Narrated drive over Echo Summit in a spring snowstorm on US Route 50 (May 2022)

#driving in a springtime #snowstorm on #US50 over #EchoSummit in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California. This is a narrated version with discussions of various points of interest along the way, some current or about the drive itself, as well as some about the history of the areas we're passing through (and sometimes some corny jokes). This route was at one time a heavily used wagon road and then part of the Lincoln Highway, so there's a fair amount of history behind this route. The #dashcam drive took place at mid-day on May 8, 2022, well into official springtime, but we encountered a somewhat unexpected snowstorm along the way, which sometimes happens in the mountains. Fortunately, we made it through before the snow started sticking to the road, as tire chains were required a few hours after we went through. I'm making this video about a year late, essentially, as I recorded it almost a year ago now but never had the time to make the video until now. Also available on this channel is a separate, musical 2X drive-lapse version of this video, without most of the pauses, here:    • Over Echo Summit in a spring snowstorm, dr...   in case you prefer that sort of genre or don't want to listen to me rambling on! Chapters: 00:00 Looking ahead 00:28 Introduction 01:12 Memorial highway 01:53 Riverton Bridge 03:52 General route history 04:41 Pegasus 05:02 Wagon trains in the old days 06:02 Stops and waysides in the past 06:43 Whitehall 07:18 Why highway 50? 08:23 Roadside callboxes 09:02 Passing lane 09:12 Veterans Bridges 11:44 Silverfork 13:30 Snowflakes starting 13:57 Kyburz 15:59 Milemarkers 17:04 US Forestland summer tracts 18:15 Milestones and accuracy 19:58 Caltrans guys 21:12 Fred's Place 22:40 Caldor wildfire aftermath 23:50 Passing a line of cars 25:38 Lincoln Highway bridge remnant 26:07 Temperature check 26:20 Video notes 27:25 Pony Express signs 28:02 Sciots Tract 29:03 Strawberry 31:32 Music 32:45 Widening / adding lanes 34:00 More Caltrans guys 34:28 Oddities 35:11 Temperature check 35:56 Music 37:45 Memorial highway 38:05 Caldor wildfire aftermath 38:17 Music 38:53 Phillip's Station 41:21 Music 43:05 Johnson Pass 45:25 Toll roads 46:16 Music 46:42 Echo Summit 47:17 Music 47:41 View on a sunny day 48:08 Past rockslide 48:42 Music 49:32 Johnson Cutoff other end 50:49 Brussels Sprouts 51:38 Music 53:31 Tahoe basin 53:41 Music 54:18 Meyers 55:13 Border Protection Station 56:05 Music 56:39 Pioneer Trail 56:57 Closing 🎵 Music licensed from Audio Network In chronological order of first appearance: "When Snowflakes Fall" (3591/5) Jeff Meegan, David Tobin, Mark Armstrong "Delashus" (3657/3) Matt Goodman "You're Drifting Away 2" (3711/25) Jake Field, Duncan Thompson "Out On The Plains 3" (3225/10) Lincoln Grounds, Thomm Jutz "Blues Walk Slow" (1154/9) Paul Mottram "Sobre Las Olas" (3795/4) Rosas - Arr. Jeff Meegan, David Tobin, Julian Gallant, Rob Kelly "Affirmation" (2350/2) Paul Mottram Photos by Rick Donaldson: "Kyburz, California 1973" "Strawberry, CA - US Highway 50 - 1973" Photos from the Rick Donaldson Collection: "Phillips (Vade P.O.), CA - Highway 50 - 1958 (circa)" "Old Meyers Grade - early 1920s" Photo courtesy of caltrafficsigns.com: "Mile marker, 23 miles to Placerville" Photos of Echo Summit Lodge: Norm Sayler Collection, Donner Summit Historical Society Photo by Nick Saltmarsh: "Brussels sprouts" (CC BY 2.0) Changes were made