Why we drive 395

Since a picture is good for 1000 words I'll save time and offer this as a reason for driving 395 as we head home. The valley is dry, but the mountains are lovely. Not so windy today, so the driver is spared some work.We take a loop on 89 up over Monitor Pass.And stop for lunch on a broad paved turnout just below the summit.
Our purpose was to come to Grover Hot Springs.

Nice hot water but too much algae for me. I like the miracle cure mineral combination of Tecopa better. There was a fairly shallow hot water pool and a regular water deep cool pool. We met a couple who came to Sacramento from the Ukraine in the early 90's. They come here 3 or 4 times a year.
After Grover we head down to Minden and dinner at JT Basque Bar and Dining Room. The food is great, as long as you refrain from local specialties like sweetbreads or tripe and pigs foot stew. The service is friendly family style. If you are there for dinner, you get all the courses. Soup, jug of red wine, salad, rice dish, bean dish, entree, fries and dessert. Some locals indulge in too much picon punch and play bar dice too loud. But it is part of the atmosphere.
We just spent the night in the RV park run by the Carson Valley Inn. Nice and simple. And today we will just have a nice drive home around the west shore of Lake Tahoe.