffic was slow, but it was really unavoidable. Still, the Mini was getting lots of waves and thumbs-up from other drives, most of whom were driving pick-up trucks the size of small houses. Before long we were back off the bust roads and heading up towards Virginia City. For those who don't know, Virginia City is a mining 'boom town' that sprang up in 1859 when major silver deposits were discovered near by. Looking at it, it hasn't really changed much since then. They have surfaced the road through town, but there are still wooden-fronted stores along a wooden boardwalk just like you see in the westerns. Unfortunately, this has made it a tourist attraction, so everything appears terribly 'tacky'. Still, it was worth stopping for a photo and another inevitable chat with the bystanders.
From there, we headed down into the Reno valley, but no time to stop before heading up into the mountains (and the snow) to the West. Mount Rose Pass is the highest point of Highway 431, and the highest pass which is open year-round. Other, higher passes are closed in winter due to the snow. At 8911ft elevation the little Mini felt a little asthmatic, but we still managed to pull over the summit with more third-gear thrashing, before descending to Lake Tahoe. As well as the tin air at altitude, the scenery was breath taking. Tahoe is an absolutely magical place - one of those 'looks almost too good to be real' sort of places. Of course, being Nevada, our overnight was in a hotel casino. We felt we'd gambled enough all day, so we didn't touch the tables and headed straight for the steak house, and dinner with some new-found friends.
